LGHL Visiting Locker Room: Daily Iowan talks Hawkeyes and Buckeyes’ regular-season finale

[ThomasCostello]

Visiting Locker Room: Daily Iowan talks Hawkeyes and Buckeyes’ regular-season finale
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

How has Iowa changed since Jan. 21? Starters are staying on the floor, for one.

Sunday, the Big Ten regular season ends, starting a slate of seven games in Iowa City, Iowa. The biggest game on the conference calendar features Ohio State women’s basketball and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The two played an overtime thriller on Jan. 21, with the Buckeyes coming away with a 100-92 victory, paving the way toward the outright Big Ten title. Iowa’s lost twice since the matchup in Columbus but made an abundance of history along the way through the individual effort of guard Caitlin Clark.

To learn more about how this side’s changed, Land-Grant Holy Land reached out to The Daily Iowan. Sports co-editor Colin Votzmeyer answered questions about foul trouble the last time these two sides played, any improvements of the group around Clark, and the superstar’s larger impact on campus and in the state.

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Land-Grant Holy Land:

The Daily Iowan:

LGHL: Since the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes last faced off, Iowa’s had its trip-ups. After every loss, the team comes out with renewed energy and doesn’t repeat similar mistakes that wound up in defeats. Following the loss to the Indiana Hoosiers, how has this Iowa team changed?

DI: After the loss to Indiana, I would not say it is so much that this Iowa team has changed as much as it is that this Iowa team has remained the same — and that’s what’s helped it bounce back. It’s persistence and overcoming adversity.

The Iowa women’s basketball team is the definition of persistence. From the Clark records to the sold-out crowds and massive away games, this team has every eye on it and every excuse to dwindle under the pressure. But when the Hawkeyes face adversity, they remain together, adhere to what they know, and bounce right back. That’s the best trait that can carry them through the postseason.

LGHL: Back on Jan. 21, both teams had their fair share of foul issues. Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke and Ohio State’s Celeste Taylor and Taylor Thierry each had to sit for longer than both coaches expected. What does it mean to head coach Lisa Bluder to have Stuelke available for closer to 40 minutes?

DI: To have Stuelke available for closer to 40 minutes is valuable to head coach Lisa Bluder in that it makes this Iowa offense a much deeper threat. When Caitlin Clark’s supporting cast is off, she is the sole target for opposing defenses: Lock Clark down, and the game is the opponent’s.

With Stuelke — last year’s Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year — active on both ends of the floor, not only does she make the Iowa offense a dual threat, but she also makes it a two-level threat. Clark can pour in especially from deep, and a strong post presence from Stuelke makes the Hawkeyes much harder to guard across the frontcourt.

LGHL: The Buckeyes didn’t completely leave guard Caitlin Clark open in Columbus, but they weren’t double or triple-teaming the superstar. Instead, Ohio State played stronger defense against the supporting cast. How has that group of four strengthened since that late January matchup?

DI: I think Clark’s supporting cast has realized she can’t do it all alone. To win big games, the Hawkeyes especially need Kate Martin, Stuelke, and Molly Davis as well as Gabbie Marshall or Sydney Affolter well into double-digits in scoring to make big runs in the postseason against top-tier teams like the Buckeyes.

This group has since shown amazing glimpses of ability to lead this Iowa offense without Clark. Take a look at Stuelke’s then-record for scoring inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. And Martin and Marshall are shooting the ball as confidently as ever, especially after the latter’s hot shooting from deep against Minnesota. Both since the Ohio State loss. When Bluder and this squad really nail down how to make that consistent, this team is dangerous.

LGHL: Everyone in the basketball world knows Clark, but her impact in and around Iowa is something that we on the outside don’t really get to know. As someone who covers Clark from campus, what has her impact been like around the University of Iowa and in the state overall?

DI: Clark’s impact on the University of Iowa and the state itself is very hard to put into words. I believe she is the greatest athlete to ever play at Iowa — and one of the greatest college athletes ever. The way that has translated to economic impact is most visible. Women’s basketball games are sold out in every game, and ticket prices are insanely high. The university is making more money from women’s basketball than it ever has. And with that comes attention. As ESPN, NBC, and FOX come to Iowa City again and again, the country recognizes Iowa’s role in advancing women’s sports.

The cycle fuels itself there. Clark is the motivation there too. The way she is changing the women’s game in the public eye reflects very well on both the university and state, which benefit as a result.

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