Caitlin Clark’s final win at Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Stadium didn’t come easy.
West Virginia held the highest-scoring team in D-I women’s basketball (92.8 PPG entering Monday) to just 64 points – including less than 50 points entering the fourth quarter and only six points in the second quarter.
"I do think that was one of the better defensive teams we've seen all year," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "I'm so proud of our team for only having six turnovers in the second half against that pressure defense. That's keeping your composure, especially when they tied it up."
Clark would not be denied the win in her final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, scoring 32 points and adding eight rebounds in the win. She also set one last record at home – passing Kelsey Plum for the most points in a D-I season. Plum had 1,109 in the 2016-2017 season. Clark is at 1,113 and counting.
For all that Iowa didn’t score on Monday, their defense only allowed West Virginia to score 54 points.
“This might have been our lowest field goal percentage that we’ve ever won a game with,” Bluder said. “We found a way to win in a different way, and we won with our defense tonight.”
“Our defense was really good, and people don't always give our defense too much credit,” Clark said. "That was the reason we won tonight. We didn't make too many shots, but at this point all that matters is survive and advance, and that's exactly what we did."
Clark knows that the second round is one of the hardest in the NCAA tournament. The Hawkeyes lost two years ago in the second round to Creighton, which Clark says was one of the biggest motivators in her career.
"I don't think my career evolves in the way that it [did] if we don't lose to Creighton," Clark said. "I don't think we go to the Final Four last year ... I don't think we win this game tonight. That was probably the lowest of lows in my career, and you've got to sit with that a whole other year until you get the opportunity to play Georgia at home.”
This year, No. 2 seed Ohio State fell victim to the biggest upset in the tournament so far, losing to No. 7 Duke in the second round.
"This is one of the hardest rounds in the NCAA tournament," Clark continued. "Everyone is really good. You're expected to win. You're on your home court. You have all the pressure in the world. They have absolutely nothing to lose to come in here and upset us."
Afterward in the locker room, Clark spoke on her final game at Iowa, noting that she wished she could have spent a little more time soaking it all in.
"I wish I could have stayed on court for a while and soaked it all in a little longer," Clark said in Iowa's locker room afterward. "But I don't think that there's a better way we could go out than just a gritty, resilient win. Honestly, it was almost the opposite of Iowa basketball in a way, but I think that's what makes it that much sweeter.”