Caitlin Clark and the No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes take center stage once again on Saturday night.
Iowa (20-2, 9-1 Big Ten) heads to Maryland (12-9, 4-6 Big Ten) looking to maintain its lead in the Big Ten regular season championship race.
The Hawkeyes enter after a pair of convincing victories over Nebraska and at Northwestern. Iowa rolled over Nebraska, 92-73, on Jan. 27 and then at Northwestern earlier this week on Wednesday, 110-74.
Clark shined in both, pouring in 38 and 35 points, respectively. Midway through Iowa’s win at Northwestern, a driving Clark layup vaulted her into No. 2 place in the women’s college basketball all-time scoring list. It also made Clark the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer as she surpassed Ohio State‘s Kelsey Mitchell.
She currently sits just 103 points behind former Washington guard Kelsey Plum’s 3,527 career points.
Sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke scored 17 and had nine rebounds versus the Wildcats, while graduate guard Kate Martin knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 16. Fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall was Iowa’s other double-figure scorer against Northwestern, adding 12 points on four made 3-pointers.
Maryland entered this season as the nation’s No. 11 team, but season-ending injuries to freshman guard Riley Nelson and redshirt sophomore forward Emma Chardon played a part in derailing things to this point. Graduate guard Lavender Briggs has also missed games while dealing with a lower body injury.
Meanwhile, graduate guard Brinae Alexander’s scoring and 3-point efficiency have both declined in Big Ten play. Junior guard Shyanne Sellers has led the Terps in scoring, but she’s shooting just 11% from beyond the 3-point line in league play.
After a loss at No. 9 Indiana earlier this week, the urgency to find a key win over the Hawkeyes is only ramped up for Maryland. The Terps have now lost three straight and six out of their past nine.
A win over Iowa would do a lot for Maryland in terms of saving their season and potential NCAA Tournament at-large hopes.
Of course, Iowa has its conference title hopes at stake and a bid for a No. 1 seed on the line.
It should be a terrific matchup in prime time. Here’s where Hawkeye fans can watch, stream and listen to tonight’s game at Maryland. Plus, probable starters for both and a look at the game notes.