Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark has turned into one of the biggest names in American sport over the past year, but Dublin's own Bronagh Power-Cassidy was her equal, for half any way, this evening. Power-Cassidy's Holy Cross team met the Hawkeyes in NCAA Women's March Madness today.
March Madness is the name given to the mammoth college basketball tournament currently going on with 68 teams vying their way to become National Champions.
Coolock native Power-Cassidy is a senior for the Holy Cross Crusaders, a college from Worcester, Massachusetts.
She has been a star player for the Crusaders this year, averaging over 16 points a game so far this season and picking up a plethora of accolades.
However, she faced the toughest test of her young career tonight.
Dubiner Bronagh Power-Cassidy Holds Her Own At March Madness
In the first round of March Madness Holy Cross were pitted against powerhouse Iowa Hawkeyes who are led by Caitlin Clark. Clark is one of the biggest names in American sport at the moment with many saying she could be the greatest college player of all-time. To put it in simple terms, she's the LeBron James of women's college basketball. She has scored more points than any player - male or female - in college basketball history and is a wizard from long range.
Therefore it was always going to be a daunting task for Holy Cross to upset the Hawkeyes but Power-Cassidy held her own right during the first half of the contest.
Bronagh Power-Cassidy scored 17 points in the first half including four three pointers, even more impressive when you consider Clark is famed for her three point capabilities and she was held to just one three pointer in the first half.
Dubliner Bronagh Power-Cassidy is having herself a game for Holy Cross against the great Caitlin Clark and Iowa in March Madness tonight.
She's finished the first half with 17 points, including four 3-pointers.
Clark scored 13. ☘️pic.twitter.com/JsfmilTQox
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) March 23, 2024
Power-Cassidy did find herself in the middle of a social media storm for a foul on Clark in the first half, when she accidentally elbowed the star.
Caitlin Clark takes an elbow right to the beak. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/yiW8ilvPAA
— Joshua Sánchez (@jnsanchez) March 23, 2024
There was plenty over OTT reaction from certain corners of social media, with some accusing the Ireland international of deliberately trying to injury Clark.
Easy ejection.
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) March 23, 2024
Power-Cassidy apologised for the incident to Clark in the immediate aftermath, and apologised again in the post-game press conference.
She explained after the game that she had broken her hand in a game last week and was hoping to avoid contact with that hand.
"When I was moving, I just conscious of keeping it out of the way of too much contact...It wasn't intentional at all and she [Clark] was a great sport about understanding."
The Coolock native finished with 19 p0ints as Iowa pulled away in the second half for a convincing 91-65 win.
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