The Ally Tipoff in Charlotte, NC might feature the most fun women’s college hoops game of the season, as two 2023 Final Four teams now ranked in the top 10—the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0) and No. 8 Virginia Tech Hokies (1-0)—meet at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2).
Here are three things to watch for when the Hawkeyes and Hokies take the court:
Clark vs. Amoore
If there’s one player who can match the offensive punch and panache of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, it’s Georgia Amoore. The Virginia Tech senior point guard possesses her own deep bag of tricks, with a deft handle, playmaking poise and, most notably, a penchant to get hot from downtown.
Clark, at 6-foot-0 with long limbs, can rain 3s over most perimeter defenders with relative ease. In contrast, the 5-foot-6 Amoore often has to create space for her off-the-dribble treys. She does so with flair and facility, unleashing nasty stepbacks and sidesteps to open the windows needed to fire off 3-pointers.
While basketball is a team game, it would be quite fun if Thursday night’s game turns into a shooting contest between Clark and Amoore, with each one upping the other with increasingly absurd behind-the-arc bombs.
Can Iowa contain Kitley?
In Virginia Tech’s opening romp of High Point, fifth-year big Elizabeth Kitley, a
