– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
ALBANY, NEW YORK — Any basketball coach worth their salt would tell you that, when going up against an All-Star caliber player who’s multi-dimensional talent includes deft passing, it’s best to give up something with the goal of taking away one of their other aspects to give yourself the best chance at victory. Sometimes, however, coaches run into a Caitlin Clark, and no matter what you try to take away, they still do whatever they want and take the opponent’s heart.
And that is exactly what happened on Saturday, and the result now sets up a national championship rematch on Monday night that will rival any blockbuster matchup Monday Night Football could ever produce.
Clark, the all-time leading scorer in college basketball, poured in 29 points and dished out 15 assists, leading the top-seeded Hawkeyes over No. 5 Colorado 89-68 in the Sweet 16 match-up in the Albany 2 Region at MVP Arena on Saturday afternoon. All five starters scored in double figures for the Hawkeyes, including Sydney Affolter, who made all six of her shots from the field as she put in 15 points.
The victory sets up a rematch in the Elite Eight of last year’s national championship game, when LSU defeated the Hawkeyes to claim the title and derail the Hawkeyes’ run after they had beaten previously undefeated South Carolina in the national semifinals.
Iowa shot 54 percent from the field in the game, with 28 of Iowa’s 35 field goal makes either being scored or assisted by Clark, who dished out at least 15 assists in a game for the sixth time in her career and the third time this season.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Scotty Rausenberger. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 21 pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
