Nearly two months ago, No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball went on the road for a top-15 matchup against Stanford University. The Hoosiers returned to Bloomington with a 32-point loss under their belt, but followed by rattling off 13 consecutive victories and beginning Big Ten play 5-0.
Fast forward to Saturday, Indiana traveled to Iowa City — a day later than originally scheduled — to take on women’s college basketball’s most dynamic scorer Caitlin Clark and No. 3 Iowa in yet another top-15 showdown — in primetime on FOX.
Ahead of the matchup with the Hawkeyes, Indiana head coach Teri Moren said Clark would score plenty of points, but it would be those around her the Hoosiers must contain. In the opening quarter, Clark struggled from 3-point range, going 0-of-6 yet scoring 8 points on 3-of-9 from the field.
While Clark had yet to find her touch from distance, fifth-year senior guard Molly Davis connected on a pair of triples to give Iowa an early 5-point lead. With the Hawkeyes yet to impose their will from beyond the arc — going 2-of-13 in the first — the Hoosiers’ self-inflicted mistakes put them at a disadvantage despite shooting 50 percent from the field.
Indiana turned the ball over five times in the opening frame, headlined by sophomore guard Yarden Garzon’s pair of traveling violations.
“We can’t allow ourselves first of all, to get off to a slow bad start the way we did with turnovers,” Moren said postgame. “We had opportunities and then we would just give them the ball back and they were getting more possessions than we were and you can’t do that to a team like Iowa.”
Despite a frustrating first half, Moren said she felt decent entering the locker room down by only 6 points.
Beginning the second half, Indiana looked to close the gap and take control of the contest. Enter Clark. The reigning Associated Press National Player of the Year slipped behind the Hoosiers’ defense, executing a backdoor cut to perfection. She layed the ball in the basket to give the Hawkeyes an 8-point lead just eight seconds into the quarter.
Indiana senior guard Sydney Parrish responded with a bucket nearly a minute and a half later, but Iowa drained three straight 3-pointers to take a commanding 15-point lead. With the Hawkeyes heating up and the Hoosiers stumbling, Moren called a timeout.
“You see one of those shots go in and then Gabby [Marshall] sees a shot go in and then Kate [Martin] sees a shot,” Moren said. “And so, it’s contagious. We’ve played like that where Sara gets hot and then Syd gets hot and Yarden and so it’s kind of a snowball effect. It wasn’t fun.”
From then on, the Hoosiers cut their deficit to 11 with nearly three minutes left in the third, but they lost touch with Iowa. The Hawkeyes ended the third quarter with a 17-point advantage before dominating the final quarter, outscoring Indiana 19-9.
In front of a sold-out crowd at Carver Hawkeye Arena, the Hoosiers saw their hopes of redeeming an embarrassing loss to Stanford with a victory over Iowa go up in smoke.
“Well, we’re very disappointed,” Moren said. “I wish we could’ve played so much better than we did tonight. Every ounce of credit goes to Iowa. They were terrific and their crowd was terrific.”
The Hoosiers finished the contest with 15 turnovers — just like they did against Stanford. Not only did it turn the ball over repeatedly, but Indiana allowed Clark’s supporting cast to heat up — a key piece of the gameplan that Moren said the Hoosiers couldn’t afford.
After Clark picked up her second foul of the contest with just under five minutes remaining in the second quarter and went to the bench, it became the Hoosiers’ time to pounce — but they didn’t. Instead, Iowa fifth-year senior Molly Davis took over. The Central Michigan University transfer racked up 7 points over the next 2:05.
Davis eventually finished the game with her Iowa career-high 18 points. While Clark drained mesmerizing 3-pointers, Davis's double-digit output alongside the Hawkeyes’ 15 made 3-pointers sent the Hoosiers home with an 84-57 loss.
Graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes led the Hoosiers in scoring, notching 16 points and corralling seven rebounds. Parrish and Garzon chipped in 11 apiece, despite combining for eight turnovers.
“Adversity is all about how you respond to it,” Holmes said postgame. “It should be something that brings you closer together. I think we’re gonna have to have some tough conversations, rewatch this game and have to get better and have to become tighter knit because of something like this as hard as it is in the moment. I think there’s a lot to be learned from this.”
Indiana (14-2, 5-1 Big Ten) will return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at 8 p.m. Wednesday, taking on Minnesota (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten).
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.
