Hawkeyes fall to Indiana in a heavyweight battle of top 5 teams

The Iowa Women’s Basketball team had been on a roll. Eight game win streak. Three wins over ranked teams. Averaging 90.9 points per game in Big Ten play. Everything was going right for the Hawkeyes.

They just ran into an Indiana team that was also playing really good basketball and also had not lost on their home floor all season. Tonight, the Hoosiers were the better team and they showed why they are ranked #2 in the country. Round two between the teams will take place on February 26th in Iowa City. Maybe the Big Ten regular season title will be on the line.

“I just want to congratulate Indiana on a really well played game,” said Head Coach Lisa Bluder. “I thought the first half we turned the ball over too many times. We felt good going into halftime tied, but again Indiana, Mackenzie Holmes with an excellent job in the post. Grace Berger was outstanding for them.”

In front of a record 13,046 fans at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the Hawkeyes did not get off to the start they envisioned in the locker room beforehand. They turned it over on the first three possessions of the game and Indiana got out to a 5-0 lead. Iowa settled in with a couple of three-pointers from Caitlin Clark and her full court assist to McKenna Warnock forced Indiana HC Teri Moren to take a timeout trailing 13-7.

“I assured them that we were good, we’re fine and we just have to settle in,” said Coach Moren. “It was more about making sure they understood the importance of sprinting back because they hit a couple over the top on us.”

The Hoosiers battled back and it was tied at 19 after the first quarter. Caitlin Clark led the way with eight points, but she was just 2/9 from the floor. It was an early preview of what her night entailed. She scored 35 points, but it took 28 shots.

“I think I got to my spots. I think I got good shots. Do I wish a few more threes went down? Do I wish I converted on a couple more layups? Absolutely,” said Caitlin Clark when asked if the IU defense flustered her. “I don’t think it took me out of a rhythm at all to be honest…I felt like I was attacking the rim hard. A few shots didn’t go down that we would have liked.”

In the second quarter, it seemed like everytime Indiana made a basket, Iowa would answer. A late 8-3 surge capped by a tough bucket in transition from Caitlin Clark gave the Hawkeyes a 39-36 lead. However, Mackenzie Holmes added a basket, plus the foul before halftime to make it 39-39 at the break. Hannah Stuelke was big with six points in the quarter.

“She’s never going to back down from anybody and that’s what I love about her,” said Caitlin Clark. “She understands how good Mackenzie Holmes is, but she didn’t shy away. She was there to compete.”

Unfortunately for Iowa, it didn’t matter who was guarding Mackenzie Holmes in the second half and it really didn’t matter who guarded Grace Berger. Both were excellent in the second half for the Hoosiers.

Berger and Holmes stepped up in a back-and-forth third quarter with a combined 20 points on 9/17 shooting. Caitlin Clark added 13 points of her own to keep things close. However, it was baskets by Holmes and Berger in the final minute that gave Indiana their largest lead at 62-57 going into the fourth quarter.

Iowa punched back to open the final ten minutes. McKenna Warnock scored the first five points of the quarter, including a three-pointer to tie the game at 62. She finished with a double-double 14 points and 11 rebounds in just her third game back from a rib injury.

“I thought McKenna was really good, especially in the second half. She started making some threes and is still coming back from injury,” said Caitlin Clark. “That’s a hard thing to do. To just get thrown back into Big Ten play.”

Although the Hawkeyes had tied the game at 62, it was only for a moment. It was a heavyweight battle between two top five teams and unfortunately, Indiana was the fighter with a knockout punch.

Mackenzie Holmes got a layup off an offensive rebound, which was followed by a Yarden Garzon three-pointer off of an Iowa turnover. Caitlin Clark’s shot was blocked on the other end and Grace Berger drew a foul on the way back. After two free throws, the Hoosiers had the largest lead by either side at 69-62.

Iowa tried to battle back, but Indiana didn’t let it get close. Garzon burried another three after Clark cut the lead to six with a basket and a free throw. Later, Grace Berger hit a pullup jumper to make it 79-69. The lead never got below six in the final five minutes of the game and Indiana picked up the 87-78 victory.

Lisa Bluder thought this version of the Indiana Hoosiers was much tougher to defend that the version they defeated three times last season. More consistent three-point shooting has opened the paint up for Mackenize Holmes more than it previously did.

“That’s what’s different about Indiana this year. Last year, you didn’t have three-point shooters to worry about and now you do. It makes it harder. It definitely does…You have to throw some doubles at her (Holmes) to try to keep the ball out of her hands a little bit, but she had a really good night tonight.”

Grace Berger and Mackenzie Holmes combined for 50 points and 15 rebounds on the night. Teri Moren said Berger had a different look to her tonight.

“You could tell by the way she was trying to play fast. She was trying to play downhill most of the night. I thought she was being ultra aggressive…I’ve had the pleasure of coaching her long enough to know when she’s in that sort of zone and has a willingnes about her to try to take over.”

As for Holmes, in last years matchups against Iowa, she was coming off an injury that forced her to get surgery midseason, which maybe had her a step slow in those three games. Tonight, she scored 26 points, but even more importantly, her defense on Monika Czinano really changed the game. She held Czinano to her second lowest scoring output and shot attempts of the season.

“I just thought Mackenzie had great activity,” said Coach Moren. “The challenge was going to be to not allow her to get a lot of deep touches or angle touches and she got a few of those, but I thought Mackenzie’s activity level guarding her was what it had to be.”

Caitlin Clark led the way with 35 points and ten assists, but it took 28 shots and she also turned it over eight times. McKenna Warnock had a double-double and Hannah Stuelke added ten points off the bench. The story of the game ended up being Monika Czinano finishing with just six points.

What went wrong for Iowa?

1. Monika Czinano was knocked out of rhythm. For the first time since December 1st against NC State, Monika Czinano was held below 10 points. The Hoosiers defense limited her to just six shots and they took a big portion of the Iowa offense almost entirely.

2. Turnovers. Lisa Bluder mentioned earlier in the week that taking care of the ball was going to be one of the keys to the game. The Hawkeyes started the first and second quarters with three turnovers on their first three possessions. They finished the game with 18 turnovers, which turned into 14 points for Indiana.

3. Free Throws. Iowa shot just 12/23 (52.2%) from the charity stripe, including an 0/8 night from Hannah Stuelke. Even Caitlin Clark had an uncharacteristic 8/11 night. In an nine point loss, that is 11 points left on the floor that could have changed things.

Up next for the Hawkeyes…

With the loss, the Hawkeyes fall to 19-5 on the season and 11-2 in Big Ten play. Iowa will travel back to Iowa City to face Rutgers on Sunday in their Pinkout Game. The Scarlet Knights are 10-15 on the season and 4-9 in Big Ten play. Gametime is set for 2:00pm and the game will be televised on FS1.