No. 4 Iowa 67, Iowa State 58: Caitlin, Kate, and the Hawkeye State
On a tough shooting night for most of the lineup, Caitlin Clark dropped 35 points, nine rebounds and five assists to help the No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes hold off host Iowa State, 67-58, in a tightly contested game at Hilton Coliseum Wednesday night. Iowa's defense held the Cyclones without a basket in the last 4:30 of the game as Iowa finished the game on a 13-3 run.
Clark's 35 points pushed her to 3,013 on her career, making her the 15th women's player in history to reach that legendary milestone and the first in women's or men's ball to hit 3,000 points, 750 rebounds and 750 assists for her collegiate career.
The win was also Clark's first in Hilton Coliseum, as the ESPN production crew enjoyed mentioning several times during the broadcast; the Cyclones won in Clark's only other trip to Ames, 77-70, in 2021.
DEEP THREE
1. Caitlin Clark was everything she needed to be. ISU fans, perpetually the opposition party of the Hawkeye State, chanted "overrated" at Caitlin Clark prior to the game. Bold strategy, Cottons, but instead Clark demonstrated why she's properly rated as the best player in college basketball.
Clark's 35 points were obviously a game-high — 28% of the game's combined scoring is utterly bananas — but unlike the last time we saw Clark outscoring her teammates (the Carver loss to Kansas State), here the frustrations of a slow day offensively around her didn't translate into her taking things 1-on-5.
Instead, Clark found opportunities to involve her teammates — well, one of them — as she registered three of her five assists in the fourth quarter, and she made all three of her two-point attempts in the final stanza as well.
The formula of Clark outscoring her opponents isn't a sustainable model of success, in all likelihood; certainly not against better teams than Iowa State or KSU. Wednesday, though, it was an absolute necessity.
Clark's teammates went 0-6 for zero points and three turnovers in the third period alone, and the first half wasn't much prettier for the other Hawkeyes on offense. Fortunately, that third quarter also included a trio of blocks from Sharon Goodman on star center Audi Crooks, and a pair of steals from Goodman and Kate Martin that helped Iowa keep pace even with literally one person able to put numbers on the scoreboard.
2. Someone had to step up, and Kate Martin did it. With just 4:30 left in regulation, Iowa trailed 55-54, and 18 of Iowa's 20 second-half points had come from Clark; a layup by Martin to open the fourth quarter was the lone combo breaker to that point:
Iowa can't win many games with Clark scoring 1-on-5 down the stretch, and the Hilton crowd was ready to send her off winless for her career on their floor.
A pair of Sydney Affolter free throws gave Iowa the lead again, albeit an extremely tenuous one-point margin. With the game effectively on the line, Martin responded with this incredible stretch of play in the middle of Iowa's lockdown defensive stand:
3:35: Made jumper (Iowa leads 58-55)
3:06: Made jumper (Iowa leads 60-55)
2:50: Steal
2:15: Defensive rebound, drawing a foul
Clark would make a layup on the ensuing possession, and Iowa found itself back up six points with two minutes to play.
"I am a monster Kate Martin fan," said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly after the game. "I thought she was the difference in the game."
Indeed, Martin ended up sealing the game with 47 seconds left, stealing ISU's inbounds pass and canning both freebies to push the Hawkeye lead to 64-56. Her hustle, determination and leadership set the tone for Iowa to shut the inexperienced Cyclones down when it mattered most.
3. It's a Hawkeye State. This is a feisty ISU team, much like Drake and UNI posed challenges as Iowa completed its sweep of the state Wednesday night.
Freshmen Crooks and forward Addy Brown (14 points, 12 rebounds) frequently confounded Iowa defenders, and fellow froshes Kelsey Joens, Jalynn Bristow and Arianna Jackson looked capable of hanging with the likes of the Hawkeyes even if their combined shooting of 4-for-19 was likely too inefficient for the Cyclones to overcome.
"These rivalry games are fun," Clark said after the game. "We beat Drake, we beat UNI and this was the last one. We wanted to cross off our bucket list to be state champions. We take a lot of pride in that every single year."
Indeed, that state pride helped fill all three arenas the Hawkeyes played in during this state tour, and reflects how closely knit basketball is into the state's fabric. These fans know ball, and they know all four D-1 programs in the state are worth watching.
But no matter how good they all are, there can be only one state champion. And wouldn't you know it: it's a Hawkeye State.