Iowa City- Iowa drew first blood on their opening possession, after a lot of great passing lead to a wide-open Gabbie Marshall three ball. But the Crusaders of Holy Cross were clearly not backing down. They played aggressive defense, forcing turnovers and disrupted the flow of Iowa’s offense in the early going. The took a 6-5 lead at the 6:40 of the first quarter. Another trey from Marshall gave Iowa an 8-6 lead, but Caitlin Clark lost the ball on a behind the back dribble that lead to a Lindsay Berger two pointer to tie it at eight almost halfway through the period. At the under five timeout the score was 11-10…Holy Cross. The Crusaders enjoyed the moment, because the Iowa onslaught came immediately after that. Iowa’s Kylie Feuerbach hit one of two free throws to tie the game, Caitlin Clark checked out of the game, and Iowa went on and 8-0 run in 1:28 of game clock to take a 18-11 lead and force a Holy Cross timeout. The timeout worked. Holy Cross was able to keep their composure through the rest of the quarter and draw back within two points at 23-21 on Bronagh Powers-Cassidy three with five seconds remaining.
Early in the second quarter we saw the physicality play through as Power-Cassidy leveled Caitlin Clark with an elbow across the bridge of the nose. After review, an intentional foul was called. Clark hit both free throws and Iowa led 28-21. After that Kate Martin hit the deck as she fell trying while traversing the lane and hit her head on the floor. Martin left game at the 7:45 mark. What ensured was some of the most intense basketball and crowd action of the game. Players shot threes, Marshall made one. Players rebounded hard. Clark collected one. A three by Clark was waved off by a foul called on Holy Cross. The crowd roared and the intensity of the game ramped up far beyond what a 1-16 seed matchup would expect. Kate Martin returned at the 5:48 mark. For those that are keeping score, a 7-0 Iowa run in 1:11 commenced as soon as the girl they call “The Glue” reentered for the Hawks. The Glue continued to stick as Iowa extended a 28-21 lead to 45-27 with two minutes remaining in the half. The 18 point lead held to halftime as the Hawkeyes took a 48-30 lead to the break.
In the second half Iowa found their offensive rhythm early and scored often. At the under five timeout in the third quarter Iowa had extended their lead to 22 at 68-46. It came with tribulations. It was a physical game and Caitlin Clark was clearly acutely aware of the level of physicality. She’d had words with the officials after multiple calls and non-calls. At the under five Iowa assistant coach Jan Jensen appeared to address in the timeout huddle. Out of the Hawkeyes appeared to regain their composure again, maintaining their lead. Addison O’Grady had a banner day scoring in double figures before having to sit down due to four personal fouls late in the third quarter. Iowa lead 71-50 at the end of the third quarter.
Iowa set the cruise control for 30 in the final frame as they were able to hold their lead at or near the 30 point mark for the majority of the fourth quarter. They rolled to a 91-65 final score to advance to the second day of the NCAA women’s tournament. Four Hawkeyes finished the game in double digit scoring, including Caitlin Clark with 27 points, Kate Martin with 15, Gabbie Marshall with 11, and Addison O’Grady with 14. Martin and Clark both tallied double doubles, Clark’s 64th of her career. Clark nearly made it a triple double, finishing two rebounds short of the feat. Also worth noting, Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder notched her 880th win. That makes her 10th in all-time wins and third among active head coaches. Iowa pushes its overall record to 29-4 and will play the winner of Princeton vs West Virginia. Princeton led 26-24 at halftime of their game. Game time is set for Monday at 7:00pm.
