Caitlin Clark went ice cold in national championship game loss

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) dribbles down the court during the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday, March 17, 2023. Photo Credit: Margaret Kispert/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

Caitlin Clark could not have begun or finished Sunday’s women’s national championship game any differently.

Clark went 5/8 to begin Iowa’s eventual 87-75 loss to South Carolina in the championship game of the women’s NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Clark scored 18 points in the opening quarter, which set a record.

Though she began the game with a record-setting quarter, Clark was unable to match that pace.

Clark scored three points in the second quarter and went into halftime having scored just 21. Clark added just 9 more points over the second half and finished with 30 for the game.

As the game started to slip away in the fourth quarter, Clark kept attempting her long three-pointers, but she was missing them. She finished the game 10/28, including 5/13 on three-pointers. She made 5/6 free throws, but all six free throw attempts came in the first quarter.

In order to overcome a bigger and more powerful team, Clark would have had to put up a 45-point game and shoot around 50 percent or better. She began the game that way but failed to keep up that pace, and Iowa was unable to hang with the tough Gamecocks.

South Carolina was the best team in college basketball all season and finished the year 38-0 to win the school’s third championship. They were a very deserving champion. And Clark had a great senior season and excellent run in the tournament, but she came up just short of her ultimate goal.