Fans will have to wait a few days to see Caitlin Clark break the Division I women’s college basketball scoring record.
While Clark scored 31 points, Nebraska held her scoreless in the fourth quarter as the Cornhuskers erased a 14-point deficit to upset No. 2 Iowa 82-79 on Sunday in Lincoln, Neb.
Jaz Shelley hit a 3-pointer for Nebraska (16-8, 8-5 Big Ten) with 20.5 seconds remaining to give the Cornhuskers their first lead of the second half. She then made four free throws in the final seconds to seal the win, as game-tying 3-point attempts by Clark and Kate Martin were off the mark.
Shelley finished with 23 points and five assists, while Alexis Markowski added 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Logan Nissley also scored 15 points and Natalie Potts chipped in 14 points.
Nebraska was previously 0-8 against Iowa teams that featured Clark.
Martin scored 20 points and Clark also had 10 assists, eight rebounds and four steals for No. 2 Iowa (22-3, 11-2). While Clark didn’t pass former Washington star Kelsey Plum’s all-time scoring mark of 3,527 — she’s now eight points shy of owning the record — she did pass another significant milestone as one of her assists on the day was the 1,000th, making her the first player in the history of Division I women’s college basketball to have at least 3,000 points and 1,000 assists for her career.
Iowa led by just four points at halftime, but pulled away in the third quarter thanks to Clark. She poured in 14 points and three assists in the frame as the Hawkeyes went ahead by 14 points, their largest lead of the game.
The Cornhuskers battled back though and took the lead on Shelley’s crucial 3-pointer with less than a minute to play. In all, Nebraska outscored Iowa 27-10 in the fourth quarter and held Clark to 0-of-6 shooting in the final frame.
Iowa plays again on Thursday in Iowa City against Michigan, giving Clark the opportunity to break the scoring record at home in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
–Field Level Media
