Fox News Flash top sports headlines for January 3
Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
Iowa star Caitlin Clark once again showed why she is one of the best basketball players in the nation. Clark nailed a shot from the edge of the half-court logo at the buzzer on Tuesday night to help the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes survive an upset scare against Michigan State.
Clark's game-winning three-pointer capped her impressive 40-point performance. The win improved Iowa's record to 14-1. Moments after she drained the shot, Clark sprinted to the front row to celebrate with the raucous crowd inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
If Clark had missed the shot from well beyond the three-point arc, the game likely would have gone into overtime.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Iowa's Caitlin Clark celebrates after scoring the game-winning shot in the closing seconds against Michigan State on Jan. 2, 2024, in Iowa City. (Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
"We practice those plays every single day in practice," Clark said in a postgame interview. "That's what we run every single time: Get Hannah the ball, let me create with some space. They contested it pretty well, honestly, so lucky it went down."
GRAMBLING STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SETS RECORD WITH 141-POINT VICTORY
The reigning national player of the year has now scored 40 points 10 times in her standout college basketball career. Clark surpassed former Missouri State basketball player Jackie Stiles for the most 40-point games by any Division I player over the past 25 seasons.
Iowa suffered a 102-85 loss to the LSU Tigers in last year's NCAA Division I women's basketball title game, but the Hawkeyes look poised to make another run at the championship this season.
LSU has also gotten off to a strong start this season and is 13-1 through 14 games.
Iowa's Caitlin Clark celebrates after hitting a buzzer-beater against Michigan State on Jan. 2, 2024, in Iowa City. (Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
Clark also logged at least 35 points for a fourth consecutive game.
"A close game, they played us really well, you've got to give them credit," Clark continued. "But [I'm] proud of this group; things didn't go our way tonight but [we] just persevered and got through, and you walk away with a win. At the end of the day, nobody's really going to care what the score is as long as it's a win."
Iowa's Caitlin Clark is shown after defeating South Carolina during the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game in Dallas on March 31, 2023. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Clark is the presumptive top pick of this April's WNBA Draft. She is also on pace to break the all-time Division I scoring record.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
She is averaging 31.5 points per game, which leads the nation. Iowa travels to New Jersey later this week for a matchup with Rutgers.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.