Caitlin Clark hits 27 in Iowa's first-round win over Holy Cross 91-65

Caitlin Clark struggled to make shots early, but finished with 27 points and 10 assists as Iowa defeated Holy Cross 91-65 in a women’s NCAA tournament first-round game Saturday.

Kate Martin also had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (30-4), the top seed in the Albany 2 Regional. Iowa advanced to Monday’s second round to face either eighth seed West Virginia or ninth seed Princeton.

Clark, a unanimous Associated Press All-American selection, was just 8 of 19 from the field, 3 of 9 in 3-pointers, showing her frustration with missed shots multiple times during the game.

Clark finished with her 65th career double-double, and added eight rebounds.

She got off to a slow start and didn’t make her first field goal until 22 seconds were left in the first quarter. She committed five turnovers in the first eight minutes.

Holy Cross (21-13) made 12 3-pointers in Thursday’s 72-45 First Four win over UT-Martin, but were just 7 of 34 in 3-pointers in this game, with only three in the second half. The Crusaders, who missed their first 10 shots of the fourth quarter, shot just 32.4% from the field.



(AP Photo/Matthew Putney)