Kansas State handed Iowa (4-1) its first loss of the season last Thursday, a 65-58 stunner from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It was a rare cold shooting night from senior star Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes.
Clark shot 9-for-32 from the floor and 2-of-16 from 3-point range against the Wildcats. As a team, Iowa shot 36.1% from the field and 9.5% from beyond the arc versus K-State.
After its first setback of the season, the Iowa Hawkeyes fell out of the top five in the latest USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll. Iowa checks in at No. 6 after a four-spot drop. Meanwhile, K-State makes its season debut at No. 22 after its upset victory over the Hawkeyes.
The top five now consists of No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Colorado and No. 5 LSU.
Ohio State (No. 12), Indiana (No. 19) and Maryland (No. 24) round out the ranked Big Ten schools in the latest Coaches Poll. Meanwhile, Michigan is receiving votes.
Iowa remained in the top five of the latest AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll at No. 5. South Carolina was an unanimous No. 1 selection in both polls.
As expected, the Hawkeyes rebounded quickly after their loss to the Wildcats. In Sunday’s get-right game versus Drake, Iowa set records with its scoring numbers. The Hawkeyes registered a program-record 64 points in the first half of the 113-90 victory. Iowa scored 37 points in the first quarter, which is tied for the third-most in a single quarter in program history.
One of the brightest signs versus Drake was the play of graduate guard Kate Martin. The 6-foot guard from Edwardsville, Illinois, tallied a career-high 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-4 from downtown.
Clark had a terrific bounce-back effort as well, scoring 35 points on 14-of-22 shooting. She knocked down 5-of-11 3-pointers.
Iowa returns to action on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. CT from Estero, Florida, in the Gulf Coast Showcase versus Purdue-Fort Wayne. The contest will stream on FloHoops (subscription required).
In the meantime, here’s a look at the rankings in the latest USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | South Carolina | 4-0 | 800 (32) | — |
| 2 | UCLA | 4-0 | 736 | +1 |
| 3 | Stanford | 4-0 | 723 | +3 |
| 4 | Colorado | 4-0 | 675 | +3 |
| 5 | LSU | 5-1 | 643 | — |
| 6 | Iowa | 4-1 | 624 | -4 |
| 7 | UConn | 3-1 | 616 | +1 |
| 8 | Utah | 4-1 | 561 | -4 |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 3-1 | 534 | — |
| 10 | USC | 4-0 | 511 | — |
| 11 | Texas | 4-0 | 446 | +1 |
| 12 | Ohio State | 3-1 | 420 | -2 |
| 13 | Florida State | 4-0 | 418 | — |
| 14 | Notre Dame | 3-1 | 351 | — |
| 15 | Louisville | 4-0 | 326 | — |
| 16 | North Carolina State | 4-0 | 319 | +2 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 4-0 | 275 | -1 |
| 18 | Baylor | 3-0 | 254 | +5 |
| 19 | Indiana | 3-1 | 246 | -2 |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 5-0 | 196 | +1 |
| 21 | Tennessee | 3-1 | 175 | -1 |
| 22 | Kansas State | 4-0 | 131 | +13 |
| 23 | Ole Miss | 5-1 | 109 | +2 |
| 24 | Maryland | 2-2 | 68 | -5 |
| 25 | Washington State | 5-0 | 48 | +1 |
Schools Dropped Out:
No. 22 Duke; No. 24 Creighton.
Others receiving votes: Mississippi State, 39; Duke, 34; Michigan, 29; Creighton, 25; Marquette, 23; Arizona, 13; Princeton, 11; Miami (Fla.), 10; Gonzaga, 6; UNLV, 5.
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