West Virginia came so near closing down Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes on Monday night.
After a tight 4th quarter, Clark handled to will No. 1 Iowa to a narrow win in her last contest at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to protect a return journey to the Sweet 16.
Clark and the Hawkeyes edged out No. 8 West Virginia 64-54 in their second-round NCAA competition match in Iowa City on Monday night. It was a really uncharacteristic video game for the Hawkeyes all around– they were held to simply 6 points in the 2nd quarter, struck simply one field objective in the 4th quarter and could not get much offense outside of Clark all night– Clark dropped 32 points to set up a Sweet 16 match with No. 5 Colorado next weekend in Albany.
Clark likewise passed Kelsey Plum and broke the NCAA Division I single-season scoring record in the win, marking simply her most current honor in what has actually currently been a historical season. She’s now scored 1,113 points this season alone.
Caitlin Clark, Iowa make it through late West Virginia push
While West Virginia came out hot and landed the very first punch, it didn’t last long. The Hawkeyes closed the very first quarter on a 15-4 run, and they held the Mountaineers without a basket for the last 4:30 of the duration to get a five-point benefit at the very first break.
The Mountaineers mainly closed down the Iowa offense in the 2nd quarter, nevertheless, and left Clark irritated as she went to the bench prior to halftime. West Virginia outscored Iowa 9-6 in the duration, which cut Iowa’s cause simply 2 points at the break. Iowa didn’t rating in the last 4:50 of the quarter, and the Hawkeyes went simply 3-of-12 from behind the arc in the very first half. All 3 makes come from Clark. It marked the most affordable halftime rating the Hawkeyes have actually had all season.
Whatever concerns Clark and the Hawkeyes had in the 2nd quarter remained there. They opened the 3rd on a 12-2 tear, and Clark put them back up by double digits nearly quickly on a deep wide-open 3-pointer.
The Hawkeyes then transformed back-to-back and-1s late in the duration, and Kate Martin drilled a set of totally free tosses to end the quarter to fight a quick West Virginia push.
As soon as again, Iowa’s offense stalled out. The Hawkeyes went more than 4 minutes without scoring in the 4th quarter, and West Virginia connected it up off a substantial Jayla Hemingway 3-pointer prior to the 5 minute mark.
Nearly 8 minutes into the 4th quarter, the Hawkeyes made their very first field objective of the duration. After a Gabbie Marshall block, Sydney Affolter transformed a clutch layup and subsequent complimentary toss on the other end to put the Hawkeyes up by 3.
That was, incredibly, the only basket the Hawkeyes made in the quarter. They struck 7 complimentary tosses the rest of the method while holding West Virginia to a single pail to get the 10-point win.
JJ Quinerly led West Virginia with 15 points in the loss. Kyah Watson included 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Hemingway ended up with 10 points off the bench.
Clark had 8 rebounds and 3 helps to choose her 32 points in the win. She shot simply 5-of-14 from the 3-point line, and was the only Iowa gamer to strike from behind the arc. Affolter completed with 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Hannah Stuelke included 12 points and 11 rebounds. Marshall was held scoreless after going 0-of-4 from the field.
The Hawkeyes will now proceed to Albany, where No. 5 Colorado will be waiting on them in the Sweet 16 on Saturday. The Buffaloes upset No. 4 Kansas State in Manhattan 63-50 in their second-round match on Sunday to protect their 2nd straight journey to the local semifinals.