By JOHN BOHNENKAMP (Associated Press)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark scored 35 points in her final regular-season home game, becoming the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader in No. 6 Iowa’s 93-83 win over No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday.

Hannah Stuelke scored 23 points and Gabbie Marshall added 12 for the Hawkeyes (26-4, 15-3 Big Ten), who secured the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament behind the regular-season champion Buckeyes (25-4, 16-2), who had their 15-game winning streak snapped.

Clark, who announced on Thursday that she would enter the WNBA draft after the season despite having another year of eligibility remaining, made two free throws with less than a second left in the first half to eclipse Pete Maravich’s 3,667 career points. Clark has 3,685 points heading into the postseason.

The Hawkeyes were facing a similar scenario last season, when they defeated regular-season champion Indiana on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Clark. But there was no need for late drama as Iowa took control of this game in the first half.

The Hawkeyes went on an 18-3 run in the first quarter to take a 25-10 lead. Ohio State rallied in the second quarter to get within four points twice, and trailed 44-39 after Rikki Harris’ 3-pointer with seven seconds left before a wild sequence of events closed the half.

Stuelke was fouled on a layup attempt with three-tenths of a second left. McMahon was then called for a technical foul after the play for bumping Clark during the dead ball. Stuelke hit her two free throws, then Clark hit two to break Maravich’s record, and Iowa led 48-39 at halftime.

The Hawkeyes kept control in the second half, leading by as much as 17 points.

Jacy Sheldon led Ohio State with 24 points. Rebeka Mikulasilova had 14, Taylor Thierry had 11 and McMahon and Celeste Taylor each had 10 points.

Kate Martin added 11 points for Iowa.

BIG PICTURE

Ohio State: There were times when the Buckeyes lost their composure — besides McMahon’s technical foul. Rikki Harris got a technical foul in the second half. Four of Clark’s points came off the techs.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes might have suffered a serious loss for the postseason when guard Molly Davis was injured with 6:42 left in the first half. Davis, who has started 27 games this season and came in averaging 6.3 points per game, fell to the court and grabbed her kn ee. She was carried from the court. Davis played a key role in Iowa’s run to the national championship game last season.

UP NEXT

Ohio State: At Big Ten Tournament on Friday

Iowa: At Big Ten Tournament on Friday

The best fit for the Chicago Cubs remains available in free agency.

And yet the waiting game continues for outfielder Cody Bellinger and the Cubs. A reunion after a stellar one-year partnership in 2023 makes a lot of sense between the two sides.

Bellinger, 28, was a dynamic force in the middle of the Cubs lineup, giving them much-needed power from the left side they still haven’t adequately addressed even with the trade acquisition of top-50 prospect Michael Busch. For Bellinger, it would be a return to an environment and hitting infrastructure where he thrived in a bounce-back season that showed what he is still capable of when fully healthy.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, though, has demonstrated over his three-plus years in this position that the Cubs will be principled in how they operate in free agency. Bellinger’s agent Scott Boras has also not been afraid to wait things out, even if it means his top players do not sign until spring training is underway. The Cubs ideally would like to have their roster in place by the time pitchers and catchers report to Mesa, Ariz., on Feb. 14. Given how much work still needs to be done with three weeks to go, that might not happen, especially if the Cubs are willing to wait and see how Bellinger’s free-agency courtship plays out.

“We don’t have any fixed deadline,” general manager Carter Hawkins said earlier this month. “I think in a perfect world you have your team going into spring training. I think a lot of these players that sign in March and into the season, there’s just a tough transition phase to get back up to speed when you’re behind the eight ball that way. It doesn’t mean that it can’t work, but just seems like it’s harder to work. That’s anecdotal of course.

“We wouldn’t rule it out. That’d be foolish for us to rule anything out. But, yeah, we’d much prefer to get our team sooner than later.”

If Bellinger’s Cubs teammates had any influence on whether the slugger returns, he garnered unanimous support for a reunion recently during the Cubs Convention.

Right-hander Kyle Hendricks credited Bellinger’s role in a collectively strong defense that took pressure off the pitching staff and what it would mean to have that type of dynamic player come back to Chicago, though the veteran also understands this is a business. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hopes Bellinger re-signs, regardless of the impact it would have on his playing time.

Left fielder Ian Happ applauded Bellinger for going through what has become a prolonged free-agent process and being in the tough part of negotiations at this point of the offseason, still not knowing where he will play in 2024 and beyond. Happ said part of why he agreed to a shorter three-year extension was so the front office could pursue bigger, longer-term free-agent deals in a win-now environment. Bellinger would certainly fit those parameters.

“If they want to move on from me in three years, that’s their prerogative and they can do it so I think they’re going to build the team in the best way that they see fit and as players, we trust Jed and Carter to do that and give us a chance to compete at the top of the division and into the playoffs,” Happ said.

Left-hander Justin Steele said it was hard to describe the impact Bellinger had last year but that the Cubs would have a sizable hole to replace if he doesn’t return.

“Everybody saw what he did on the field and it was obviously magnificent what he was able to do, but the teammate and the person behind the player is by far the best attribute he has,” Steele said. “The guy showed up in the locker room every day with a smile on his face, good vibes, everybody wants to show up and talk to him that day. So that for me, that’s something that goes such a long way, especially with young guys coming up.”

Bellinger’s defensive flexibility would be a coveted asset for manager Craig Counsell and the Cubs’ roster construction. Playing at an elite level in center field and first base did not go unappreciated by Dansby Swanson, particularly with how it can help with mixing and matching with the lineup, allowing a manager to “press a few different buttons that not maybe any other team could.”

Since signing with the Cubs last offseason, Swanson has been in regular communication with Hoyer and Hawkins, bouncing ideas off each other, communicating openly and being honest with the shortstop when moves might be happening. Swanson is confident that, Bellinger or no Bellinger, the front office isn’t done improving a roster that fell one game short of the postseason.

“At the end of the day, they have a plan, they know what they want,” Swanson said. “They know what they’re looking for. The market overall has been slow. I mean, other than, the billion dollars out west, there really hasn’t been a ton. … They know that we need to get better and we will get better and I think you’ve started to see that recently with some things starting to fall in place and I think that’s only going to continue to grow from there.”

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NEW YORK (AP) — More than 61,000 pounds of steamed chicken soup dumplings sold at Trader Joe’s are being recalled for possibly containing hard plastic, U.S. regulators announced Saturday.

The Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service noted that the now-recalled dumplings, which are produced by the California-based CJ Foods Manufacturing Beaumont Corp., may be contaminated with foreign materials — “specifically hard plastic from a permanent marker pen.”

The recall arrives after consumers reported finding hard plastic in the Trader Joe’s-branded products, FSIS said. To date, no related illnesses or injures have been reported.

FSIS urged consumers to check their freezers. The 6-ounce “Trader Joe’s Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings” under recall were produced on Dec. 7, 2023 — and can be identified by their side box labels with lot codes 03.07.25.C1-1 and 03.07.25.C1-2.

In an online notice about the recall, Trader Joe’s asked consumers to throw the impacted dumplings away or return them to any store location for a full refund.

A spokesperson for CJ Foods Manufacturing Beaumont Corp. told The Associated Press that the company was investigating the issue, which happened during the manufacturing process. In an emailed statement, the food maker added that “customer safety remains our No. 1 priority.”

Foreign object contamination is one of the the top reasons for food recalls in the U.S. today. Beyond plastic, metal fragments, bits of bugs and more “extraneous” materials have prompted recalls by making their way into packaged goods.

A stabbing occurred on a light-rail train in St. Paul on Saturday night, according to a Metro Transit spokesman.

A person suffered non-life threatening injuries in the incident, which happened on the westbound Green Line near the intersection of University and Cromwell Avenues, Drew Kerr said. The victim received treatment.

Green Line service was suspended for a time.

A suspect was quickly taken into custody, Kerr said. Charges are pending and an investigation is ongoing.

Metro transit has expanded its police presence on light rail and also is deploying civilian agents to inspect fares, administer first aid, monitor passenger behavior and more.

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