I think I can speak for all of Hawkeye Nation when I say this, BOY, we needed this one!
Just a day after the Iowa men’s basketball team bowed out of the first round in a pseudo-away game against ninth-seeded Auburn, the women’s team was right there to pick us all right back up!
While the upper seeds in the men’s side of the world seemingly cannot figure out what they are doing, the women aren’t having any problems at all. South Carolina, Maryland and Notre Dame blew out their opponents in spectacular fashion. The Hawkeyes went ahead and joined that party with a 95-43 victory over Southeastern Louisiana.
Despite the Lady Lions entering this contest with all the confidence in the world, Iowa made sure to make a statement with this victory. Everything that you wanted to see from the Hawkeyes was there.
Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano were their usual dynamic duo. Iowa shot the ball well from deep, hitting 40% from 3, and had some beautiful ball movement.
The Lady Lions, meanwhile, were unable to get anything going against a stellar, motivated Iowa defense. They shot 25.4% from the field and 18.2% from deep. They scored less as a team than Clark and Czinano combined. Not ideal for winning indeed.
After the crummy feeling after the disappointing end to the men’s season, this was a fantastic way to get Hawkeye Nation back into the swing of things. Here are the best reactions from a rejoicing Iowa fan base.