Merely Surviving West Virginia Gives Caitlin Clark a Reality Check on Iowa’s March Madness Journey: “We Didn’t Even…”

It was a surprisingly tough night for Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes as the West Virginia Mountaineers gave them a reality check today. While the Hawkeyes eventually won to move to the Sweet 16, it was after quite some time that Iowa struggled on the offensive end so badly. As the team proceeds forward into the tournament, it feels safe to say that things can get tougher for them.

In today’s matchup against West Virginia, the Hawkeyes seemed to have worked visibly hard to take a 64-54 win against the Mountaineers. Reflecting on the game, Caitlin Clark spoke about the opportunities her team had to extend the minor leads they had throughout the game. She said, “We had so many opportunities tonight where we got to a 10-point lead a seven-point lead and we couldn’t figure out a way to extend it and honestly we just didn’t shoot the ball very well. We just didn’t make shots that we normally make, we didn’t shoot it too great from the three-point line,” expressing how they could have played in this game.

Furthermore, recognizing West Virginia’s efforts to take on the Hawkeyes head-on, she said, “I think that should give us a lot of motivation you know West Virginia is you know a really good basketball team.”

“We found a way to win. We changed up our defenses, we got big rebounds when it mattered, we made big free throws. So I think that’s the biggest thing is there’s a lot of positive to take away from this when maybe we didn’t even play our best basketball or didn’t look as pretty. I think that’s more fulfilling of a win for us than you know going out there and winning by 30 points go to the middle bet,” Clark added on how her team improvised to the challenge that West Virginia posed in front of them.

With that being mentioned, let’s take a look at the scores.

The Hawkeyes advance despite a tough shooting night for Caitlin Clark

The Hawkeyes had a 5-point lead after the first quarter. However, the second quarter proved to be a tough display for both teams as West Virginia led 9-6 in the 2nd. Yes, Clark and Iowa scored just SIX points in the whole quarter. Nevertheless, things improved after the break as the Hawkeyes extended their lead by winning the quarter 22-14. They managed to maintain that lead to win 64-54.

Being her usual self a bit, Caitlin Clark scored 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. However, she shot poorly from the field, going 8-22 overall and 5-14 from deep. Making 11 out of her 12 free throws helped her numbers. Forward Hannah Stuelke contributed with a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The versatile Hawkeyes guard Sydney Affolter had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.

From the other side, West Virginia’s leading rebounder Kyah Watson scored 13 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist. The team’s leading scorer, JJ Quinerly, had 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. Off the bench, Jayla Hemingway added 10 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist to the team’s final score.

Next up for the Hawkeyes will be the 5th-seeded Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday. The Hawkeyes will be hoping for a much better display than tonight.

READ MORE: Despite a Smooth Sail in the Opening Round Of March Madness, Caitlin Clark Shows Dissatisfaction