No. 3 Iowa 96, Purdue women's basketball 71: 3 takeaways
The Hawkeyes blistered the nets with 15 3-pointers, forcing the Boilermakers to play from behind most of the night. Star Caitlin Clark recorded another triple double
Three takeaways from Wednesday’s game before a sold-out Mackey Arena:
LOTS OF WEAPONS
Too much firepower for Purdue to deal with. Caitlin Clark is tough enough, but when Gabbie Marshall, Sydney Affolter and Kate Martin are hitting from the perimeter, Iowa is nearly unstoppable. The Hawkeyes set a Mackey Arena record for an opponent with 15 3-pointers and shot lights out in ending Purdue’s 10-game home-court winning streak. Clark recorded a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. They outscored the Boilermakers by 30 points from the 3-point line. Clark was 6 of 14 but the rest of the team was 9 of 18. The Boilermakers needed either Clark or the rest of the team to have an off-night. Purdue got lost a few times in rotations giving the Hawkeyes open looks.
Purdue’s Abbey Ellis drives against Iowa (Dave Wegiel Photography)
SOLID PERFORMANCE FOR 36 MINUTES
Unlike the two games against UCLA and Notre Dame – two highly ranked teams – the Boilermakers kept going almost to the end. That’s an important element as Katie Gearlds pushes this program forward but it wasn‘t good enough to satisfy the third-year coach, who was “a little bit pissed off” the game ended up as a 25-point deficit when it was 15 midway through the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t finish the basketball game the way we competed for most of the game,” Gearlds said. “That’s hard for me to swallow right now.”
Purdue was on the attack most of the night, led by Abbey Ellis, who pushed the ball in transition to provide some offense and finished with 15 points and six assists. The Boilermakers shot the ball well early but couldn’t maintain that pace even though they had four players in double figures, including 13 from Caitlyn Harper. Jeanae Terry was open and looked for her shot a lot on Wednesday an element that must continue. The Boilermakers aren’t built offensively to trade baskets with a team like Iowa. And Purdue couldn’t keep Iowa from collecting offensive rebounds resulting in 17 second-chance points.
BOX SCORE: Iowa 96, Purdue 71
CLARK IS SPECIAL
Believe the hype around Clark. She’s a special player who makes everyone on her team special. She’s the best player in the game and I’m not sure we’ll see another one like her during my lifetime. If you get a chance to watch Clark in person, do it. The Indiana Fever came to Mackey Arena and the organization is hoping Clark opts to turn professional. The Fever have the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft. Interested to watch Saturday’s game between Iowa and Indiana. I think the Hoosiers have the best starting five in the Big Ten, but the game is in Iowa City and the Hawkeyes have more depth. I wish Clark would stop the theater when she disagrees with a call but she’s not changing. The technical foul won’t impact her behavior. She’s so engaging with fans and in her press conferences that people gloss over what does on the court in these situations.