The No. 4 Iowa women’s basketball team will return on the road on Thursday when the Hawkeyes travel to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, to take on the No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers.
The Hawkeyes are coming off of a 106-89 win against the Michigan Wolverines at Carver-Hawkeye Arena last week — where Caitlin Clark set the all-time NCAA Division I women’s basketball scoring record in exciting fashion with a 49-point, 13-assist double-double, her career high and an arena record for points.
Guard Kate Martin and forward Hannah Stuelke also notched double-digits, scoring 20 and 13 points, respectively.
During Wednesday’s media availability, associate head coach Jan Jensen said celebrating Clark’s record as a team in front of a home crowd was special but said once the moment passed, the team was back to business.
“What’s awesome about Caitlin is since she was five years old to now, when she’s playing, she wants everyone to know at this particular moment she’s the best there ever was because that’s how she’s wired,” Jensen said. “But when it’s over, all those balls and trophies that she gets, they are the least of her concern.”
Heading into the matchup against Indiana, the Hawkeyes face a 21-4 Hoosiers squad led by former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year forward Mackenzie Holmes, whose 20.6 points and seven rebounds per game leads her team in both categories.
Iowa has claimed victory in four of the last five matchups against Indiana, with the Hawkeyes last winning, 84-57, last month in a game where the Hoosiers shot poorly from both the three-point and free-throw lines, with Indiana’s leading three-point scorer Sara Scalia going 0-of-4 from deep.
Jensen credits the team for putting her in bad situations to shoot but said Scalia’s responded well since that game as the fifth-year senior has averaged at least four made three-pointers in the following games.
“Scalia’s a force, and Mackenzie Holmes is a great player,” Jensen said. “We’re going to have to play arguably one of our very best games of the season if we’re going to come out of there on top.”
Tentatively matching up against Holmes will be starting center Hannah Stuelke, who recorded just five points on five shooting attempts in the two teams’ first matchup. Iowa also deployed backup centers Addison O’Grady and Sharon Goodman in that game, but Goodman’s minutes per game have dwindled since then, and she has yet to play since Iowa’s Jan. 31 win at Northwestern.
With O’Grady’s minutes increasing and forward AJ Ediger also seeing increased playing time, Jensen said the team’s substitutions and formations vary depending on who they play.
“I credit them because they’ve bought into [the fact] that we’re a group and trusting who’s needed at what moment and who kinda has performed [better] that week in practice,” she said.
Jensen said two or three different post players might play in Thursday’s game.
“That’s really hard to get a small group of kids and to get them excited for whoever goes in and not just sit there and be disjointed because they didn’t get those couple of minutes,” she said.
Headed back on the road for the first time since Iowa suffered yet another fourth-quarter lead blown during an 82-79 loss to Nebraska on Feb. 11., Jensen said it’s a gift and a curse traveling on the road due to the excitement in the arenas to see Clark and the team, which also brings thousands of opposing fans rooting against Iowa.
“It’s really tough. It’s not like doing a drill to stop a drive. There’s a lot [mentally] that you can’t do when the band’s right beside you and when the crowd is booing you,” she said. “We’re going to have the opportunity tomorrow to see how much we’ve grown.”
Up next
The Hawkeyes will be back home inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a bout against Illinois on Sunday.
The Illini are an underwhelming 13-12 this season — but last beat Indiana, 86-66, on Monday.
