Iowa 94, Minnesota 71: Defense Leads the Way

IOWA CITY -- On paper, Iowa’s matchup with Minnesota seemed likely to be the team’s first competitive game in more than three weeks. Iowa beat Iowa State 67-58 on December 6, then won its next three games by nearly 27 points per game.

Minnesota, meanwhile, entered the game at 11-1 and was receiving votes in the AP Poll this week. The Gophers were also surrendering just 54.5 points per game. If they could play solid defense and frustrate Iowa’s offense, they might be able to keep things close.

The competitive game never materialized. Iowa played well in the first quarter and led 25-12 after one. The Hawkeyes built hat lead as high as 22 in the second quarter, and settled for a 49-31 halftime lead. The only thing in question in the second half was the margin of victory.

Gabbie Marshall has had a rough start to the season offensively. She’s averaging just 4.5 points per game and is shooting 27.3% from three-point range. Marshall has stayed in Iowa’s starting lineup despite her rough shooting in part because she is Iowa’s best perimeter defender. Against Minnesota, she showed just how valuable that defense is.

Minnesota’s Mara Braun is one of the best players in the country. She came into the game averaging 20.3 points per game on 51.3% shooting from 2-point range and 40.6% shooting from 3-point range.

Iowa played its player-to-player defense to start, and Marshall’s only responsibility was Braun.

“Gabbie did a great job of trying to keep the ball out of her hands," coach Lisa Bluder said. "When she did get it, it was a rushed shot. There was no space in between her. She made it really hard on her all night long."

The strategy helped Iowa build its big lead early. Braun had only four first quarter points on 2-of-5 shooting. Her teammates weren't able to step up, either, as they sot just 4-of-15 themselves. All the missed shots helped Iowa push the ball in transition.

"When we get stops on defense, our transition offense causes a lot of problems," Caitlin Clark said. "So I think that's a key for us."

Braun was 0-for-2 in the second quarter, and by the time she got anything going, Iowa was firmly in control of the game. Braun finished with 15 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

“Gabbie’s defense was spectacular today,” Bluder said. “She holds Mara Braun to really tough numbers. She’s a very good player.”

Marshall’s defense was the key to helping Iowa building its double-digit lead within the first five minutes and to the Hawks controlling the game throughout.

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Since the Kansas State loss, Hannah Stuelke and Kate Martin have emerged as the second and third scorers that Iowa has needed.

In Iowa’s three games against Cleveland State, Wisconsin, and Loyola, Stuelke has averaged 19.3 points and 8 rebounds per game. Stuelke matched those averages today, with 19 points and 8 rebounds against the Gophers. Stuelke may not be as tall or quite as skilled in the post as Megan Gustafson or Monika Czinano, but her athleticism gives Iowa a matchup advantage in almost any game.

In Iowa’s loss to Kansas State, Martin was held scoreless. In Iowa’s nine games since, she has averaged 14.3 points per game. Today, Martin had 13 points and 6 rebounds. 11 of those points came in the first half as Iowa built its commanding lead.

"We have to have that," Bluder said of Stuelke and Martin's scoring. "You can't do what we want to accomplish with just Caitlin scoring. It has to be more than that."

In the game, Clark set multiple records. First, she became Iowa’s all-time assist leader, passing Samantha Logic’s 898 in the first half.

She then broke the Big Ten mark in the second half, passing Ohio State’s Samantha Prahalis at 901.

She also moved into 5th on the all-time scoring list, passing Mississippi Valley State’s Patricia Hoskins’ mark of 3,122. Baylor’s Brittney Griner sits 4th with 3,283 points.

Clark is now just 378 points behind Kelsey Plum’s 3,527-point record for women’s basketball. Pete Maravich still holds the NCAA record at 3,667. She also became the first Division I player -- men's or women's -- to ever record at least 3,000 points, 900 assists, and 800 rebounds in a career.

Coming into the season, the Big Ten title race seemed wide open. Iowa looked to be among the title contenders, but several other teams appeared poised to challenge the Hawkeyes as well. Ohio State returned most of its starters from an Elite Eight team. Indiana also returned most of its starters from a team that earned a #1 seed in last year’s tournament. Illinois returned everyone from an NCAA Tournament team, and Maryland is always in the hunt.

Thus far, Iowa’s competition at the top has largely faltered. Illinois is 6-5. Maryland has suffered three blowout losses games and is currently unranked. Indiana is 10-1, but ranked just 16th in the AP poll because the Hoosiers lost to Stanford by 32.

Ohio State hasn’t been much better. The Buckeyes came into the week ranked 17th, but had losses to future Big Ten members USC and UCLA. Today, the Buckeyes suffered their first Big Ten defeat with a 69-60 loss at Michigan.

Winning a conference is never easy, but thus far all of Iowa’s biggest rivals look weaker than expected across the board.