Ohio State had come back from a 24 point margin the day prior. Considering that, Iowa undoubtably made the right decision to keep the rotation tight until midway through the fourth. Clark still only played 33min which is less than her season average as well as less than Joens, Ryan, and Donarski's averages, for context.
Usually folks talk about stat padding in relation to points, but Clark only attempted 1 shot in the entire fourth quarter. So, is she not supposed to grab the ball if it bounces to her off the rim, because rebounding in that situation is "stat padding"? Is she not supposed to pass the ball to an open teammate in scoring position because it's selfish for her to get an assist? Like... ?
Do whatever you have to do to rationalize it.
Ohio State was down 24 in the first half of the Indiana game. Big difference between that and being down 30 in the fourth quarter.
I'm sure it's also entirely coincidental that she was pulled after recording the triple-double.
Like I said before, we all saw Kim Mulkey pull the same stuff repeatedly at Baylor -- so we know it when we see it other places.