Iowa, Caitlin Clark roll past Rutgers women's basketball in front of sold-out crowd
In front of a sold-out Jersey Mike’s Arena on Livingston Campus, the Rutgers women’s basketball team faced off against Caitlin Clark and did not live to tell the tale. The Scarlet Knights (6-11, 0-4) fell to Iowa 103-69 as the Hawkeyes (15-1, 4-0) controlled the boards and the game’s pace of play.
Rutgers only trailed No. 4 Iowa by 6 points after the first quarter. The Hawkeyes started to take over in the second quarter, though, outscoring the Knights 30-11 en route to a 55-30 lead at halftime.
Iowa’s dominance did not stop there, as it was able to steamroll Rutgers in its 34-point victory.
As expected, Clark shined brightly in front of a sold-out arena. The senior scored 29 points while corralling 10 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists for the Hawkeyes. It was her 14th career triple-double.
“I think that’s when we’re at our best is when I’m kind of facilitating a little more, rebounding, pushing in transition,” Clark said. “Overall, just a good team win. You get everybody in the game. That’s just fun basketball, that’s Iowa basketball. High assists on high made shots and that’s what we’re all about.”
Clark spoke about how special it was to receive such a warm welcome in Piscataway, New Jersey.
“The crowd was incredible,” Clark said. “There were a lot of little girls, most I’ve seen in a long time. We don’t get to come out to the East Coast much. It’s really special the cheer I got when I ran on the court. Some moments you’re never going to forget.”
Head coach Coquese Washington credited Iowa for its togetherness and its ability to play around Clark.
“It’s pretty special when you have teammates who understand how to allow a generational talent, an incredible player, to be herself and to make you better and to play within the framework that makes everybody at their best,” Washington said.
Overall, the Hawkeyes' 51 rebounds were a big factor in their win over the Knights
“We missed a lot of shots and they were able to get a lot of defensive rebounds,” Washington said.
Iowa shot 54.2 percent from the field which was much better than Rutgers' 37.1 field goal percentage.
Washington recognized that the Hawkeyes' tempo could have caught the younger players in the backcourt by surprise.
“Iowa plays at such a fast pace offensively that when you’ve got a lot of young players, young guards out there, they got to go through it,” Washington said. “They have to go through it and understand how fast the rotations (are) and how fast things happen.”
Despite the loss, Washington is happy to see the team stick to the pace they set for themselves and hopes to see more of it when the Knights take on Ohio State this Thursday.
“I am happy to see us playing the pace that we want to play,” Washington said. “The more that we do that, the more that we will get accustomed to being able to make shots, being able to defend at that pace, being able to do all of the things that we want to do on both ends. But, we have to establish that this is how we’re going to play win, lose, or draw."
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