Fans who lined up around the block Bloomington’s Assembly Hall Thursday night expected to see a Hawkeyes win on what has officially been designated Caitlin Clark Day in the state of Iowa.
They didn’t get one.
No. 14 Indiana upset Clark and No. 4 Iowa in an 86-69 win as Clark made just eight of 26 shots from the field, including 3-of-16 on threes.
Clark finished the night with 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, but led the Hawkeyes with five turnovers.
The upset led to criticism of Clark, who was the main reason the game sold out as one of Indiana’s best-selling contests this season.
Despite last week breaking the NCAA women’s basketball career scoring record by passing Kelsey Plum’s college career total of 3,527, Clark was held to just four points in the second half of Thursday’s loss.
Others defended Clark, who is 75 points away from passing Pete Maravich for the all-time NCAA scoring record of 3,667 career points.
Iowa has three regular-season games left, and Clark, who is averaging 32.8 points per game despite Thursday night’s loss, remains on pace to set a new standard for college basketball.
Iowa is back in action Sunday at home against Illinois.
The game is already sold out as fans vie to see Clark in what could be one of her final regular-season NCAA games if she decides to declare for the 2024 WNBA Draft.
