No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball struggles to stop Iowa’s Clark, falls 96-82

There was a big game Thursday night in Iowa CIty, and the stars looked to rise up to the moment early.

Caitlin Clark did it for Iowa and she deserved all the shine. The Big Ten’s leading scorer dominated the game from start to finish, picking apart the Terps’ defense at every level on her way to a 42-point, seven rebound and eight assist night.

Clark led the No. 6 Hawkeyes to a 96-82 victory over No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball, as Iowa led from two minutes into the first quarter throughout.

The stars got it started for both Maryland and Iowa. Senior guard Diamond Miller stepped through the lane for a beautiful lay-in, then Clark hit a 30-foot three to open up the scoring.

Early on, it looked like Clark was going to take thirty shots. She put up five of the first seven Hawkeye shots, going 4-5 from the field.

Maryland stayed close, in part due to five offensive rebounds early on in the game. At the first timeout after a frantic pace, Iowa led 13-8.

Despite having played in big road games throughout the season, such as then-No. 7 Notre Dame and then-No. 17 Baylor, Maryland looked rattled coming out the gates. A Miller turnover led to a Iowa layup, and coach Brenda Frese was forced to call a timeout with 3:00 minutes to go in the first quarter.

“We let the crowd and we let our emotions take us out of the game, which was really disappointing,” Frese said.

The Terps’ defense was not good in the first quarter. Iowa dominated the paint, scoring 20 points on 10-14 shooting on layups.

Because of that, the Hawkeyes led 29-18 at the end of the quarter.

Before the game, Maryland emphasized how it had to make Clark work on defense in order to stay competitive in the game. Sophomore guard Shayanee Sellers, who was Clark’s primary matchup on defense, had eight points two minutes into the second quarter.

It did not seem to deter the Hawkyes superstar though, as she hit another 30-plus footer plus a foul for the four-point play. She also found multiple teammates with push-ahead passes that got Iowa easy layups in transition.

“I think it was in transition when our confidence was really shook,” Frese said. “When you have bigs like Iowa that run the floor that hard and shooters it’s really hard.”

Senior forward Monika Czinano had chipped in 18 points on 9-11 shooting to that point, converting on many Clark finds.

Making it more difficult for Maryland was foul trouble. Miller picked up her second foul minutes into the second quarter, making her sit for a majority of the first half.

The two teams both struggled to stop each other in transition, as both scored double-digit transition points in the first half. The difference in the first half was the two stars. Miller only had 10 points on 4-10 scoring, limited to 16 minutes. Meanwhile, Clark played 19 minutes and had 24 points on 9-11 shooting.

In large part due to the Iowa star, Iowa led 56-38 at the end of the first half. That was the most points Maryland had given up in the first half all season.

The Terps brought the score within 15, but Maryland also struggled badly from deep. They were shooting 1-11 from three with seven minutes to go in the third quarter.

In particular, senior guard Abby Meyers shot the ball extremely poorly throughout the game. The Princeton transfer was 2-12 from the field with just under four minutes to go in the third quarter.

A big reason for Maryland coming back in the game was Iowa turning the ball over. The Hawkeyes turned the ball over five times in the third, which allowed the Terps to cut their 20-point halftime deficit into 10 with five minutes left in the quarter.

“I was proud of our defensive effort and our response in the second half,” Frese said.

Miller started to show why she’s a top five projected pick in the quarter as well. The star senior had six points in the third on 2-3 shooting.

But Clark matched Miller everytime the Terps cut into the lead. A sidestep three followed by a gorgeous assist pushed Iowa’s lead back out to 16.

“We fought hard…but you just can not spot a team like Iowa that much of a lead,” Sellers said.

At the end of the third quarter, Iowa led 74-60.

In the fourth, it was more of the same. Clark had the Maryland defense on a string, dissecting its help defense and knocking down shots when they left her open.

But the Terps would not go quietly. A Seller’s layup plus foul brought Maryland within 10, with just under four minutes to go in the game.

Sellers played extremely well, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter, for a career-high 26 points. She drew the tough task of guarding Clark and still managed to have a good offensive game.

But Iowa had two scorers with 28-plus points, Clark with 42 and Czinano with 28. That was the difference between the two teams.

The Hawkeyes won 96-82, as the Terps surrendered the most points they had all season. The loss dropped Maryland to 9-3 on the season.

Maryland returns home for on another top ten matchup on Sunday, when it takes on No. 10 Ohio State at 4 pm.