Caitlin Clark did not break Kelsey Plum’s scoring record on Sunday. Nor did she win the game.
No. 2 Iowa was upset by unranked Nebraska in Lincoln. It was a back-and-forth battle that came to a close on two-straight misses by the Hawkeyes in the closing moments. Clark rimmed out. Kate Martin bounced one off of the rim, off of the backboard, and out.
The Cornhuskers won 82-79.
Jaz Shelley led the way for Nebraska.
She dropped a team-high 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting with five three-pointers.
The fifth-year senior was only outscored by Caitlin Clark in the game. Iowa’s superstar senior needed 39 points to pass Plum on the all-time women’s college basketball scoring list and fell eight points short.
Caitlin Clark finished with 31 in the loss.
Jaz Shelley got the last laugh!
Her go-ahead triple ultimately proved to be the dagger. The Cornhuskers went up by three and held on to win.
As soon as the shot fell, Shelley hit John Cena’s ‘You Can’t See Me’ and waved a hand in front of her face. Clark famously did the same against Louisville in the Elite Eight last season. Angel Reese threw it back in her face during the national championship.
The Aussie-born sharpshooter taunted Clark with the celebration after her clutch bucket on Sunday!
UPDATE: Jaz Shelley responded to the viral moment and claims that it was not intended as a slight.
Just to clear the air.. this was not a gesture at Caitlin or Iowa. I have the upmost respect for that program. This is how we signal our face guard defense
— @JazShelley on X, formerly known as Twitter
Either way, the timing was ice cold. Shelley sent the Hawkeyes back to Iowa City with their third loss of the season and kept Clark from breaking the record in overtime.
She is now set to surpass Plum at home against Michigan on Thursday. Meanwhile, as Clark takes a sad flight or bus ride home, the party is on in Lincoln!
Shelley is the hero. Every one of her drinks will be paid for tonight, if they weren’t already.
Not only did she drain the clutch three, she threw it right back in the face of the soon-to-be greatest scorer of all time. A legendary performance indeed!