Hawkeyes roll past Michigan, advance to the Big Ten Tournament Championship
January. February. Lisa Bluder. When it comes to the Big Ten Tournament, Bluder and the Hawkeyes have owned the competition over the last five years. This weekend in Minneapolis, the Iowa women’s basketball team has been nothing short of dominant. The Hawkeyes rolled to a 95-68 win over Michigan to advance to their fourth straight Big Ten Championship game. They have now won 14 of their last 16 games in the tournament dating back to 2019.
“These tournaments are really, really tough. As you’ve seen, we were the only higher team to win yesterday’s game. That’s what makes it so fun. It also shows how good our conference is and how good it’s been all year. It’s never anything you take for granted. Obviously we’re going to try to make it three in a row tomorrow,” said Caitlin Clark. “I feel like we always play great basketball when we coming here. Obviously when it moved to Minneapolis last year, our fans have really showed out and supported us.”
The Hawkeyes are the top team in the country when it comes to making three-pointers, however, off the jump, it was the Wolverines that came out on fire from behind the arc. Michigan was 6/6 from three-point range in the first quarter, including three makes from guard Lauren Hansen to give the them a 25-17 lead. Gabbie Marshall hit a corner three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Michigan lead to 25-22 after ten minutes.
“We didn’t panic or anything at that end. It was like, there’s a lot more basketball to be played, so it was just like we got to get out and protect the threes. They were shooting the three ball really well the first half,” said Lisa Bluder on what the message was in between quarters. “Also, we weren’t boxing out very well. They got two threes off of offensive rebounds. We did a much better job of that in the second half as well.”
In the second quarter, the Hawkeyes took control of the game. Caitlin Clark tallied six assists in the first quarter, but it was her three-pointer that put Iowa in front 29-28. That was the beginning of a 16-2 run for the Hawkeyes. They started to get the transition game flowing, while a three-pointer from Syd Affolter made it 42-30. She has been playing at a high-level off the bench and in the starting lineup over the last couple of games.
“I think Syd is playing the best basketball she’s played in her career. I couldn’t be happier for her. She’s one of those kids that works really hard and has always been in the gym,” said Clark. “This has been her year to have her moment and step up, especially with Molly going down.”
Despite shooting 9/13 from three-point range in the first half, it was the Hawkeyes, not the Wolverines with a 51-42 lead going into the locker room. Iowa outscored Michigan 34-6 in the paint and 13-5 in points off turnovers. If you were rooting for the team in black and gold, those stats were a good sign of things to come in the second half.
The three-point shooting that helped keep Kim Barnes Arico’s squad stay in the game in the first half, fell off over the final 20 minutes. The Wolverines shot just 2/10 from behind the arc in the second half and the Hawkeyes put their foot on the gas.
“Going into the second half, that was our main focus was to defend the three,” said Syd Affolter. “When we put all of our energy into that, it all really came together well.”
The Hawkeyes got brilliant play out of a trio of post players, but it especially stood out in the third quarter. Hannah Stuelke, Addi O’Grady and AJ Ediger combined for 12 of Iowa’s 21 points in the quarter. For the game, they combined for 30 points on 14/16 shooting from the floor.
“My top two centers went 11-for-11 tonight from the field. That’s pretty good. I think a lot of people would like that. We had 54 paint points to their 16,” said Bluder. “I just think it’s because all the emphasis defensively is on Caitlin, it allows other people to really step up. I love that we had four people in double figures tonight.”
In the fourth quarter, the exclamation point came from behind the arc. Taylor McCabe, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall knocked down three straight threes to extend the lead to 90-59. The Hawkeyes assisted on 30 of 38 made field goals, which broke a Big Ten Tournament record.
“I just thought we had some beautiful passing in the second half, just sharing the ball,” said Bluder. “It’s so much fun when we play like that and when everybody is getting involved like that.”
Caitlin Clark finished with a game-high 28 points, 15 assists and four rebounds. Her 20th double-double of the season passes Wisconsin center Serah Williams for the Big Ten lead. Hannah Stuelke answered her 1/5 shooting night on Friday with a 16-point, 7/7 night, while Syd Affolter added 12 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in her second straight start.
Up Next, the Hawkeyes will take on Nebraska in the Big Ten Championship game on Sunday. The Huskers upset Iowa in Lincoln back on January 27th. Tipoff is set for 11:00am CT and will be televised on CBS.
