Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) (Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com)
Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark was named Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player and Freshman of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
Clark’s Player of the Week nod is the first Big Ten weekly honor for a Hawkeye since Kathleen Doyle earned the award on Feb. 10, 2020. Clark is the first Big Ten student-athlete to be honored with both awards in a single week since Nebraska’s Jessica Shepard on Jan. 25, 2016. She is the second Hawkeye to win both in the same week — Sam Logic earned both honors twice in 2012 (Feb. 14, Feb. 28).
The West Des Moines, Iowa, native averaged 26.5 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and 2.5 steals in the Hawkeyes wins over Drake and Wisconsin. In Iowa’s in-state bout versus Drake, Clark tallied 30 points, 13 assists, four steals, three rebounds, and a block. Against Wisconsin, she posted 23 points, five assists, five rebounds, and a steal.
Clark is the only freshman in the nation to put up 30 points and have at least 10 assists in a single game (since 2015-16). Clark’s 30 points is the most from a Big Ten freshman since Michigan’s Haillie Thome scored 31 against Minnesota on Jan. 31, 2016. Clark’s 13 assists are the most from a Big Ten Freshman since Maryland’s Destiny Slocum had 13 against Illinois on February 9, 2017.