(Albany, NY) – Iowa heads to the game that everybody has been waiting for against LSU in the Elite Eight after defeating Colorado on Saturday 89-68. The Hawkeyes just couldn’t seem to miss in the game and finally looked like the Iowa team that we were used to seeing during the regular season.
Iowa just sat snug all game long, especially after leading 48-35 at the half. Caitlin Clark, Sydney Affolter, and Gabbie Marshall were just able to hold down the floor all afternoon long and all three looked to get back to what made them successful earlier in the season. Colorado was not able to hold Iowa on the defensive end, while Iowa was able to do just the opposite. The Hawkeyes held the Buffaloes to shooting just 37.5% from the field and 27.6% from beyond the arc. Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder was proud o how her girls played as a team.
The Hawkeyes were led on the day by Caitlin Clark who had another 20+ point game to mark over 35 games this season where she put down over 20+ points this season. She finished with 29 points and 15 assists for a double-double while also hauling in six boards. Coming up right alongside her was Sydney Affolter who didn’t miss from the field shooting 5-5 and also knocking in 15 points and snagging five rebounds. Both Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin finished with 14 points while Martin came up just short of a double-double with nine boards. The last double-digit scorer on the night was Hannah Stuelke who quietly had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawkeyes. Clark is now looking forward and is more than excited to get back to the Elite Eight.
On the opposite end, Colorado was led by Aaronette Vonleh who knocked down 13 points and also snagged five rebounds and knocked away two blocks. Right alongside Vonleh was Maddie Nolan who had 12 points while snagging five rebounds. Nolan also tied in scoring with Frida Formann who went 4-13 from the field and hauled in 12 points. Jaylyn Sherrod shot 4-9 from the field and was just shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds on the night. While scoring just seven points, Kindyll Wetta had a game-leading five steals on the night.
Iowa outrebounded Colorado 43-34 and forced 19 turnovers while the Buffaloes had just 13 forced turnovers. Iowa didn’t take as great of care of the basketball as they did in the past as Colorado had 14 steals on the day. The Hawkeyes also led in points in the paint with a 46-36 advantage. As the Hawkeyes look forward, they aren’t looking back on what happened in last season’s game.
This marks the third time in the last five NCAA Tournaments Iowa will take on LSU in the NCAA Tournament. They will battle LSU on Monday, April 1st at a time to be determined later.
