No. 3 Iowa women’s basketball steamrolls Clarke University in final exhibition matchup

The No. 3 Iowa women’s basketball team looked in prime shape in a 122-49 exhibition win over Clarke University at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Sunday.

The exhibition marked the Hawkeyes’ second of the season after the 94-72 win over DePaul for the Crossover at Kinnick event on Oct. 15 — an event that broke the all-time record for attendance at a women’s basketball game with 55,646 fans packed into Kinnick Stadium.

The Clarke Pride, out of Dubuque, Iowa, are the reigning NAIA Women’s Basketball National Champions but had no answer for Iowa’s smooth offense and cohesive defense.

Starting for the Hawkeyes were Caitlin Clark alongside guards Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin, second-year forward Hannah Stuelke, and third-year center Addi O’Grady — the latter two filling the shoes of last year’s graduates McKenna Warnock and Monika Czinano.

Stuelke led the Hawkeyes with 27 points on 11-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line — a big shooting jump from last year for the Cedar Rapids native.

“I think [I’m] just being more confident on the floor, knowing that I can drive to the basket, knowing I can post up and get the ball and score,” Stuelke said. “I think my teammates have helped me a lot, building that confidence, so I’m happy that I’m here with them.”

Clark followed closely behind with 24 points in the game on 9-for-13 from the field, 1-for-3 from deep, and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line in addition to nine assists.

Strong start

Clark served as the Hawkeyes’ floor general early on, commanding attention with a quick assist to Martin right off of the tip-off and finishing the first quarter with 11 points of Iowa’s 30.

Her points came from attacking the rim, though, as her two three-point attempts would not fall.

Stuelke maintained a strong post presence on both ends of the floor, keeping a fortified base down low on defense and remaining active on the glass when she moved into the center position.

Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder quickly started to mix in her bench players, led by fifth-year guard Molly Davis — who has displayed confidence with a one-two step into a three with the shot clock winding down and a smooth hesitation into a layup soon after.

“I feel like we’ve got a lot of depth right now,” Bluder said. “It’s so important to have that depth as you go through. It’s a grind; the season is so long and so difficult that … we have to have that kind of depth.”

Stuelke’s strong second

The Hawkeyes began the second quarter with a 30-12 lead over the Pride and continued that momentum, aided by the Pride’s inability to find the bottom of the net from three — and struggle to find Stuelke attacking the rim.

Stuelke finished the half with 20 points on 8-of-11 from the field — and included a rare three in the mix, which got Hawkeye fans awake.

Third-year center Sharon Goodman quickly established herself as a strong post presence off of the bench as well with a block down low and a nice post seal for a layup on the other end. Goodman’s performance marks her first true return since sustaining an ACL injury two years ago.

“I’m ready to do whatever the team needs me to do,” Goodman said. “But I think a lot of that feeling more comfortable and confident comes from my teammates. They’ve been encouraging me for the past two years since I’ve been back [from my ACL injury].”

The Hawkeyes allowed just six points in the quarter and headed into the locker room for halftime with a comfortable 62-18 lead.

Pulling away with posts

The Pride started the second half scoring early but were quickly silenced by Clark’s first three of the game.

From then on, the Des Moines native found herself scoring at will around the rim, and so did Goodman — a frequent target of Clark’s three assists in the quarter.

Davis, taking over at point guard, even included a sweet no-look dish to Goodman down low before Goodman returned the favor on a clever backdoor cut from Davis. That bucket gave the Hawkeyes a 93-33 lead going into the fourth.

“I like making those passes,” Goodman said. “That’s one my favorite things is to try to get my teammates a fun pass like that.”

In the final quarter, the Hawkeyes fed O’Grady again and again as she made her presence felt in the paint, scoring eight in under four minutes before the bench came back in.

“You see them in practice every day, but how are they going to respond to a game situation?” Bluder said. “The question was what are we going to do about the center [position], and I think you see we’ve got three really good options at center.”

The Hawkeyes maintained a 14-2 run in the middle of the quarter, the bench riding the momentum in for the win.