Iowa secured their spot in the Sweet 16 after defeating Georgia in the second-round game of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Caitlin Clark scored 22 points and made 12 assists to help the Hawkeyes secure a 74-66 win. Freshman forward Hannah Stuelke was absent due to an injured ankle, but coach Lisa Bluder said she expects Stuelke to be available for the regional semifinal. Iowa will face the winner of the Duke-Colorado game in the next round. Meanwhile, Georgia fell short of their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2013 but showed strength in Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s first season. The Lady Bulldogs had won nine of their 12 games coming into Sunday’s game. Monika Czinano led Iowa with 20 points, while Que Morrison and Javyn Nicholson led Georgia with 21 and 12 points, respectively.
Iowa advances to Sweet 16 of NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament
Caitlin Clark led Iowa to victory over Georgia in a second-round game of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Despite admitting to not having her best game, Clark, the unanimous AP All-American, scored 22 points and made 12 assists to help the Hawkeyes secure a 74-66 win.
Although held scoreless for the first 13 minutes of the game, Clark scored 14 second-half points, scoring or assisting on 30 of Iowa’s 33 second-half points. Iowa was able to shake off the 10th-seeded Lady Bulldogs thanks to Monika Czinano, who scored 20 points, Gabbie Marshall, who added 15, and McKenna Warnock, who contributed 14 points.
Georgia coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson praised her team’s performance and their ability to contain Clark, who averages 27 points per game. The Lady Bulldogs rallied and got within two points of Iowa at 68-66 with 2:17 left in the game. However, three straight turnovers and a missed layup left them scoreless for the rest of the game.
Iowa’s win has advanced them to the Sweet 16, where they will play the winner of the Duke-Colorado game. Despite the victory, Clark recognized that the win was only one step towards their ultimate goal and that there was still much work to be done.
Iowa’s Stuelke injured, but expected to play in Sweet 16
Iowa was without freshman forward Hannah Stuelke in their second-round win over Georgia due to an injured ankle sustained during practice on Saturday. Stuelke had scored 14 points in Friday’s first-round win over Southeastern Louisiana and averages 7 points and 4.2 rebounds. Despite the absence of Stuelke, the Hawkeyes secured their spot in the Sweet 16.
Coach Lisa Bluder said she expects Stuelke to be available next weekend in the regional semifinal.
Big Picture
The win against Georgia advanced Iowa to the Sweet Sixteen, where they will face the winner of the Duke-Colorado game. Although the Hawkeyes were held 13 points under their national-best average of 87.8 points, they were able to come up with enough offense against Georgia’s zone defense, which forced 17 turnovers.
Meanwhile, Georgia fell short of their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2013 but showed strength in Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s first season. The Lady Bulldogs had won nine of their 12 games coming into Sunday’s game.
“I know everything is going to be about Iowa right now,” said Abrahamson-Henderson. “But my team is really good. They are really good. We came in here, we fought like crazy, we were the underdogs, but there was no underdog here today.”
The game between Iowa and Georgia saw 21 assists from Iowa, with Caitlin Clark making 12 of those, and 17 assists from Georgia, with Gabby Lewis making 10. Monika Czinano led Iowa with 20 points, while Que Morrison and Javyn Nicholson led Georgia with 21 and 12 points, respectively.
The final score was Iowa 74, Georgia 66.
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