The No. 1-seed Iowa Hawkeyes encountered an unexpectedly formidable challenge in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against the No. 8-seed West Virginia Mountaineers. They were coming in off a dominating first-round victory over Holy Cross on Saturday, 91-54, and many were expecting an encore.
The game, which marked the final appearance of Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall, Sharon Goodman and Molly Davis at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, was a hard-fought battle, remaining entirely up for grabs until the final moments. The Hawkeyes, however, pulled it off over the Mountaineers with a 64-54 win to move on to the Sweet 16.
It was a game in which defense ruled the day, as both teams shot under 40 percent from the field and neither was able to control of the tempo for much of the night. West Virginia made it a priority to crowd the perimeter, particularly Clark; at times, she was stymied into a state of chaos with missed shots and turnovers. The Hawkeyes couldn’t go on a run for much of the first half, and were held to only six points in the second quarter.
In essence, they were playing into the Mountaineers hands early on, as JJ Quinerly, Kyah Watson, Jayla Hemingway and Tirzah Moore were able to make considerable inroads with solid shooting and defensive prowess….
