Hear from Lisa Bluder and Sharon Goodman after Iowa’s win over PFW
Hear from Lisa Bluder and Sharon Goodman after Iowa’s Gulf Coast Showcase win over PFW
ESTERO, Fla. – Although the bright splashes of gold on Hertz Arena’s exterior are designed solely to display the company’s colors, it makes the Southwest Florida building a fitting target for Hawkeyes fans to take over.
Iowa women’s basketball fans from far and wide quickly transformed the Gulf Coast Showcase into a neutral event in name only. Several thousand of them certainly made for the best environment of the tournament, many of them coming to witness a rare Southeast appearance by the Caitlin Clark Show.
A show is what they have.
Clark was dialed in from the opening tip, draining three-pointer after three-pointer while handing out assists left and right. Overwhelmed Purdue Fort Wayne put up a decent fight for fifteen minutes and one change before Clark held them off. The end product was a 98-59 victory that keeps No. 6 Iowa on the winning side of the bracket, where it will face Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT.
“It makes you feel so good that so many people want to come and support your team and these women,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “I think we have a lot of people who spend the winter down here. We have a pretty strong I-Club in the Naples area. This was a great opportunity to see us play live. They really wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Clark’s final stat line looked like so many others – 29 points, eight assists and three rebounds – but it was the efficiency with which she delivered that made the first impression. First of all, she produced all of this in just 23 minutes of action.
Clark finished the game 8-13 from the field and 6-9 from deep, missing just one fewer 3-pointers (3) than free throws (2). Quarter assists set an early tone that the Mastodons simply couldn’t keep up with. Two of those assists came courtesy of Gabbie Marshall, who became the first Iowa women’s basketball player with 200 3-pointers and 200 steals.
“I love it when Caitlin looks for her assists first,” Bluder said. “She will get her points. That will happen. That’s why I love it when she gets her teammates going.”
The only blemish on their night came just before halftime when Clark was whistled for an offensive foul that was upgraded to an intentional foul upon review.
There was significant contact between Clark and PFW defender Erin Woodson, who were face-to-face as Iowa moved the ball down the field. Once Clark made contact to create space, then again with more force right in front of the Mastodons’ bench. The entire PFW coaching staff jumped out of their seats in anger immediately after Woodson went down.
“I’ve already seen it on film,” said PFW coach Maria Marchesano. “It was a two-handed attack. The referees told us it was a decision on their part and they decided on an intentional foul. I’ll leave it at that.”
With that sorted out, Iowa got back on the road. The 10-point lead grew to 16 at halftime before ballooning to 30 points in a dominant third quarter. If it wasn’t Clark rushing, it was the Hawkeyes hitting it to Sharon Goodman and Hannah Stuelke with relative ease.
Goodman had 16 points and Stuelke added 13 before limping off in the fourth quarter and eventually heading to the locker room. The sophomore from Cedar Rapids Washington was able to walk to the bench and the locker room, but needed help after he slipped under the basket in transition.
Bluder did not provide an update after the game, adding that Stuelke’s distressed reaction on the bench afterward was not an indication of seriousness.
“To be honest, that doesn’t mean much,” Bluder said. “Everyone deals with injuries a little differently and adversity a little differently. So I wouldn’t read much into it.”
That’s the only thing that could dampen this Iowa party. The Hawkeyes will continue their march through Southwest Florida over the next two days with plenty of support.
“This is a good example of what the Big Ten Tournament will look like,” Goodman said. “So I think the whole team is using this tournament as a confidence boost for what we will see in the postseason.”
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.