Hawkeyes advance to the Big Ten Title behind a career night from Gabbie Marshall
Gabbie Marshall has been known as a strong three-point shooter during the entirety over her Iowa career. However, she struggled for much of this season and at one point, she was shooting just 22% from long distance. A portion of the fanbase was asking if Marshall should even be in the starting lineup. She has silenced the doubters over the last nine games and tied a career-high with seven three-pointers tonight, as the Hawkeyes knocked off Maryland 89-84 to clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship game.
“I couldn’t be happier for somebody,” said head coach Lisa Bluder. “She started out the season struggling and she kept believing in herself, she kept working hard and getting in that gym. I couldn’t be more proud of somebody.”
“It’s honestly amazing, especially just because I know I’ve gotten my confidence back. Seeing all those shots go in, it’s just a great feeling,” said Marshall. “I knew that I hard to start mkaing shots in order to open things up and I’m happy that I can do that for the team right now.”
The game had a closer resemblence to the one that took place in Iowa City back on February 2nd that the Hawkeyes won 96-82. It was nothing like the 96-68 blowout loss they suffered in College Park just 11 days ago. A game that Lisa Bluder takes full responsibility for not being ready for the defense the Terps employed that night.
“I did not have them ready for that game. That was totally my fault and I wasn’t going to let it happen again. I thought the team did a great job of really focusing on it the last couple of weeks and they came out and executed very well today.”
The second-largest crowd (9,375) in Big Ten WBB Tournament history was heavily skewed in favor of the Hawkeyes and they were on their feet early. A pair of three-pointers from Caitlin Clark and a layup from Kate Martin put Iowa up 19-9. Brenda Frese was forced to take a timeout just 4:46 into the game.
“We’re saying it’s Carver North,” said Bluder. “It’s just amazing how the Hawkeye fans have shown up.”
A 6-0 run from Maryland cut the Iowa lead to 21-15 and allowed the Terrapins to settle in a little bit. Still, the hot start for Iowa forced Maryland to work from behind and that ended up being a trend for the entire night. It was 26-18 Iowa after the first quarter.
“I think we took that (blowout loss) personal and this was like a revenge game for us, so we came out locked in from the beginning,” said Gabbie Marshall.
An Abby Meyers second-chance basket cut the Iowa lead to 29-25 early in the second quarter, but it seemed like everytime the Terrapins got things close, the Hawkeyes answered. Caitlin Clark hit a three-pointer sandwiched between a pair from long range from Gabbie Marshall. The lead grew to 38-28 and Maryland took another timeout.
A near four-minute scoring drought allowed Maryland to chop the Iowa lead down 40-38 with a 10-0 run. The star of the night Gabbie Marshall hit a three-pointer to stop the bleeding and the Hawkeyes were able to get into the halftime locker room with a 47-42 lead.
“It’s about limiting their runs and maximizing our and I think we did a great job of that. I think we showed a lot of maturity,” said Kate Martin. “There’s been a lot of comebacks (in this tournament) and for us to maintain and keep that lead, it shows a lot of maturity.”
Baskets from Lavender Briggs and Faith Masonius whittled the Iowa lead down to 52-51 early in the second half. However, the Terrapins could never get over the hump and take the lead. The Hawkeyes carried a 64-61 lead into the fourth quarter. McKenna Warnock was particulary big with nine third quarter points.
The intensity picked up in the final quarter and Maryland continued to threaten the Iowa lead. A driving layup from Shyanne Sellers cut the lead to 70-68, but McKenna Warnock and Gabbie Marshall each hit three-pointers to extend the lead back to 76-68.
Back-and-forth the teams went. Maryland went on an 11-3 run capped by four straight points from Faith Masonius. All the sudden, the game was tied at 79 with under two minutes to play.
Insert Gabbie Marshall one last time. She knocked down her seventh three-pointer of the game to put the Hawkeyes back in front. Things got tight with 25 seconds to play, as Lavender Briggs hit a three to cut it 85-84. However, McKenna Warnock hit four free throws and the defense got a stop to late to finish off an 89-84 win over the Terrapins.
“We knew that wasn’t an accurate description of what our team is and waht we have been all year,” said Caitlin Clark on their performance at Maryland 11 days ago. “I thought this team really responded well and I think it’s just a credit to our maturity and the veterans we have.”
Caitlin Clark led the way with 22 points on 7/18 shooting, as well as five rebounds and nine assists. Gabbie Marshall finished 21 points on 7/13 shooting from behind the arc, while McKenna Warnock added 21 points and eight rebounds.
Monika Czinano was 7/12 from the floor and finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Kate Martin flirted with a triple-double, with ten points, nine rebounds and seven assists. The Hawkeyes are now 7-1 when Martin scores ten or more points.
What they did well…
1. The Hawkeyes shot it well from three-point range. Iowa shot a season-high 40 three-pointers, but knocked down a season-high 15. Gabbie Marshall was 7/13, while Caitlin Clark was 5/13 from behind the arc. They outscored the Terrapins 45-24 from long range.
2. Balanced scoring. No, the Hawkeyes did not get any points from their bench, but all five starters scored in double figures. Iowa is at their best when all five starters are contributing and are a threat to score the basketball. That was the case tonight.
3. Limited turnovers. Maryland came into the game with a 12-1 record when forcing 20+ turnovers. Iowa turned over just 12 times and outscored the Terps 22-16 in points off turnovers. In the last matchup, the Hawkeyes turned it over 24 times.
Up next for the Hawkeyes…
With the win, Iowa moves to 25-6 on the season and move on to the Big Ten Championship game for the third straight season. They will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes, a team that defeated Michigan and Indiana en route to the title game. The Hawkeyes defeated the Buckeyes 83-72 in Columbus back on January 23rd. Tipoff is set for 4:00pm and the game will be televised on ESPN.
