Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark drops 44 points to lead No. 3 Iowa past No. 8 Virginia Tech

The reigning National Player of the Year guided No. 3 Iowa to an 80-76 victory over No. 8 Virginia Tech on Thursday night at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte,

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North Carolina. Clark's ninth 40-point game matched an NCAA Division I men's and women's record over the previous 25 seasons.

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In what was her seventh game with at least 40 points, five rebounds, and five assists, she also had eight rebounds and six assists.

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According to ESPN, the rest of Division I has only had three of such games since Clark arrived at Iowa.

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She is only 16 points shy of passing Megan Gustafson for the program's all-time scoring lead.

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The Hawkeyes took an early lead with a 13-4 run, seven of which were scored by Clark. This was a pattern that the Hawkeyes maintained throughout the game.

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They built another double-digit advantage in the third quarter before exploding on a 14-2 run early in the fourth. Every time they did, the Hokies stormed back.

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Virginia Tech finished the first quarter on a 14-2 surge, which Georgia Amoore capped with a wild half-court buzzer-beater from the logo

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The Hawkeyes' fourth-quarter run appeared to put the Hokies away, but Amoore scored a three-pointer with less than 90 seconds remaining to cut

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the gap to four points once more. But that was the closest they got. The Hawkeyes held off one final surge and forced

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