Iowa Women's Basketball rolls past Purdue-Fort Wayne in the Gulf Coast Showcase
For the first time since 2012, the Iowa women’s basketball team played a game in the state of Florida. The Hawkeyes are in Estero, FL for the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena this weekend and they gave Iowa fans from the southeast part of the country a show that has been over ten years in the making. Caitlin Clark , in particular, was impressive with 29 points, as the Hawkeyes rolled to a 98-59 win over Purdue-Fort Wayne in their opening round game of the tournament. Iowa scored 90+ points for an NCAA-leading 39th time since 2020-21.
The game got off to a fast start, with the Hawkeyes and Mastadons combining to shoot 11/17 over the first 4.5 minutes of the game., including three three-pointers for Purdue-Fort Wayne. Iowa led 17-13, but was able to extend their lead, as the Mastdons made just 2 of their last seven shots in the quarter. The opening ten minutes ended with a Caitlin Clark steal and pass to Hannah Stuelke in transition for an easy two point basket at the buzzer to make it 30-20.
In the second quarter, Caitlin Clark got the the ball rolling from behind the arc. She knocked down three three-pointers in the first four minutes of the quarter to extend the Iowa lead to 43-24 and force a PFW timeout. The Hawkeyes went into the locker room with a 52-36 lead after shooting 55.9% from the floor in the first half.
The third quarter started nearly identical fashion to the second quarter. Caitlin Clark buried a pair of three-pointers to make it 58-36 Hawkeyes and PFW took a quick timeout. Clark finished with a game-high 29 points on 8/13 shooting, including six three-pointers. She also had three rebounds and eight assists.
With two games on the schedule for the next two days, Lisa Bluder opted to give her starters some rest in the second half. Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin played just six minutes each in the second half, but Hannah Stuelke left the game with an injury in the first minute of the fourth quarter. She went up for a layup, but took an awkward step and went to the floor with a right leg injury. Lisa Bluder did not have an update on the status of Stuelke in the postgame press conference, but she was taken to the locker room during the fourth quarter.
As for the rest of the game, Iowa was rolling offensively and had a big lead. True freshman guard Kennise Johnson got a driving basket late in the game for her first points in an Iowa uniform. Sophomore Jada Gyamfi added the exclamation point with a three-pointer in the final minute to give Iowa a 98-59 victory.
Sharon Goodman put up her third game in double figures this season with 16 points on 6/7 shooting, while Hannah Stuelke finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Sydney Affolter pulled down a team-high nine rebounds in 20 minutes.
For the game, Iowa shot 35/63 (55.6%) from the floor and 11/27 (40.7%) from three-point range. Defensively, the blocked eight shots, forced 19 turnovers and finished with 24 points off of turnovers. They outrebounded PFW 43-31, including 30-18 on the defensive glass.
Up Next, the Hawkeyes will take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase. FGCU defeated Delaware 83-68 in their opening game of the tournament. Tipoff is set for 6:30pm CT and the game will be streamed on FloHoops.
