During the No. 1 seed Iowa women’s basketball’s 91-65 victory over No. 16 Holy Cross in the first round of the NCAA tournament, guard Caitlin Clark had an off game.
Well, by her standards, at least, as the Crusaders held the reigning Naismith Player of the Year to just a double-double of 27 points and 10 assists on 8-of-19 shooting.
“I was a little frustrated, but I feel like that comes from knowing what it takes to be where we want to be,” Clark said during the post-game press conference. “I definitely could have smiled a little bit more, but hey, I’m competitive. I want to win, and I expect us to be really good all the time.”
But luckily for her and Iowa, it didn’t have to be the Caitlin Clark show Saturday afternoon, as the Hawkeyes had three other players score in double-digits. Guards Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall finished with 15 and 11 points, respectively, and center Addison O’Grady went for a career-high 14 points.
“It’s really comforting to know that if Caitlin’s on the bench, we can still score really well,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “ I thought some people really stepped up.”
Guard Sydney Affolter finished one point shy of reaching the double-digit mark but made up for it by notching seven rebounds and two steals.
O’Grady saw increased minutes during Saturday’s game due to starter Hannah Stuelke playing just 10 minutes due to experiencing migraines.
Stuelke said afterward that she doesn’t expect to miss Iowa’s next-round matchup on Monday, March. 25 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena against the winner of No. 9 Princeton versus No. 8 West Virginia.
“We had the game handled, so there was no point in me [coming back] and playing when we play again in two days,” Stuelke said.
O’Grady’s 14 points came in just 14 minutes of playing, with the junior making the most of her playing time, shooting an efficient 7-of-9 from the field.
Bluder said she had O’Grady place Iowa’s sticker to the next round to celebrate the Aurora, Colorado, native for her performance.
“[O’Grady] played that well for us,” Bluder said. “I think AJ [Ediger] came in and did some nice things — Sharon [Goodman] in a really small amount of time has five points for us.”
Martin also led the team in rebounds with 14 along with finishing as Iowa’s second leading scorer. The sixth-year senior recorded her fifth double-double of the season and seventh of her career.
“This was one of two games left for seniors here in Carver, and so I’m trying to enjoy every single moment,” she said. “At this time of the year, it’s survive and advance, and I’m proud of the way we responded to a lot of situations today.”
Marshall, or as some fans have coined her ”March’-all’, lived up to her nickname by going 3-of-5 from the three-point line in the first half.
“When [Gabbie’s] hitting her shots and playing with passion, it really lights a fire under all of us,” Martin said. “It’s really fun for us, and when you see one go through the net … [made shots] are contagious.”
As the team advances to the next round, Clark said the team can’t afford to start off slow again in future games.
“From here on out, every single team is going to give us a really good game,” she said. “Every single team is basically a top 25 team at this point, and that’s what makes March so fun.”