CLEVELAND
The Iowa Hawkeye Women were back at it in Cleveland today for their second run at a NCAA championship win in program history.
The Hawks showed that even though SC comes into the game as a 7 point favorite, that this was anyone’s game. South Carolina has size and Iowa has shooting percentage in their favor. In the first quarter Iowa dazzled the fans to a show with Martin hitting the first points of the game with a three. The Hawks had an early 10-0 lead and started with dominance in shooting and even down low. Clark was on fire scoring 18 points in the first quarter and shooting 5 for 6 from the three point line. South Carolina mounted a bit of a comeback cutting the Iowa lead to four points as they started to get better control down low and a lot of mid range jumpshots. Iowa didn’t let up though and managed to draw some fouls, get one block (Stuelke v Cardoso), and two steals. The first period of Iowa dominance ended 27-20 Iowa.
The battle continued in the second quarter as South Carolina started to show what they are known for with power down low and heavy rebounding (14 in the second vs Iowa’s 9). Iowa continued to hold their own though with a good amount of rebounds as well as pushing for points within the paint. SC tied the game up at 5:54 in the second at 34-34. Stuelke is showing that her lack of size is a challenge but doesn’t put her out of the game by any means putting in a whopping 9 points in the second quarter alone as well as drawing some key fouls surpassing expectations for this matchup. Both teams traded shots for much of the second quarter with blocks by both teams but South Carolina dominating that stat. At the end of the half SC managed to come up with a couple steals putting the halftime score at 46-49 SC. Clark had 21 points at the half followed by Martin with 11. It was still anyone’s game at the half.
The third quarter was a tough one for the Hawks as the shots just didn’t fall. They continued to battle on every possession but early misses let SC lead 46-55. SC has a depth in players that Iowa is missing allowing each player less time on the court without affecting gameplay. Clark drove multiple layups looking for fouls but failed to force a call. SC was shooting hot from the three point line as well. SC outscored Iowa in the third 13-19 shooting 61% to Iowa’s 29%. Iowa was in a position where they needed to hit the shots in the fourth quarter as well as stay in the rebound game against stiff competition in order to mount a comeback. The score at the end of three quarters of play was 59-68 SC.
Iowa came into the fourth quarter with their work cut out for them. Unfortunately, they still had trouble getting the baskets to fall. They were never completely out of the game until the clock ran too low to get back. They had the opportunities but the ball just didn’t get in the net. This arena was loud for the duration of the period with fans from both teams making their presence known. The bottom line for Iowa in the fourth was missed opportunities that they just couldn’t get back. Davis, Goodman, and Ediger got some time at the end to much applause from Iowa fans. The SC Gamecocks won 75-87.
Iowa takes home second place in the tournament for the second year in a row and wraps up their season as well as Clark’s college career with a loss in this game but a win for the team overall and for women’s sports.
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