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#3 Iowa Women's Basketball blasts Northern Iowa on the road

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann11/12/23HuesmannKyle
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The Hawkeyes blew out UNI on the road. (Photo by Dennis Scheidt)

As Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes arrived in Cedar Falls this morning, the general consensus was that their upcoming game against Northern Iowa was going to be a battle. The McLeod Center was sold out and the Panthers not only are the preseason pick to win the MVC, but they have the preseason POY Grace Boffeli. However, as the pregame hype faded away and the game got underway, the third-ranked Hawkeyes did what they do best. Win. The Iowa defense shut down the Panthers attack and rolled to a gritty, but dominating 94-53 victory.

“I was really happy with our defense and rebounding tonight. I thought in every quarter we controlled that,” said head coach Lisa Bluder. “Thought our team played really well. Fans came out and supported this game and that’s what you want for an in-state rivalry.”

On the road in a tough environment against a rival, Iowa did exactly what they needed to do. They started the game fast. Hannah Stuelke had a couple of baskets, including basket, plus the foul to get the Hawkeyes out to a 9-2 lead. A little later, back-to-back three-pointers from Caitlin Clark and Gabbie Marshall pushed the Iowa lead to 17-5, just 4:20 into the contest.

The hot shooting took a break and Iowa did not make a field goal the rest of the quarter. Fortunately, for Lisa Bluder’s team, Northern Iowa couldn’t make a shot either. The Panthers shot 4/18 (22.2%) in the opening quarter and Iowa took a 20-11 lead into the second.

The second quarter was marred by foul calls. After ten foul calls in the first quarter, the teams were whistled for a combined 16 fouls in the second. The constant stoppages really disrupted the flow of the game, but the Hawkeyes were able to extend their lead to 40-25 at the half.

“There were 50 fouls called in this game. That’s a lot,” said Bluder. “It’s hard to get into a rhythm when there’s 50 foul calls. It was pretty equal. Both teams have to work on being better, cleaner on the defensive end.”

Iowa shot just 13/32 (40.65) from the floor in the opening half, while Northern Iowa was just 7/35 (20.0%). The Hawkeyes got the ball rolling offensively in the third quarter and put the game out of reach.

After knocking down a couple of three-pointers in the first half, Gabbie Marshall was back for more in the second half. A pair of threes in the first couple of minutes of the third quarter pushed the lead to 50-31, while a basket in the lane from Sharon Goodman forced UNI to take a timeout trailing by 21 points.

The biggest shot of the game came just minutes later. Caitlin Clark drove to the hoop and got a shot to fall, plus the foul on UNI forward Riley Wright. The basket put Iowa up 54-33, but it also put Caitlin at 2,806 career points. A new Iowa women’s basketball all-time scoring record.

“It’s special getting to do it with this group,” said Clark. “Megan (Gustafson) reached out to me last night and just told me, go break it, you deserve it. I think that speaks to the culture that Coach Bluder has built here. She’s developed really great players, but also people that want to see other people succeed.”

The top five scorers in program history have been coached by Lisa Bluder and all five of them have come through the program over the last decade.

“It’s so gratifying because Caitlin chose to come to the University of Iowa when she could have went anywhere in the country,” said Bluder. “I’m so proud that she took a chance with us…It’s pretty gratifying to coach these kids. They’re unbelievable….They’re not just great basketball players, they’re great people that happen to play basketball.”

The historic moment did not stop the Hawkeyes from continuing to score the basketball. Gabbie Marshall and Hannah Stuelke hit three-pointers late in the third quarter to help Iowa out to a 75-41 lead. They shot 12/18 from the field in the third, including 6/7 from behind the arc to outscore UNI 35-16 in the quarter.

Rather than a fourth quarter filled with intense moments and big baskets, it was Iowa with a commanding lead. Caitlin Clark pulled down a tenth rebound with seven minutes to play, which gave her 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. A 12th career triple-double. Meanwhile, after Clark departed from the game for good, it was Taylor McCabe that kept the fun going with a couple of three-pointers. Iowa went on to win 94-53, outscoring the Panthers 54-28 in the second half.

The real story of the game came on the defensive end of the floor for Iowa. They only forced ten turnovers, but held the Panthers to 16/64 (25.0%) shooting, including 2/19 (10.5%) from three-point range. The Hawkeyes outrebounded UNI 53-31 and pulled down 44 of 55 ((80.0%) defensive rebound chances.

“I thought our three-point defense was really good. They had 11 threes against Green Bay and last year they averaged 8.5 threes. We talked a lot about running people off the line and making sure we didn’t give up open threes,” said Bluder. “That was big for us.”

While the news of the day was centered around Caitlin Clark breaking Megan Gustafson’s scoring record, Gabbie Marshall came away with a big performance. She finished with 17 points, including five three-pointers to get her back on track after starting 0/9 through two games.

“I was telling myself to just keep shooting before this game and in shoot around my shot was feeling pretty good, so I was like, alright, I’m going to get hot today,” said Marshall. “You need that positive self talk and that’s the only way you’re going to get out of a slump..it was nice to hit a few.”

Hannah Stuelke finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Kate Martin added nine points, eight rebounds. Sharon Goodman and Addi O’Grady combined for 13 points and six rebounds in the post.

The Hawkeyes close a busy opening week with a 3-0 record, including a win over a top ten team and a blowout victory on the road against an in-state rival. The team is excited about their start, but they know there is a lot ahead of them. A potential #1 ranking on Monday is not on the mind of Lisa Bluder.

“I have no idea (if we will be #1). We’ll see, but it really doesn’t matter. It’s a long year, 30 games, a lot can happen during that. What are we this week? #3? That’s pretty darn good.”

“Our group is mature enough to understand this is just a starting block. It’s a non-conference schedule,” said Caitlin Clark. “It’s a great confidence boost for our team and credit to our coaches. Our schedule is not easy. Next week is not going to get any easier and that’s what’s exciting about it.”

Up Next, the Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a matchup against Kansas State on Thursday. The Wildcats defeated Iowa in Manhattan last season and are off to a 2-0 start this season. Tipoff is set for 7:30pm CT and will be televised on FS1.

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