It was a battle of the giants when No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball took on No. 3 Iowa Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Both teams held 13-game winning streaks, and both sat atop the Big Ten standings with a 5-0 conference record.
Indiana looked to play spoiler to a sold-out crowd in chilly Iowa City, yet it was Iowa who reigned supreme, defeating the Hoosiers 84-57.
Both offenses started strong, scoring early and often as Iowa raced to an 11-8 lead in the game’s first four minutes. Iowa fifth-year guard Molly Davis accounted for 6 of those points as she knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for the Hawkeyes.
It was only a matter of time before each team’s All-Americans got involved in their respective attacks. Hawkeyes senior guard Caitlin Clark, last season’s Associated Press Player of the Year, pushed Iowa to a 17-10 lead in quick succession with layups on back-to-back possessions.
However, Indiana graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes accounted for every point on a 7-0 run as the Hoosiers knotted the game at 17-17. Clark added a pair of free throws to give Iowa a 19-17 lead and finished the initial frame with 8 points.
Although she shot 0-for-6 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, it didn’t take long for Clark to heat up from long range. Division I basketball’s leading scorer sank two step-back 3-pointers during a 9-2 run as Iowa took a 28-21 lead.
The remainder of the second quarter resembled a boxing match, with both teams throwing punches in the form of long-range makes. Sure enough, Clark delivered the final blow, drilling a leaning 3-pointer as the half ended to give Iowa a 43-37 lead. The Hawkeye duo of Clark and Davis were responsible for 33 of Iowa’s 43 first-half points on a combined 12-for-21 shooting from the field.
Both teams struggled offensively coming out of the intermission as a multitude of turnovers kept the score locked at 45-39. The deadlock came to a screeching halt as the Hawkeyes rained down three consecutive shots from beyond the arc, going on a 9-0 run and extending the Iowa lead to 54-39 midway through the frame.
The Hoosiers struggled on the offensive end, six third-quarter turnovers enabled the Hawkeyes to run the floor and find open looks from deep. The Hawkeyes finished the period with a 65-48 lead in a quarter where Clark took control with 10 points and four assists.
Iowa used the fourth quarter to put an exclamation mark on a dominant victory. The Hawkeyes shot 8-for-10 in the final frame of play, leading by as many as 27. The bleeding stopped when the final whistle blew with Iowa on top 84-57. Clark led the team in scoring with 30 points on 10-for-21 shooting from the field. Holmes was the Hoosiers' leading scorer as she finished with 16 points.
Indiana will have a chance for redemption on Feb. 22 when the Hawkeyes travel to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers (14-2, 5-1 Big Ten) will look to bounce back from their first conference loss as they return home to host Minnesota (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) Wednesday evening. The tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on Peacock.
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.
