Hear from Caitlin Clark, Lisa Bluder and Molly Davis after the Gulf Coast Showcase title in Iowa
Hear from Caitlin Clark, Lisa Bluder and Molly Davis after Iowa beat Kansas State to win the Gulf Coast Showcase.
ESTERO, Fla. – They knew it would be another grueling task, despite the experience and knowledge they gained from a troubling first match just 10 days earlier. The Hawkeyes and Wildcats certainly don’t make things easy for each other.
There were foul troubles to overcome, plus Kansas State’s usual stifling defense that leaves little room for error. This was a mental hurdle the Hawkeyes had to overcome more than anything else.
Backed by crowd support and vast experience, No. 6 Iowa swept the field with a 77-70 victory over the No. 22 Wildcats to win the Gulf Coast Showcase on Sunday night. The victory countered the 65-58 win Kansas State earned on Nov. 16 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, while highlighting Iowa’s ability to adapt quickly and thrive in winning time.
“I’m really proud of this group,” said Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, who was named tournament MVP with 32 points on Sunday. They went on a little run there again in the fourth quarter, but we just responded and stayed together.”
Despite holding a 10-point lead with 7:34 left, Iowa (7-1) was unable to pull away from Kansas State (6-1) until the final buzzer sounded. The Wildcats went on an 11-0 run to take a 68-67 lead with 2:44 left. Would this really turn into another Iowa stumble?
Not with these veteran pieces.
Kate Martin regained the lead with a hard driving layup. Clark, sticking her tongue out as she demanded noise, hit two treys in a minute – the second giving Iowa a 75-70 lead with 47 seconds left. Although Clark stunningly missed three of four free throws from there, the Hawkeyes had enough breathing room to fend off this pesky opponent.
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Clark shot 10 of 25 from the field, including 7 of 16 from distance, and provided nine of Iowa’s 14 points in the fourth quarter. While it wasn’t the cleanest night from Iowa’s offensive attack, Sunday was a far cry from the unprecedented shooting seen in the first K-State matchup.
“I thought we did a much better job of maintaining control when we got to the paint,” Clark said, “and by finding shooters who were open and passing them to our posts when they got to the point provided. “Kansas State helped us every time” drove into the paint. We made a few plays that worked well for us. Just small tweaks and adjustments (from the first matchup).
“But I think overall we just had a bad night the last time we played them. They are a really great team and play really great defense. They can make you miss shots and they have a lot of length in their defensive positions. “But I think we just played harder and handled the game a lot better in the final situations.”
All of this came after a first half that mixed triumph and turmoil en route to a small lead for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes scored 27 points in the first quarter, 14 more than Iowa scored in the first 10 minutes against Kansas State last time. The Hawkeyes’ lead grew to as many as 13 and remained at double digits two minutes into the second quarter.
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Then the fouls piled up deep — and Sunday’s affair soon mirrored the struggle Iowa faced in the previous matchup trying to defend Ayoka Lee. Addison O’Grady had two fouls while guarding her in the first quarter, Sharon Goodman was hit with two fouls in the second and Iowa suddenly had a big problem.
With Hannah Stuelke sidelined again after Friday’s injury, Iowa turned to little-used forward AJ Ediger to try to combat Lee’s size and strength. At one point, the Hawkeyes rolled out five guards — Clark, Gabbie Marshall, Martin, Sydney Affolter and Molly Davis — with Martin handling much of the interior defense.
“I thought we handled that situation as best we could,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “But Ayoka Lee is a lot to defend. She received seven fouls against us. That is a lot.”
Kansas State took advantage and outscored Iowa by 11 points in the second quarter to lead by just one point at halftime. Even after the Hawkeyes took a double-digit lead again in the third period, Kansas State was determined to put up a 40-minute battle.
All in all, the adversity Kansas State created in these two matchups should carry the Hawkeyes into December with some valuable war wounds. They captured another tournament position by rebounding in a short window against a team that exploited many of Iowa’s weaknesses.
“We play back-to-back, so we know how to deal with the scout (in a short window),” said Davis, who was also named to the all-tournament team after scoring 13 points on Sunday. “This can help us be successful, (especially) in the Big Ten Tournament.”
Not a bad first month.
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.