No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball team took on the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday night in a battle for the top of the Big Ten table.
There’s no secret about it – the spotlight was all over Iowa, most specifically senior guard Caitlin Clark.
Clark is one of the biggest names in all of sports, not just women’s basketball — she’s been featured on StateFarm commercials and is the second women’s basketball player to sign a deal with Gatorade — which led to FOX airing this matchup within the “FOX Primetime Hoops” window.
But with all of Clark’s phenomenal abilities, there was still a top-15 matchup to be played. And in the end, the Hawkeyes walked away with an 84-57 victory inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Even with Iowa’s dominant offense, Indiana combated Iowa with enough plays to keep the deficit at 6 points entering halftime – but Iowa’s offense in the second half left the Hoosiers in the dust.
Caitlin Clark is as good as advertised
Clark entered Saturday night averaging 31 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. She leads the Big Ten in both scoring and assists.
Whether it’s step back threes, dimes into the lane or her on-court presence, Clark is a game-wrecker – and she did exactly that against the Hoosiers.
Clark finished Saturday with 30 points, 11 assists and five rebounds on 10-of-21 shooting, including six 3-pointers, recording her 52nd career double-double.
“She is just that terrific,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “She’s an extraordinary special player and she makes things look easy out there.”
Hoosier fans will likely want to keep an eye on Clark, the projected No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA Draft, which would lead her to the Indiana Fever.
Iowa’s supporting cast rose to the occasion
If one thought Iowa was only about Caitlin Clark, one could not be more wrong. The Hawkeyes have scorers all over the floor.
Saturday, right beside Clark in the scorebook was Central Michigan University transfer senior guard Molly Davis, who exceeded her 5.2 points per game average with 18 points. In accordance with Davis and Clark, Iowa also had two other players in double figures – senior guard Gabbie Marshall and senior guard Kate Martin had 12 and 10 points, respectively, and combined for six 3-pointers.
“You know Cait is probably going to get her average, but you do not want those other guys have big nights and unfortunately, we had too many of them have their way with us.” Moren said postgame.
Indiana holds its own for one half, but eventually runs out of gas on both ends
As Moren said postgame, the Hoosiers were very much alive at halftime — but the Hawkeyes made the winning plays.
Indiana only made seven field goals in the second half and shot 2-of-9 from distance in that frame. The tide was cemented after Clark’s fifth 3-pointer of the night, with the deficit and crowd proving too much for Indiana.
Moren said earlier in the week the goal was to have a better defensive performance than the Hoosiers’ second game of the season against Stanford University on Nov. 12, a 32-point loss. But even though the game Saturday was more competitive, the scoreboard still reads a 27-point loss.
The Hoosiers totaled 15 turnovers, which has been a problem a fixable problem all year, but against better competition, the Hoosiers will get bit by these small mistakes.
“We had opportunities, and we would just give them the ball back.” Moren said. “You can’t do that to a team like Iowa.”
This will be a tough pill to swallow for the Hoosiers, but there is still a lot of basketball to be played. The Hoosiers and Hawkeyes will meet again Feb. 22.
Next up for Indiana (14-2, 5-1 Big Ten) is Minnesota (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten), with tipoff set for 8 p.m. Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa), columnist Ryan Canfield (@_ryancanfield) and photographer Olivia Bianco (@theoliviabianco) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
