IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa student-athletes Caitlin Clark (women’s basketball) and Payton Sandfort (men’s basketball) were named February’s Student Athletes of the Month, the Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee announced.
Clark, a senior guard from West Des Moines, Iowa, won Big Ten Player of the Week three times in February. She broke the NCAA’s women’s basketball all-time scoring record in 126 games. Clark scored a career-high 49 points in a home win over Michigan on Feb. 15. She recorded back-to-back triple doubles to end February, one against Illinois and another at Minnesota. Clark swept national awards the week of Feb. 19.
Sandfort, a junior from Waukee, Iowa, posted the first triple-double in program history against Penn State on Feb. 27, with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks. It was the first game with at least 25-10-10-3 in regulation in the NCAA since 2003. Sandfort also made 18-of-19 free throws in the game with a school-record 16 consecutive makes. In February, Sandfort averaged a team-best 17.6 points and 5.6 rebounds, while shooting 41 percent from the field. He scored in double figures in seven of eight games, including three 20-point contests.
Sandfort helped the Hawkeyes to a 5-3 record, including wins over No. 20 Wisconsin and at Michigan State. In a 20-point comeback win against Minnesota, Sandfort scored 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished four assists and had three steals. It was tied for the fourth-largest comeback in school history and the team’s largest second-half comeback since 1987.