Iowa had a chance to join undefeated South Carolina as a top seed in the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament after losses by preseason No. 1 LSU and No. 2 UConn. Instead, Iowa became the latest early women's college basketball season favorite to tumble.
Clark led Iowa with 24 points but shot 9-of-32, including 2-of-16 from long. The 21-year-old missed 20 shots for the first time in her career, while her 32 attempts were a career high.
Clark stated, “That was just not Iowa basketball,” after the game. I must take responsibilities as a point guard. I must improve our offensive. I must improve my shot selection.
My shooting will be off on some nights, and I don't think I helped myself by getting to the basket and taking fouls when we needed to. Even without good shooting, we can win games. So there were many other places to improve.”
Hannah Stuelke, Sharon Goodman, and Addison O'Grady shot 7-of-12 while the team shot 36.1%. After losing Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock last season, the Hawkeyes are still finding their groove and best lineup.
A loss to Kansas State ended Iowa's three-game winning streak and was the first time since Clark arrived in 2020-21 that the Hawkeyes were kept to under 60 points. Clark and head coach Lisa Bluder praised the opposition defense, although they were disappointed.