Hear from Caitlin Clark, Lisa Bluder and Kate Martin after Iowa's win over Wisconsin
Hear from Caitlin Clark, Lisa Bluder and Kate Martin after Iowa's win over Wisconsin
IOWA CITY — On Tuesday night, it seemed as if Iowa was making this simple challenge more difficult than it needed to be. A weeknight date with Wisconsin is rarely known for its treacherous elements.
Ultimately, however, the typical Hawkeyes product prevailed and gave the women another basketball victory against the Badgers.
Iowa played its first game since jumping to No. 2 in both polls and turned a sluggish start into a fantastic finish for the program's 29th straight win over Wisconsin (96-50), ending Tuesday's “blackout” at Carver -Hawkeye Arena underlined. With the win, Caitlin Clark also passed Brittney Griner for fourth place on the NCAA's all-time scoring list while scoring a game-high 32 points.
“This is a difficult conference,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said, “and we always take it one game at a time.”
Tuesday's task, sandwiched between Saturday's thrilling win over No. 16 Indiana and Sunday's big game against No. 15 Ohio State, was simply to ensure that Iowa (18-1, 7-0 Big Ten Conference) was attentive. The Hawkeyes, who entered as 30-plus point favorites and hadn't lost to Wisconsin since 2007 (8-9, 1-6), needed to make this challenge as dramatic as possible.
Just like last month in Madison, the Badgers stuck with Iowa until the second quarter as Lisa Bluder's team tried to find its footing. There was some turmoil down low, where Wisconsin's Serah Williams took advantage of the absence of Hannah Stuelke (lower-body injury) and blocked Sharon Goodman and Addi O'Grady with two fouls each in the first half. That meant a rare cameo from AJ Ediger, who hadn't appeared in the first half since Nov. 26 against Kansas State. Iowa was dealing with the same internal issues that night.
The Hawkeyes lined up with five guards in the second quarter, with Kate Martin and Sydney Affolter both playing interior positions.
“I just have to use my speed and quickness there and play to my strengths,” said Martin, who scored 16 points with four three-pointers. “But I will do whatever I have to do and that creates problems for them on the other end. It's not easy (for me) to protect the fives, but it's not easy for them to protect me on the opposite end.”
Still, the Badgers did little to actually worsen the scoreboard. And Iowa wouldn't rest forever. A quick second-quarter surge helped the Hawkeyes overcome growing frustration.
Iowa's 13-0 run in less than two minutes included two of Clark's six 3-pointers, all of which came after the senior guard opened 0-for-4 from the field. There was more to come as the Hawkeyes took a 47-28 lead late in the first half.
That would have been a cushion strong enough to slide home, but Iowa was still longing for one more sprint to finally put this one away. Contributions abounded midway through the third quarter as five different Hawkeyes scored during Iowa's game-changing 19-2 run to end the quarter. The last 10 minutes were covered on cruise control.
“I really believe this is the strongest bench we've had in a long time,” Bluder said. “Thirty-eight bench points to four. I have so much confidence when I step onto our bench. I really do. And right now Hannah hasn't played and we're still in a position to win by 40 (plus) points. “That’s pretty impressive,” and I’m very happy with our bench’s performance.”
In addition to a typical Clark shooting display, Iowa leaned heavily on Martin (16 points), Affolter (12 points) and others with Stuelke on the bench. O'Grady, who recorded double-digit minutes for the first time since Dec. 2 against Bowling Green, provided useful relief in an emergency. This run could prove valuable as bigger challenges come next and Stuelke makes a mistake.
“Hannah is fine,” Bluder said. “Really good. It was just a small adjustment and provided an opportunity to rest her.”
All in all, Tuesday wasn't going to offer the Hawkeyes much except a chance for a faceplant – and that was a great chance. Iowa didn't come close to accomplishing that and now turns its attention to another tough road task next.
“Every game we play, people put their name on the calendar because of what we've done over the last few years and because Coach Bluder has built a program here,” Clark said. “People love playing the Iowa Hawkeyes. People love coming to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It’s a big challenge to play here – and even when we’re on the road, people like to play against us.”
Dargan Southard is a sports trends reporter who covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.