Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
[Bloomington, IN]- A big night in women’s college hoops took place in Bloomington Thursday night.
#14 IU hosted the fourth ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in a crowd looking to see Caitlin Clark continue her prowess on the floor. The Hoosiers had another plan.
Indiana fought Clark defensively, holding her to eight of twenty-six from the field and only three, three pointers on sixteen attempts. Clark did still finish with a team leading twenty-four points in the 86-69 loss.
ISC Sports Networks Greg Rakestraw joined The Wake-Up Call to give his reaction to the upset.
“I had friends of mine posting pictures, standing in line waiting to get in,” Rakestraw said, “Great win for IU, great win for women’s college basketball in this state, and great job by the Hoosier fans for going and supporting a good women’s team.”
Rakestraw also weighed in on Clark being the number one overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft to the Indiana Fever.
“If I’m the Indiana Fever,” Rakestraw said, “I’m seeing if I can learn something from Larry Bird. I’m going to the WNBA and saying can we draft her this year and if she changes her mind still get her rights a year from now.”
The defensive superiority for IU was strong on not only Clark, but others as well. IU held Iowa to a 17% three-point percentage and forced twelve turnovers. Offensively, Sara Scalia (25) and Mackenzie Holmes (24) both went over 20 points on the night. Scalia went 7-14 from the field for the Hoosiers Thursday, and was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line.
IU was on fire from the field, hitting 51% from the field, 42% from the arch, and 68% of their free throws.
The Hoosiers are now 22-4 on the year with the win and 13-3 in the Big Ten conference. The last two games of the season are getting closer. IU will be at Northwestern on Tuesday at 7:00 PM and will host Maryland at 3:00 PM on March 3rd.
