Tag: Iowa women’s basketball

Lucky No. 7: Caitlin Clark claims seventh Big Ten Player of the Week Award this season

Caitlin Clark continued her magical season with another strong week. She has claimed her seventh Big Ten Player of the Week Award this year.

Caitlin Clark put on her superhero cape once again this week and showed out for the Iowa Hawkeyes in two Big Ten road wins. In what has become somewhat of a norm for her, her week has earned her another Big Ten Player of the Week Award.

This is Clark’s seventh time in just this season alone where she has claimed the conference’s weekly award. It is hard to argue the choice as she leads all active Big Ten players in double-doubles, which she had two of this week.

Caitlin Clark started off her week with a strong showing at Northwestern, putting up 35 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds. After that, she lit it up in a hostile environment on the road against Maryland. Clark hung up 38 points, 12 assists, and six rebounds.

On the year, Clark is averaging 32.4 points, by far a career-best, 7.9 assists, and 7.0 rebounds. She is converting 48.2% of all shots, another career-best, 40.1% of threes, and is on pace to surpass her career high of 140 made threes as she has knocked down 122 already.

The Hawkeyes’ point guard has seven games left to surpass Kelsey Plum and become the women’s all-time leading scorer, a task that is looking like a question of when it will happen and not if it will happen.

Clark’s next action comes on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. CT when the Hawkeyes host the Penn State Nittany Lions.

ESPN names Iowa Hawkeyes’ Lisa Bluder as its Coach of the Week

Lisa Bluder had her team ready to go for two Big Ten tilts. ESPN named her as its Coach of the Week after the Hawkeyes’ strong performances.

Lisa Bluder has a supremely talented roster, but that can only take you so far. Every team runs into a squad with just as much talent or a team that is shooting lights out against you. At that point, the difference can be how well a team is coached.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are among the best-coached teams in the nation. Lisa Bluder knows how to win games, adapt on the fly and get the most from her squads. The strong showing this past week by the Hawkeyes has ESPN naming her as its Coach of the Week.

Coach of the Week: Lisa Bluder, Iowa

Sure, Bluder had a lot of players return from last season, starting with Clark, but she lost two key starters and has had to rely on some younger, less-experienced players to fill big roles.

The Hawkeyes are again competing for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Bluder has allowed Clark to soar while fostering a strong team chemistry. And the leader in Big Ten women’s hoops coaching victories got her first win at Maryland on Saturday. – Michael Voepel, ESPN

Bluder has the Hawkeyes 21-2 overall and 10-1 in Big Ten play. Iowa is trending toward a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. Bluder has her work cut out for her, but she has her players confident and sometimes that is all that matters.

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Iowa Hawkeyes are flying high in ESPN’s updated Power Rankings

Iowa showed guts and toughness on the road in a win at Maryland. This has the Hawkeyes flying high in ESPN’s latest Power Rankings.

The Iowa Hawkeyes put together another strong week with two Big Ten road wins. Their 100-74 victory at Northwestern was followed by a gritty 93-85 win over Maryland in prime time that took everything the Hawkeyes had.

Those strong showings by the Hawkeyes have them flying high in ESPN’s updated women’s basketball Power Rankings. Iowa is up one spot this week to No. 2.

2. Iowa Hawkeyes (21-2)
Previous ranking: 3
This week: vs. Penn State Lady Lions (Thursday), at Nebraska Cornhuskers (Sunday)

On the road last week, the Hawkeyes scored 110 points and ran away from Northwestern. Then, they saw a double-digit lead evaporate at Maryland but retook control of the game. Molly Davis and Kate Martin combined for 32 points, and Iowa was strong on the boards, outrebounding the Terps 48-32. –– Michael Voepel, ESPN

Iowa’s resiliency showed up big time against Maryland. It had to stop the bleeding from a huge Terrapins run that saw it fall behind momentarily. That grittiness hasn’t been needed often by the Hawkeyes this year, but knowing it is there bodes well for NCAA Tournament time.

Up next, Iowa continues its march through the Big Ten. It plays host to Penn State, (16-6, 7-4 Big Ten) in a game that will be tougher than it appears on paper. Iowa follows that with a trip to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a game televised on Fox.

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Takeaways as Iowa Hawkeyes hold off Maryland’s comeback efforts in gutsy win

Things got dicey at times, but the Hawkeyes prevailed. Takeaways as Iowa held off Maryland’s comeback efforts in a gusty win on the road.

Saturday’s game at Maryland certainly was not easy for the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Terrapins gave Iowa everything it could handle and then some in front of a sellout crowd.

The Hawkeyes ended up pulling away and left College Park with a 93-85 win in which Caitlin Clark, Molly Davis and Kate Martin put on a masterclass of winning guard play.

The win pushes the Hawkeyes to a 21-2 overall and 10-1 in the Big Ten. They sit atop the conference all alone. The win also provided a look at the intangibles this team possesses. The Hawkeyes showed resiliency and didn’t back down from the big moment when the game could have gotten away from them. That is a big lesson to take into March.

Check out the biggest takeaways from Iowa’s impressive road win as it held off the Terrapins’ comeback efforts.

Megan Gustafson expected to sign two-year deal with WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces

Former Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball star Megan Gustafson is reportedly signing a two-year deal with the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces.

Megan Gustafson paved the way for women’s college basketball players in the Big Ten. The former Iowa Hawkeyes star took the conference by storm during her time in the black and gold and paved a path for the current stars of today.

Gustafson has bounced around the WNBA since she departed Iowa City. She started her career with the Dallas Wings in 2019, and joined the Washington Mystics in 2021, which was followed by a move to the Phoenix Mercury.

Her next move appears to be a landing spot in the Sin City. As reported by Rachel Galligan of Winsidr, Gustafson is likely to sign a two-year deal with the Las Vegas Aces.

Gustafson’s career at Iowa took off during the 2019 season which saw her clean up the awards. She was named the 2019 Naismith Player of the Year, the 2019 AP Player of the Year, the 2019 ESPNW National Player of the Year, the Big Ten Player of the Year, and was named a first-team All-American by the AP, USBWA, and ESPNW.

Her final two years at Iowa saw her light up the stat sheet as well. During the 2017-18 season, Gustafson averaged 25.7 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. She built on that in the 2018-19 season averaging 27.8 points and 13.4 rebounds per game.

This past season with Phoenix, Gustafson posted her best year yet in the WNBA, averaging 7.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 52.6% from the field.

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Iowa Hawkeyes back as a No. 1 seed in latest women’s bracketology

The Iowa Hawkeyes are back as a number one seed in the latest version of ESPN’s NCAA Women’s Tournament bracketology.

One big goal looming on Caitlin Clark’s list is to get the Iowa Hawkeyes into the NCAA Women’s Tournament as a No. 1 seed. The Hawkeyes have yet to do so during her tenure and are looking to add another historic footnote.

For the moment, the Hawkeyes are a No. 1 seed in ESPN’s latest women’s bracketology. Following a slip to a No. 2 seed, Iowa’s used bounce-back wins over Nebraska and Northwestern to regain a top seed.

With Big Ten games the rest of the way, the path to a No. 1 seed is in the Hawkeyes’ control. They will be favored the rest of the regular season in all likelihood and the favorites to win the Big Ten Tournament.

If Iowa can handle its business, it should position itself nicely in the NCAA Tournament. Here is a look at the latest women’s bracketology updates.

Social media reacts as Iowa drubs Northwestern, Caitlin Clark becomes No. 2 all-time scorer

Social media reacted as Caitlin Clark became the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer and moved to No. 2 on the all-time list.

For her standards, Caitlin Clark didn’t need much in the scoring column on Wednesday night to cement herself as the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer and to vault into No. 2 on the all-time scoring list.

Trailing Missouri State’s Jackie Stiles by four points and Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell by 13 on the all-time scoring list entering the night, Clark’s second 3-pointer of the first quarter sent her past Stiles’ 3,393 career points.

Then, with a layup midway through the second quarter, Clark surpassed Mitchell’s 3,402 points.

By night’s end, Clark had 35 points on 11-of-22 shooting from inside Welsh-Ryan Arena in an impressive 110-74 Iowa victory over Northwestern. She secured her 54th career double-double as she added 10 assists as well.

Clark now has 3,424 career points, trailing Washington great Kelsey Plum’s all-time scoring record mark of 3,527 points by a measly 103 points.

“The coolest thing is just the names I get to be around. Those are people I grew up watching, especially Brittney Griner, Kelsey Mitchell, those are really, really good players, people that are still playing our game at the very highest level, people that you watch night in and night out. Just special for me to be in the same area as them,” Clark said afterwards.

As Clark made more history, social media once again marveled at what the 6-foot superstar from West Des Moines is doing in the sport of women’s basketball.

Takeaways as Iowa Hawkeyes blow by Northwestern Wildcats

It felt more like another game inside Carver-Hawkeye for the Hawkeyes. Takeaways from Iowa’s blowout win over the Northwestern Wildcats.

For what was a true a road game, the Iowa Hawkeyes blowout win over the Northwestern Wildcats felt and looked like another home game. Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois was littered with black and gold along with posters of Hawkeyes fans getting their glimpse of Caitlin Clark.

Iowa was expected to win this game handily and did just that by a score of 110-74 in a game that didn’t even necessarily feel that close. The Hawkeyes went about their business methodically and the Wildcats just happened to be in their way.

One of the other takeaways off the court in this one is the superstar-level following around Caitlin Clark. This was a Wednesday night game at Northwestern, yet there were extra police on hand and fan after fan looking to get her autograph.

Iowa handled their business in this one cleanly and concisely as you would expect a top team to do. Here are the takeaways from their win over Northwestern.

Iowa Hawkeyes moving up to No. 3 in AP Top 25 poll

It didn’t take long for the Hawkeyes to make some moves. Iowa is moving up in the newest AP Top 25 poll.

One week can change a lot. The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team is experiencing that now: They moved back up in the rankings following a win over Nebraska.

After ESPN dropped the Hawkeyes to No. 3 in the power rankings, the AP Top 25 has followed suit by slotting Iowa at No. 3, a two-spot move upward after last week.

At 19-2, Iowa is ranked behind undefeated No. 1 South Carolina (19-0) and No. 2 Kansas State (20-1). There is an argument to be made that aside from South Carolina, Iowa has the best resume in the nation.

Iowa’s two losses are to Kansas State and Ohio State (17-3). Iowa gained revenge on Kansas State, handing the Wildcats their only loss.

Ohio State is ranked No. 8 in this week’s AP Top 25. The Hawkeyes get a chance at revenge on the Buckeyes when they host them in the season finale. The Hawkeyes also have a win over Indiana, which is inside the top 10, that enhances Iowa’s tournament resume for seeding.

The Hawkeyes are the highest-ranked team that has two losses, followed immediately by No. 4 Stanford (19-2) and No. 5 North Carolina State (18-2). The rest of the top 10, in order, is No. 6 Colorado (17-3), No. 7 UCLA (16-3), No. 8 Ohio State (17-3), No. 9 LSU (18-3) and No. 10 Indiana (17-2).

As they look to tack on two more Big Ten wins, Iowa is back at it this week with road trips to Northwestern and another to Maryland which has drawn the “Fox Primetime Hoops” treatment.

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