CLEVELAND − The beginning of Iowa’s NCAA Event title sport couldn’t have been scripted any higher. After South Carolina missed a challenged shot, Kate Martin boxed out 6-foot-2 Chloe Kitts for a textbook rebound.
Martin supplied an outlet go to Caitlin Clark, who on her first contact of the sport dribbled twice and flung an extended chest go to Hannah Stuelke within the reverse free-throw lane. Stuelke spun and whipped a left-handed go to Sydney Affolter, who from the left sideline rapidly slipped a brief go to the coming Martin on the 3-point line. Martin squared up and uncorked a high-arching 3-pointer over 6-7 Kamilla Cardoso.
Swish, for a 3-0 Iowa lead.
Rewatch that play, and also you’ll additionally see Affolter attacking the rim and curling her physique inside a South Carolina defender to be in place for a possible offensive rebound.
These issues highlighted precisely what Iowa wanted to do to spring the upset in opposition to the unbeaten Gamecocks. The Hawkeyes needed to rating in transition with their elite ball motion, needed to hit a excessive variety of 3s and needed to be as aggressive as attainable on the glass.
Impressively, Iowa’s sizzling begin continued. Martin’s first mid-range jumper was true. Affolter raced up courtroom after one other defensive rebound and scored in transition along with her left hand. Clark buried her first 3-point attempt of the sport, from the proper wing, for a 10-0 Hawkeyes uppercut.
All these issues additionally highlighted that Iowa, at its finest, was succesful for a second straight 12 months of taking down Daybreak Staley and South Carolina.
“We have been excited. We have been prepared,” fifth-year senior guard Gabbie Marshall stated after her Iowa-record 166th profession sport. “We saved telling one another to play free, play free. We don’t have something to lose. Simply go do what you do on the market to the very best of your capacity. That’s why we began off so sizzling.”
At its core, this was an amazing Iowa group. However, partly as a consequence of accidents, this was not a deep Iowa group by the top of a grueling NCAA Event and 39-game schedule. And the group on the opposite bench was arguably one of many deepest groups in ladies’s basketball historical past.
How deep? The Gamecocks’ main scorer Sunday was Tessa Johnson with 19 factors. She was the group’s ninth-leading scorer for the season. Raven Johnson led South Carolina with 36 minutes and Cardoso (15 factors, 17 rebounds) performed 30. Seven different Gamecocks performed between 14 and 25 minutes. Brisker, longer our bodies ultimately overwhelmed the Hawkeyes.
Meantime, Iowa used Marshall, Clark and Martin for each second (39:40) till taking the seniors out with 20 seconds to go. Affolter performed 35. This was in spite of everything 5 Iowa starters performed 37-plus minutes in Friday evening’s 71-69 win over UConn that ended simply earlier than midnight in Cleveland.
Whereas Iowa was in a position to outrun LSU within the Elite Eight regardless of a brief bench, South Carolina was a far taller, deeper problem.
“We have been hitting quite a lot of our photographs and had our transition sport going slightly bit,” Affolter stated of the quick begin, which continued to a 20-9 lead whereas Iowa’s legs have been nonetheless springy. “However we have been enjoying so arduous within the submit to get rebounds. These ladies are nice basketball gamers. Clearly very robust, very tall. It takes quite a bit. We are able to’t guard 6-7 after we’re 6-foot. It’s simply arduous. However I believe we battled the entire total sport.”
Iowa affiliate head coach Jan Jensen knew the Hawkeyes wouldn’t have the ability to outrebound Cardoso, the 6-7 heart, when their solely starter taller than 6 ft is the 6-2 Stuelke.
“You must hit 3s at a excessive price. You must restrict all people else on the boards. You’ll be able to’t restrict (Cardoso),” Jensen stated. “We didn’t restrict the others.”
Repeated putbacks not solely have been a relentless stream of two factors for South Carolina however demoralizing for Iowa. The Gamecocks wound up with a whopping 51-29 benefit in rebounds.
Iowa’s mid-range photographs that went in early started to overlook. Clark began 3-for-4 from 3-point land within the first quarter however went 2-for-9 the remainder of the way in which. Even so, the Hawkeyes have been inside 5 factors within the sport’s remaining 4½ minutes.
“We have been enjoying with that mentality all sport,” Affolter stated. “Simply combat, combat, combat. Each possession issues a lot.”
The largest distinction: South Carolina scored 37 bench factors to Iowa’s zero. The 13 minutes Iowa bought from Addison O’Grady and 5 from Kylie Feuerbach have been unproductive.
And when brisker legs are guarding drained legs, it’s no marvel that Iowa hit solely 17-of-48 photographs (35.4%) after an 8-of-15 (53.3%) first quarter that noticed it take a 27-20 lead.
“To have the ability to have all these contemporary legs on Caitlin was actually powerful,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder stated. “And never solely their depth, their top. I am not simply speaking about their facilities. They’re actually fairly massive at each place, which makes it arduous. They might get better very well after we (tried) 3s.”
This sport was a reminder of simply how good Clark is, to raise this group into this elite spot two years in a row – and that it was fairly the feat that the Hawkeyes, in final 12 months’s Ultimate 4, nonetheless are the one group to beat South Carolina prior to now 81 video games.
Iowa wanted to play near a flawless sport Sunday, however the process (and the opponent) was simply too tall and too deep.
“At that time, you’ve bought to principally shoot excellent to win,” Clark stated. “A lot to be happy with. A lot to carry our head excessive about. It stings, however life goes on.”
This sport ought to function a beacon of hope mixed with a warning.
The hope: The Hawkeyes have the teaching employees, the system and skill in place to realize massive issues shifting ahead. Seeing blue-collar gamers like Martin and Affolter flip into vital elements for a Ultimate 4 group is one thing any younger or future Hawkeye can embrace.
The warning: Extra depth in this system is required, particularly contemplating the unlikelihood of discovering and touchdown one other generational expertise like Clark.
The Hawkeyes have actually raised the bar as a program. Bluder’s postgame locker-room speech was tear-jerking and a testomony to the household love that exists in Iowa Metropolis. Now is a superb time to promote Hawkeye ladies’s basketball to younger weapons across the nation.
“Rejoice that we bought to do that collectively,” Bluder advised the group. “… Sure, you like a shiny trophy. However the influence you had on younger ladies on this sport would not get tarnished.”
Highschool recruiting goes properly. Bluder has a powerful freshman class signed, led by 4 top-100 gamers in Ava Heiden, Aaliyah Guyton, Teagan Mallegni and Taylor Stremlow. And Addie Deal, the No. 12 general recruit within the Class of 2025, is already dedicated. The switch portal will be difficult turf, however that could possibly be a risk to restock the cabinets subsequent season with Clark, Martin and Marshall departing.
Lack of depth was the final word key Sunday. If Iowa may have had a wholesome Molly Davis and extra explosive dimension within the center in opposition to South Carolina, perhaps issues would’ve been a bit completely different.
Constructing high quality depth going ahead could possibly be the Iowa key to future, sustained success.
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 29 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports activities Community. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports activities Columnist of the Yr and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Yr in Iowa. Be part of Chad’s text-message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Comply with @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.