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#2 Iowa Women's Basketball shocked by Kansas State at Carver

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann11/17/23HuesmannKyle

No one could have predicted this loss coming. Well, maybe the loss, but not the final score. After a 3-0 start in the opening week of the season the Iowa Women’s Basketball team jumped up to #2 in the AP Poll. However, 364 days after the Hawkeyes lost to a heartbreaker to Kansas State in Manhattan, they suffered the same fate to the Wildcats in front of a sold out crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. K-State took down Iowa 65-58, outscoring the Hawkeyes 23-14 in the fourth quarter. The scoring output is the lowest in a regular season game since they scored 57 in a loss at Purdue on January 10th of 2019.

“Rough night for the Hawks. Just felt there was really no flow to the game, we couldn’t get our transition game going. It just wasn’t good Iowa basketball,” said head coach Lisa Bluder. “It really came down to that fourth quarter. They just beat us in the fourth quarter. They beat us in crunch time.”

The game got off to a rocky start offensively for both sides. There was a two and a half minute scoreless stretch in the opening quarter that was ended by a three-pointer by Louisville transfer Zyanna Walker to put KSU up 8-4. The Hawkeyes used a 7-0 run to take a brief lead, but the first quarter ended with the game tied at 13 apiece. The two teams shot a collective 9/33 (27.3%) from the floor in the opening quarter, with eight turnovers.

“It started off kind of rough for us and it never felt like we were really able to get our feet back under us and regain full control of the game,” said Caitlin Clark. “Me not finishing cuts or throwing the ball out of bounds or a lot in the first half, we just had it go off our of hands and out of bounds, which is not like us…those aren’t mistakes we usually make on a day-to-day basis.”

The Hawkeyes had brief stretches where it felt like they were putting it together. A three-pointer from true freshman Taryn Sides put K-State up 27-21, but Iowa quickly responded. Caitlin Clark capped off a 9-0 run with a three-pointer that broke an 0/9 start for Iowa from behind the arc. Kansas State was forced to take a timeout trailing 30-27. The ‘Cats got a basket late in the half and Iowa took a 30-29 lead into halftime.

After shooting just 2/5 in the first half, Ayoka Lee started the second half with three made baskets. Kansas State opened the half with a 13-5 run to open up a 42-35 lead. The Wildcats would go scoreless for the final 5:58 of the quarter, which allowed the Hawkeyes to close the deficit, but they led just 44-42 going into the fourth quarter. It felt like a missed chance to go on a big run. Players not named Caitlin Clark took just two shots in the third quarter, while veterans Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall combined for two points on 1/7 shooting for the game. Lisa Bluder felt like they didn’t get some players enough looks throughout the game.

“I think that’s disappointing. I know how hard they work on shooting and we just have to give other people more opportunities to shoot threes and create opportunities for them to shine.”

The fourth quarter started out looking like Molly Davis was going to be the player to step up and help lead the Hawkeyes to victory. She had six points on 3/3 shooting over the first four minutes to help Iowa extend their lead to six points. Singular free throws from Davis and Sydney Affolter gave Iowa 58-53 lead with 2:43 to play. That’s when things turned eerily similar to last year in Manhattan.

Baskets from Gabby Gregory and Ayoka Lee cut the deficit to one point, while a pair of free throws made it 59-58 K-State. After an empty Iowa possession, Gregory who was 0/7 through three quarter, made her third shot of the fourth, a free throw line jumper, to make it 61-58. A turnover and a couple of missed Caitlin Clark three-pointers later, the Hawkeyes watched Taryn Sides step up and make a couple of free throws to salt away the Wildcats 65-58 upset victory. Kansas State outscored Iowa 12-0 in the last 2:43 and 23-14 in the fourth quarter.

“I thought we did some decent things defensively, other than we just didn’t take the momentum when we could have,” said Bluder. “When we were in the bonus situation, not taking advantage of that, not drawing fouls when we have the opportunity to draw fouls and that’s where we have to learn. We have to understand what’s going to win us games doesn’t always look the best, but it’s the smartest.”

Caitlin Clark finished with 24 points, six rebounds and three assists, but was 9/32 (28.1%) from the floor, including 2/16 from three-point range. It is the first time in her career that she has missed more than 20 shots in a game.

“I thought Jaelyn Glenn, I thought Zyanna Walker had excellent defensive games on her. I though that when we switched out we were pretty sound with it,” said Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie. “We weren’t going to guard her with one player because we knew in transition, we were going to have to guard her in waves…sometimes with Caitlin it doesn’t matter how good you are, she can still knock down shots. We were fortunate to do our job.”

On the night, the Hawkeyes were 2/21 from three-point range. Through four games, Iowa is 25/102 from behind the arc. Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall have combined to go just 5/28 (17.8%) with all five makes coming from Gabbie against Northern Iowa on Sunday.

“I think our shooters are getting good looks. Caitlin has some hard ones, but she makes hard ones,” said Bluder. “I think everybody else is getting pretty good looks.”

Another shocking stat from an incredibly off night for the Hawkeyes was that true centers Sharon Goodman and Addi O’Grady took just six shots. Hannah Stuelke was 4/6 from the floor, but took just one shot in the second half and no shots in the fourth quarter. Lisa Bluder says that is something that has to change going forward.

“Our centers shot 58% from the field tonight. Hannah gets one shot in the second half. She was four of five and then she gets one shot the whole second half. Sharon Goodman was two for three. Addi one for three, that’s 58%. They need to have more looks. They need them and we have faith in them.”

“We have to look for them more. Set more screens for them and having the opportunity to get them the ball. I think we could have gotten them the ball a little bit more tonight.”

The Hawkeyes shot 22/61 (36.1%) on the night and 2/21 (9.5%) from three-point range. They had just nine assists to 16 turnovers and were beat in the second chance points battle. KSU turned 11 offensive boards into 18 points, while Iowa turned 15 offensive rebounds into just nine points. The same story as last season in Manhattan. The normally lethal Iowa fast break attack had just two fast break points.

“I’m just disappointed. We didn’t put on a good performance for our fans who came out and supported us really well,” said Caitlin Clark. “There’s nothing we can do to go back in time and change it. All you can do is learn and move forwad and get better. Drake is going to be a great challenge for us to see how we respond. I think it’s going to show a lot about this group.”

Up Next, the Hawkeyes will welcome in-state rival Drake to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday. The Bulldogs are 3-0 on the season, including a win over Iowa State. Tipoff is set for 6:00pm CT on FS1.

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