Hoosiers turn the tables on the Hawkeyes with 17-point win at Home.
By Nick Jenkinson\Excel H Sports
The # 12 Excel H Sports Ranked Indiana Hoosiers took down the #4 Excel H Sports Ranked Iowa Hawkeyes 86-69 before a sold-out crowd of 17,222 Thursday Night in Simon Sjkodt Assembly Hall. The fans were lined up hours before the game and were in their seats before tip-off. Former Indiana Basketball greats Grace Berger and Victor Oladipo along with WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley were in the crowd to watch this highly anticipated matchup. It was the second time Indiana Women’s Basketball History that the Hoosiers played in front of sold-out crowd at home with the Hoosiers are now 14-0 at home this season and the only team in the Big Ten not to lose a home game this season. The Hoosiers are 22-4 and 13-3 in the Big Ten and Iowa is 23-4 and 12-3 in the Big Ten. Ohio State beat Penn State on the road Thursday Night. 82-69 as the Buckeyes are 14-1 and overall and all three teams are assured a double-bye and a top three seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
Sara Scalia scored 25 points, Mackenize Holmes added 24 points and 9 rebounds and 15 points from Yarden Garzon. The Hoosiers finished the game 32-62 from the field for 51%, 9-21 from three-point range for 43% and 13-19 from the free throw line. The Hoosiers pulled down 42 rebounds, dished out 20 assists, 9 blocks, 4 steals and committed 15 turnovers. The Hoosiers had 34 points in the paint, 16 points off turnovers and 9 points off the bench.
Caitlin Clark scored 24 points,10 rebounds and 9 assists. Kate Martin added 19 points and Hannah Stuelke added 10 points. The Hawkeyes finished 26-67 from the field for 38%, 5-28 from three-point range and 12-18 from the free throw line for 66%. Iowa had 33 rebounds, dished out 18 assists, 7 steals, 3 blocks and committed 12 turnovers. Clark had a 17-game streak where she scored 25 points or more and that was snapped for the first time, she has scored less than 25 points for the first time since December 2, when she scored 24 against Bowling Green in Iowa City and it was 5th game this season she has scored less than 25 and she has scored 24 points four times and 21 points once at Florida Gulf Coast in November. Iowa scored 40 points in the paint, 13 points off turnovers and 10 points off the bench.
There were six lead changes and five ties as the Hoosiers led for 33:22 while the Hawkeyes led for 4:31. Indiana led 23-22 at the end of the first quarter when Lexus Bargesser hit a jumper to beat the buzzer to put the Hoosiers in the lead. Indiana outscored Iowa 21-11 in the second quarter to lead 44-33 going into the locker room. Iowa outscored Indiana 21-18 in the third quarter as Indiana led 64-52 going into the final 10 minutes. Indiana outscored the Hawkeyes 24-15 in the fourth quarter as the Hoosiers put the game away and split the season series with Iowa and a possible matchup coming in the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis in March.
Indiana and Iowa have become one of the better rivalries in Women’s College Basketball and the game was chippy between the two teams and for Cailtin Clark that’s how basketball is to be played.” It should be heated; it should be that way” Caitlin Clark said after the game. Iowa head Coach Lisa Bluder gave all the credit to Indiana and said that they have no answer for Sara Scalia. There were a lot of fans that were wearing Iowa Gear and young ladies sporting the Cailtin Clark jerseys and Clark is projected to be the number 1 pick in the WNBA Draft in April that is owned by the Indiana Fever. Clark could come back for a fifth year, but she doesn’t want to talk about the future but respects the Hoosier program and the job that Teri Moren has done and knows what the game of Basketball means in the State of Indiana.
The Hoosiers knew how much they needed this win, and they got it and after a 20-point loss to Illinois where it looked like hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament were in jeopardy, but this win gets the Hoosiers back in the conversation. There is no doubt that the game of Women’s Basketball continues to grow and it’s not only the Caitlin Clark effect with her popularity but the Indiana Women’s Basketball effect where the program has been taken to new heights. It used to be that getting to the postseason was the goal now its expected at Indiana to get to the postseason but make a run and Teri Moren and the Hoosiers are gearing up for another run in March.
(The following is credit sourced to the University of Iowa Athletics)
POSTGAME NOTES
– No. 14 Indiana (22-4, 14-3) defeated No. 4 Iowa (23-4, 12-3), 86-69, inside a sold-out Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Thursday night.
– National Player of the Year candidate, Caitlin Clark, broke her own Big Ten record for most made 3-pointers in a single season. She made 140 a season ago.
– Clark nearly missed a triple-double with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.
– Hannah Stuelke amassed 300 career rebounds.
–Stuelke has netted 10+ points in 28 career games.
– Kate Martin has registered double figures in 19 of the last 23 contests.
– Martin has recorded 15+ points in 15 games this season which is a career-high.
– It was her 59th career double-double which is good for fifth on the Big Ten’s all-time list.
– Clark is the only player in the country with 850+ points, 225+ assists, and 175+ rebounds this season.
– Tonight’s sellout at Indiana was their second sellout in as many seasons.
– Clark has scored 20+ points in 112-of-127 career games which is the most in program history.
– Clark kept her alive streak of 84 consecutive games making a 3-point basket. (NCAA best)
– Clark is the first Division-I men’s or women’s player to record 3,500+ points, 1,000+ assists, and 850+ rebounds in a career.
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