• Caitlin Clark sank an off-balance buzzer-beating three to lift Iowa past the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers.
  • The National Player of the Year contender said she knew the shot "was money" as soon as it left her hands.
  • The massive win may help bump Clark and her Hawkeyes up a seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Caitlin Clark called game.

With 1.5 seconds remaining on the clock and her Iowa Hawkeyes trailing the second-ranked Indiana Hoosiers by two, everybody at Carver–Hawkeye Arena — all 13,000 fans in attendance, both teams' coaches, and the 10 players on the court — knew exactly who would be the target for the inbounds pass. But even with the advanced knowledge that the ball would wind up in Clark's hands, nothing could stop the National Player of the Year contender from finding the basket.

Curling around the top of the arc, Clark left her defender behind thanks to a brilliant screen and caught the ball a few feet behind the three-point line. Then, just before the buzzer sounded, she heaved an off-balance shot that dropped through the net, lifting Iowa past the No. 2 team in the country in dazzling fashion.

It's even better in slo-mo:

 

Clark — who finished the game with 34 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists for a near triple-double — capped the feat by running off the court and shouting, "Let's go!" at the hyped-up Hawkeye crowd. Her teammates enveloped her in a massive embrace, and after several minutes of celebrating together, she headed back out onto the hardwood for an on-court interview with ESPN's Holly Rowe.

Rowe asked Clark what was "going through your head" as the ball left her fingertips. And in typical Clark fashion — calm, cool, collected, confident, and clutch — the nation's second-leading scorer and assists leader said she knew right away that her last-second prayer was going in.

"Honestly, I thought it was money," Clark said with a smirk and a shrug.

"When I saw it go through the rim, I was excited," she added. "But when I'm in here working by myself, those are the situations you put yourself in."

 

Clark went on to say the win was even more meaningful than the fashion in which she secured it. She noted that "it meant a lot" that she could help Iowa take the win "on senior day against the No. 2 team in the country."

She also offered "a lot of credit to Indiana" — a team that came into The Hawkeye State with only one loss on the season — for playing so well across the board. And when asked about the bigger picture and the impact Sunday's game and finish may have on fans watching at home, Clark said simply: "You couldn't ask for anything better.

"I'm all about growing the women's game, and I'm glad I gave something little girls can probably scream about at the top of their lungs," she added. "I can imagine that when I was younger, I was doing the exact same thing."

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