Iowa Women's Basketball set to face Colorado in the Sweet Sixteen
It’s official. The Iowa Women’s Basketball is headed to the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth time since 2015 and for the tenth time in program history. The Hawkeyes defeated 8 seed West Virginia 64-54 behind 32 points, eight rebounds and three assists from Caitlin Clark. Iowa will now travel to Albany, NY to take on the 5 seed Colorado Buffaloes at MVP Arena on Saturday, with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line. Iowa is 5-4 all-time in the Sweet Sixteen and 3-5 against PAC 12 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Colorado knocked off 4th-seeded Kansas State Wildcats with a 63-50 victory in the Manhattan Regional, to secure their spot in Albany. Center Quay Miller finished with a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds, while forward Aaronette Vonleh contributed nine points, eight rebounds, and seven steals. Six Colorado players scored at least nine points each. The Buffs dominated the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 30-15.
Taking a quick look at the Buffaloes, they own a 24-9 record, finishing fifth in the PAC 12 with an 11-7 mark. They have a 9-9 record against the NET Top 50, including wins over LSU, Stanford, USC and Utah. Colorado went 5-8 against NCAA Tournament participants during the regular season.
The Buffaloes offense ranks 30th in the country in points per 100 possessions (104.8), with their defense ranking 98th (88.6). They rank 114th in the country in possessions per 40 minutes, which is a jump for 234th last season. Their offensive attack is led by forward Aaronette Vonleh (14.0 ppg, 5.2 reb) and guard Jaylyn Sherrod (12.9 ppg, 3.1 reb, 4.9 ast). Guard Frida Formann averages 12.5 points per game and has made a team-high 79 three-pointers.
This will be the eighth all-time meeting between Iowa and Colorado. Iowa leads the series 4-3, with the Hawkeyes winning in the Sweet 16 against the Buffaloes last season in Seattle. Colorado has a 19-15 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, including a 3-4 mark in the Sweet Sixteen.
Elsewhere in the Albany 2 region, 2 seed UCLA defeated 7 seed Creighton, while 3 seed LSU defeated 11 seed Middle Tennessee State. The winner of the matchup between the Bruins and Tigers will face the winner of Iowa/Colorado in the Elite Eight on Monday. Tip times and TV assignment for Saturday’s games will be announced soon.
