The Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team fell short against the No. 2 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes 96-50 on the road Tuesday in a conference battle.
Wisconsin and Iowa met for the second and last time this season in Iowa City. This was the 78th match for the overall series, and the Badgers have not beaten the Hawkeyes since 2001.
Prior to Tuesday’s match, the Badgers were 8-8 overall and 1-5 in the Big Ten. Iowa was 17-1 overall and undefeated in the conference at 6-0.
Senior Brooke Schramek, sophomore Ronnie Porter, sophomore Sania Copeland, senior Natalie Leuzinger and sophomore Serah Williams started for the Badgers.
Wisconsin started the first quarter with a lot of momentum, scoring six points while Iowa was unable to score. The Badgers even led the majority of the quarter before Iowa gained the lead with just four minutes to go.
Iowa heavily guarded Williams in the post, often drawing a double team once she got the ball in her hands. Williams worked around the defense and found scoring in her jump shot for seven points in the quarter.
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, who excels in 3-point shooting, struggled during the first quarter and only made 1-of-4 shots. The Hawkeyes eventually solidified a 19-15 lead behind Clark’s first made 3-pointer going into the second quarter.
The Hawkeyes continued to cover Williams in the paint any time she touched the ball, and her first points of the second quarter came from two made shots at the free throw line. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Iowa’s Sydney Affolter and Clark gave the Hawkeyes their first double-digit lead of the game, 29-17.
Iowa changed their defense in the second quarter, leading to Wisconsin’s continual struggle against the zone defense. The Badgers started slow in the quarter but gained some momentum as halftime approached. Six points from Williams helped the Badgers chip at Iowa’s growing lead, but Wisconsin was unable to guard Iowa at the 3-point line to mount a comeback. The Hawkeyes shot 5-of-10 in the second quarter alone, and the score was 46-30 going into halftime.
The Badgers started off strong in the third quarter, cutting the lead despite Iowa’s continuous scoring. Defensive efforts increased with two early steals from Copeland, and Wisconsin guarded Iowa better from beyond the arc.
Still, the Hawkeyes were efficient in 3-point scoring as Wisconsin continued to struggle against Iowa’s zone defense. Halfway through the quarter, the Badgers committed four fouls, giving up easy free throws to the Hawkeyes. By the end of the third quarter, Iowa put the game out of reach by 32 points, 76-44.
The Badgers offense shut down in the final quarter, scoring only six points. The team also accumulated eight turnovers. These turnovers helped Iowa find scoring on the opposite end of the court as the game drew to an end. Although the Hawkeyes were 2-of-10 from their favored 3-point line in the fourth, the team was still able to build a substantial lead to finish the game 96-50.
Clark led all scorers with 32 points. For the Badgers, Williams snagged her seventh double-double of the season, recording 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Tuesday’s game was a historic night for Iowa and Clark, who became 4th overall in the NCAA all-time scoring record. Clark passed WNBA star and former Baylor star Brittney Griner’s 3,283 points. Clark’s all-time points currently sit at 3,306.
The Wisconsin’s women's basketball team will head back to the Kohl Center to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Jan. 23 for a classic Wisconsin-Minnesota border battle.
