Third-ranked Iowa women crush Purdue at Mackey Arena
Caitlin Clark records another triple double in 96-71 beatdown
By Susan Harman
Caitlin Clark drew the biggest reaction from Purdue’s sellout crowd when she fired an air ball 3-point attempt in the fourth quarter. Of course by then the game had long since been decided, and the Mackey Arena crowd was just plain grumpy.
Iowa won the game 96-71 setting up a match with Indiana, the only other remaining unbeaten Big Ten team, at 7 p.m. Saturday
“This is one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten,” Clark told Peacock network. “So I’m proud of our group. It feels like we’ve been here for three days because of the big snowstorm in Iowa. We’ve been stuck in a hotel. I think we’re just ready to go home.”
But turning your attention to the Hoosiers (14-1, 5-0), just savor this performance.
Clark produced a triple double (26 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) for the second game in a row and the 15th of her career. She helped Iowa (16-1, 5-0) bolt to a lead with 11 first-quarter points, including three 3-pointers. She finished with six.
But threes were flying from all corners. Six different Hawkeyes made at least one three overall, and Iowa tied a program record for seven threes (by five different players) in the first quarter alone. Gabbie Marshall made four (out of eight attempts) overall, her second game in a row with four threes. Kate Martin, Molly Davis, Sydney Affolter (2) and Kylie Feuerbach all made 3-pointers.
“We just believe in (Marshall) so much,” Associate head coach Jan Jensen said on the Hawkeye radio network. “And my belief is she’s going to start getting hot when we need it most. She’s been there, she’s seasoned, so hopefully that’s going to be more consistent as we go. But we’re not worried about it. We’re just so happy for her when they do go in because she’s such a doggone good shooter.”
Overall Iowa made 45.5 percent of its 3-point attempts and had 15 in the game.
Iowa had enviable balance with five players scoring in double figures: Clark, Martin (15), Affolter (14), Marshall (12) and Hannah Stuelke (10).
“That’s when we’re at our best,” Clark said. “When we have multiple people scoring in double figures that makes us really hard to guard. So we’re going to need that consistently going forward.”
“I really thought it was a great team effort,” Jensen said. “Look at the balance in the scoring.
“(Affolter) came off the bench and just handled (things). We ran some junk defense; we ran our player (to player), and she was always guarding one of the top two kids and really just had a great game. She had the highest plus/minus to show for it.”
Martin had the same rating as Affolter, and Clark was close behind.
The Hawkeyes limited the Boilers to 5-of-20 shooting behind the arc and 40 percent overall. Iowa won the rebounding battle by 18. In addition to Clark’s 10, Martin added eight and Affolter six.
Another key was that Iowa never let up on the accelerator. The Hawkeyes were poised in a loud atmosphere and continued to build the lead. Finally by the third quarter it was out of Purdue’s reach. Iowa’s 96 points were the most Purdue has given up this year, more than second-ranked UCLA scored (92) in an early season blowout. It was also the first home loss this season for Purdue.
The Hawkeyes’ 16-1 start is the best under coach Lisa Bluder. Iowa last started 16-1 during the 1995-96 season.
“The target gets bigger and bigger on your back, and you’ve just got to know you’re going to take everybody’s best shot,” Jensen said. “Anytime you get a win on the road you’re going to take it, and I thought for the most part we did a lot of really great things and played well.”