Hawkeyes upset by Nebraska in Lincoln
Thousands of basketball fans lined the streets of Lincoln this morning waiting to get into Pinnacle Bank Arena. Many of them were Iowa fans hoping to see the Hawkeyes pick up a win over their border rival and potentially see Caitlin Clark break the NCAA all-time scoring record. Neither happened. Nebraska erased a 14-point fourth quarter deficit, outscoring the Hawkeyes 27-10, and pulled off the 82-79 upset.
The loss puts Iowa a game behind Ohio State in the Big Ten standings, with five regular season games remaining. The Hawkeyes fall to 22-3 overall and 11-2 in Big Ten play.
The Hawkeyes got out to a 12-4 lead midway through the first quarter, as Nebraska struggled to find their footing offensively. Iowa made just two of their last seven shots in the first quarter, which allowed the Huskers to cut the deficit to 16-13.
Syd Affolter got the Iowa lead up to 23-15 early in the second quarter with a layup and a three-pointer, but Nebraska battled back. Logan Nissley made three straight baskets to cut the Iowa lead to 28-26. Jaz Shelley hit a couple of threes late in the half, while a Kate Martin basket in the closing seconds made it 39-35 Iowa at the half.
A 9-2 run from the Hawkeyes early in the second half pushed the Iowa lead to near double digits. A three-pointer from Alexis Markowski cut the Hawkeyes lead to 59-53, but Iowa answered with a run late in the quarter to extend the lead. Back-to-back threes from Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin pushed the lead to 65-53, while a layup from Martin in the final minute of the quarter gave Iowa 69-55 lead going into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, Nebraska switched up their defense, using a box-and-1 defense, as well as some triangle-and-2. The same junk defense approach allowed Maryland to hold Caitlin Clark to just 18 points in last year’s 96-68 road loss. Today, it allowed the Huskers to pull off a comeback. Natalie Potts and Kendall Moriarty scored the first ten points of the quarter for Nebraska, cutting the Iowa lead down to just 71-63. Kate Martin hit a couple of clutch threes to keep the lead intact, but Jaz Shelley and Logan Nissley answered with their own made threes to cut it to 77-73.
With just 30 seconds to play, Jaz Shelley hit a deep three-pointer with the shot clock winding to give the Huskers their first lead of the game at 78-77. Trailing 82-79 on the final possession, a three-point attempt from Caitlin Clark did not go, but Syd Affolter kept the play alive with an offensive rebound and a kick out to Kate Martin. Martin launched up a three as time expired, but it could not find the bottom of the basket.
Nebraska outscored Iowa 27-10 in the fourth quarter, while the Hawkeyes shot just 4/17 from the floor. Caitlin Clark entered the fourth needing just eight points to break the NCAA all-time record, but went 0/6 from the floor, including 0/4 from three-point range over the final ten minutes. It’s the first time she has ever gone scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Clark finished the game with 31 points on 10/25 shooting, as well as eight rebounds and ten assists. Kate Martin led the way with 16 second half points, finishing with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, but had seven turnovers. Hannah Stuelke followed up her 47-point night with 15 points and six rebounds.
Up Next, the Hawkeyes will return home to Iowa City for a matchup against the Michigan Wolverines. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm CT and will be streamed on Peacock.
