The No. 5 Iowa women’s basketball team will return to action this weekend to participate in the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida.
The Hawkeyes are now 4-1 overall, last beating the Drake Bulldogs, 113-90, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Nov. 19 with a much-improved shooting effort across the board.
Caitlin Clark scored 35 points as she eased back into a three-point shooting groove in the contest, and guard Kate Martin notched a career-high 25 points behind her.
Taking four days off of gameplay for rest and fine-tuning, the Hawkeyes will be back on the hardwood on Friday for the Gulf Coast Showcase — a mini-tournament between eight Division I women’s basketball teams — in a first-round matchup with the Purdue-Fort Wayne Mastodons.
The Mastodons currently sit at 2-1 this season, suffering a season-opening loss to Michigan, 80-61, on Nov. 6 but bouncing back for wins over Great Lakes Christian, 124-41, on Nov. 11 and Southern Illinois, 70-64, in overtime on Nov. 15.
Five Mastodons are currently averaging 10 or more points per game this season:
- Starting guard Shayla Sellers is averaging 14.3 points per game
- Starting guard Amellia Bromenschenkel is averaging 11.3 points per game
- Forward Renna Schwietermann is averaging 11.3 points per game off of the bench
- Starting forward Jazzlyn Linbo is averaging 10.3 points per game
- Guard Erin Woodson is averaging 10.3 points per game off of the bench
Should the Hawkeyes win, they would play again on Saturday in a second-round matchup with the winner of the first-round game between Delaware and Florida Gulf Coast.
The Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens are 1-1 thus far this season, beating Longwood, 81-55, but falling to Lehigh, 78-77 — despite Delaware center Klarke Sconiers compiling 33 points, including 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, and 10 rebounds in the loss.
But the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles are an under-the-radar team to watch this season, coming off of seven-straight A-Sun conference tournament championships and three-straight NCAA tournament berths.
The Eagles are 3-1 this season, their only loss going to No. 21 USC, 67-51, on Nov. 10, and guard Uju Ezeudu is leading the Eagles in scoring with 14 points per game.
On the other side of the bracket, the winners of first-round matchups between No. 16 Kansas State and Western Kentucky and between No. 18 North Carolina and Vermont will compete for a spot to take first place in the final round on Sunday.
That could set the stage for a rematch between the Wildcats and Hawkeyes, should both teams win out, after Kansas State gave Iowa its first loss of the season, 65-58 on Nov. 16 behind 22 points from 6-foot-6 center and post powerhouse Ayoka Lee.
But the Tar Heels are also a threat, sitting at a smooth 4-0 this season with double-digit wins over Gardner-Webb, Hampton, and Elon in addition to a four-point win over a solid Davidson that is unranked but receiving votes in the AP Poll.
Four North Carolina scorers are averaging double digits in guard Deja Kelly with 14.3 points per game, forward Maria Gakdeng with 12.8, guard Lexi Donarski with 11.5, and guard Alyssa Ustby with 11.5.
And only two Hawkeyes are averaging double digits in points in Clark with 30 points per game and second-year forward Hannah Stuelke with 14.8. A firm defensive stand and evenly spread scoring effort will be key to seeing the Black and Gold in a battle for first place in three days.
But this weekend could be full of new records for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall is two steals and two three-pointers short of the 200 mark in both stats — and she would be the first Iowa women’s basketball player to reach both in a career.
Clark is three double-doubles away from cracking the top 10 in career double-doubles in Big Ten history, and head coach Lisa Bluder needs two wins to mark 500 in her career at Iowa.
