All-American guard Caitlin Clark scored 45 points, but No. 2 Iowa blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead and lost in overtime at No. 18 Ohio State, 100-92. The loss was Iowa's second of the season and first in Big Ten play; Iowa's record sits at 18-2 (6-1).
Ohio State shot 11-for-22 from deep in the win, helping the Buckeyes stay close and then make their late, victorious push.
"[Ohio State] just shot the three-ball really, really well today," head coach Lisa Bluder said after the game. "Well above their average, about 13% above their average."
Clark's day was also grimly punctuated by a collision with an unsuspecting fan during the postgame court-storming.
"I'm okay," Clark said after the game. "Obviously I can see they're storming the court, which is fine. Good for the students, great win for them. I was trying to exit the court as quickly as possible, and I was absolutely just hammered by someone trying to run onto the court. Basically blindsided; kind of scary, could have caused a pretty serious injury to me, knocked the wind out of me."
Clark also said Ohio State AD Gene Smith had already personally apologized to her for the incident.
"That just should not happen," Bluder said. "It should not happen. Our players should be safe, they should be able to walk off the floor. That's very disappointing. Ohio State, great team, great environment. But obviously very disappointed with the postgame, with our players getting injured trying to walk out of the gym. That's wrong."
It's clear from the second angle that the fan was too busy celebrating on her phone to pay attention to where she was going, as opposed to a malicious attack on Clark.
It's pure luck, then, that Clark wasn't hurt worse by the collision, as the fan was too oblivious to even try to avoid contact. Again: no evidence of malice, but ridiculously careless and something that needs to be addressed by Ohio State and/or the Big Ten for the future.
(The fan's video will probably go even more viral for this. Hope I'm wrong.)
THE DEEP THREE...
1. Cotie McMahon, obviously. Ohio State's plan down the stretch was simple: get the ball to Cotie McMahon and let her cook.
McMahon, a 6'0" sophomore forward with clear WNBA-caliber talent, scored a career-high 35 points, including 21 in fourth quarter and overtime. McMahon frequently bullied her way into the post and drew fouls on any Hawkeye defender between her and the basket.
"We just did not have an answer for Cotie McMahon inside," Bluder said. "She draws 10 fouls, goes to the free throw line 14 times. She's really, really hard to guard; she's a great basketball player."
McMahon's 10 fouls drawn are a reflection of both her incredible athleticism and multiple calls against defenders who looked awfully close to upright contesting McMahon's shots.
McMahon's ability to generate those whistles also limited Iowa's options at the post.
Center Sharon Goodman came off the bench for this game and only played two minutes in the first quarter before committing a pair of fouls and a turnover; that got her stapled to the bench for the rest of the game. When Stuelke was in foul trouble in the first half, it was AJ Ediger getting second-quarter minutes over Goodman, from deep in the rotation; to her credit, Ediger grabbed three rebounds in three second-quarter minutes, but she too wasn't seen after that.
The job of containing McMahon fell to Stuelke, then, and 6'3" center Addison O'Grady, who is working her way back into rotation minutes after being closer to the end of the bench for most of the season. O'Grady finished with seven points, four rebounds, and a pair of blocks in 18 minutes; she also finished as a -10 in the plus/minus rating.
2. Now that Caitlin's okay — was that really a great game? On paper, Clark's day was sensational: 20 points by halftime, a season-high 45 by the final whistle and rather decent shooting (12-of-25 from the field, 7-of-18 from deep). That's generally enough to pace this year's Iowa squad to an easy victory; certainly the Hawkeyes needed less to blow out Indiana last week.
Clark's day was substantially rougher than the numbers would indicate. She committed seven turnovers, including six in the second half, and her various frustrations affected her defensive effort in transition several times.
And then Clark can't even get off the court without being clobbered by an unsuspecting screenager.
"It's really unfortunate the game ended that way," Bluder said. "Caitlin gets taken out on the floor, gets some inappropriate words yelled at her by fans and students."
Scoring 45 points in a game is an incredible accomplishment, even for a prolific scorer like Clark. She is the closest thing to the late Kobe Bryant's "Mamba Mentality" in college basketball; it's hardly a surprise Clark's wearing Bryant's shoes so often.
Sunday's game felt like Caitlin embodying Kobe's less helpful habits, though, and she'll need to do a better job keeping her frustrations in check — at least until it's a dead ball.
3. Gas tank on E. Despite everything that hadn't gone Iowa's way through the first three quarters, the Hawkeyes had a 70-58 lead early in the fourth quarter, after a Clark three and Molly Davis layup. Davis finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds, rewarding Bluder for a starting nod.
From there, though, the bottom dropped out with numerous missed shots (on mostly good looks) and no answer for McMahon. Not only did Iowa blow its 12-point lead with 8:55 left, but it was down to three with 6:28 left and OSU ahead by 3:42 to go in regulation.
"I take the blame for that [collapse]," Bluder said. "I tried to call some timeouts to slow it down, but I probably should have switched up our defenses a little more. They made a great run at it."
The Hawkeyes were also hampered by illness, according to assistant coach Jan Jensen.
Obviously health is a key component of preparing for any opponent, especially a road game at a top-20 foe; there's little for coaches to do about an illness making a sweep through the locker room except hope it doesn't linger. It would certainly explain Iowa's looks not falling in the fourth quarter.
Still, it's not an excuse any players used after the game, and Clark didn't hold back her opinion of her team's play.
"[Ohio State] had 13 offensive rebounds," Clark said. "There was a play at the end of the game where all we had to go was come up with one offensive rebound and I think we would have had the game won. We had it, it gets tipped around, ends up in [McMahon]'s hands and she gets an and-one."
"I don't think we were tenacious tonight," Clark continued. "A little lackadaisical in all areas. But y'know, we built a 12-point lead. So there's a lot to be proud of still, but a lot of things to learn from."
...AND ONE
Hannah Stuelke played her butt off. Sunday's trip to Columbus was one of the tougher games Stuelke has had in her career; she was listed as questionable in her first game back from a minor ankle injury that kept her out of the Wisconsin game, and she played through tweaking that injury in the second half Sunday.
Stuelke finished with 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out in 22 minutes of action; she was also frequently targeted by McMahon down the stretch, who was able to draw some sketchy whistles on Stuelke en route to her career performance.
Despite her limited minutes and sore wheel, Stuelke was still part of Bluder's crunch-time lineup. She was also the only Hawkeye other than Clark to score in the last six minutes of regulation.
She played her butt off.
Indeed, in those dying moments of regulation, Clark missed a go-ahead layup with 10 seconds left and Iowa down by one; Stuelke corralled a clutch offensive rebound and was fouled on her putback attempt. She then missed the first but nailed the second to tie the game.
You can imagine which of the two free throws at the end of regulation that Iowa fans had a stronger reaction to.
Let's remember something here: Hannah Stuelke is 20 years old — not even old enough to order a White Claw — and she was a high school student just two years ago. She hasn't exactly had much time to acclimate herself to the transition from Cedar Rapids Kennedy to the brightest lights in college basketball.
Probably just as important: Stuelke is also one of the shier members of the team, and Bluder has mentioned often that the key to Stuelke unlocking her potential is self-confidence. Even if fans personally ripping their own players was healthy behavior — it's not — Stuelke's probably the worst target for an Iowa "fan" to choose.
Let's be clear: it's absolutely fine for fans to be upset about Iowa losing a basketball game. Caring is what being a fan is all about.
Taking that anger out on Stuelke (or any other player, any other sport) by harassing her online doesn't make anyone play better, though; it makes the Iowa fanbase look toxic, petty, and ignorant.
The Iowa program will rally around Stuelke, of course. Bluder and her staff are the best in the business at keeping the circle intact. That doesn't make the outside ugliness any more excusable, but it does at least provide a respite.
It's up to Iowa fans to not tolerate anything like this. Most Hawkeye fans are eagerly supportive, especially to the women's program; this is a pretty clear-cut case of "a few bad apples." Just remember the rest of that quote, though: A few bad apples spoil the whole bunch.
Leave the nastiness for the people who deserve it. Stuelke's never been one of them.
