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Fresh off a signature early-season win in the Ally Tipoff over No. 5 Virginia Tech (1-1), 80-76, the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes (2-0) return to action today at Northern Iowa (1-0).
Senior guard Caitlin Clark reminded America against the Hokies why she’s the best player on planet Earth. The 6-foot guard scored 44 points, snared eight rebounds and handed out six assists.
The scary thing for the rest of the women’s college basketball world? Clark really didn’t shoot it as well as she could have. The West Des Moines product finished just 13-of-31 from the floor, including just 5-of-16 from 3-point range.
Sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke demonstrated that she’s ready for the role of full-time Clark sidekick, scoring 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting in just 18 minutes of floor time.
The 6-foot-2 forward had to tangle with one of the nation’s best players on the defensive end of the floor in Virginia Tech’s two-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley. Stuelke got into early foul trouble trying to check Kitley, but she was fabulous when out on the floor.
Graduate guard Kate Martin was Iowa’s other double-figure scorer, adding 10 points. One of the other key takeaways was the play of redshirt junior guard Kylie Feuerbach.
Unfazed by the moment, Feuerbach showed that she’s fully back from her ACL injury. The 6-foot guard from Sycamore, Ill., scored eight points, all in the third quarter over the stretch of a couple minutes.
Meanwhile, Northern Iowa enters off a season-opening triumph over Green Bay, 78-67. Four Panthers tallied double digit points, led by junior guards Maya McDermott and Emerson Green’s respective 16 points.
Iowa is making history today at UNI. It’s the first sellout in McLeod Center history for women’s basketball and the first since 2015 when the UNI men hosted and beat then-No. 1 North Carolina, 71-67.
How can Hawkeye fans watch Iowa in Cedar Falls? All of the broadcast details and game notes are below.
How To Watch
Broadcast Teams
ESPN+: Eric Braley, Adam DeJoode
Hawkeye Radio Network: Rob Brooks, play-by-play; Tiffany Reedy, color analyst
Where To Find, How To Get ESPN+
ESPN+ is the four-letter network’s exclusive streaming entity. A number of sports will find their way onto ESPN+ and off the traditional TV broadcasting side over the course of this 2023-24 athletics calendar year.
Fans can bundle their ESPN+ alongside, Disney+ and Hulu if they want right here, or the ESPN+ only subscription can be purchased right here.
Probable Iowa Starters
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G, 6-0, Sr., Caitlin Clark: 36.0 points, 8.0 assists, 7.5 rebounds per game, 50.0% FG, 36.0% 3-point FG
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G, 5-9, Sr., Gabbie Marshall: 2.0 steals, 1.5 assists per game
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G, 6-0, Grad., Kate Martin: 9.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals per game, 46.7% FG
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F, 6-2, Soph., Hannah Stuelke: 17.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.0 assists per game, 83.3% FG
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C, 6-3, RS. Jr., Sharon Goodman: 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds per game, 75.0% FG
Probable Northern Iowa Starters
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G, 5-6, Jr., Maya McDermott: 14.7 points, 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds per game, 45.8% FG, 37.7% 3-point FG last season
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G, 5-10, Sr., Cailyn Morgan: 3.6 points per game, 43% FG, 29.6% 3-point FG last season
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F, 6-0, R-Soph., Shateah Wetering: Transferred from Iowa; made 15 appearances with the Hawkeyes
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G, 5-9, Jr., Kayba Laube: 5.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists per game, 36.2% FG, 35.4% 3-point FG last season
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F, 6-1, Jr., Grace Boffeli: 16.1 points, 9.2 rebounds per game, 55.3% FG, 40.5% 3-point FG last season
Series History
All-time Series: Iowa leads, 25-3
Last Meeting: Iowa 88, Northern Iowa 74 on Dec. 18, 2022
Scouting UNI
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UNI beat Green Bay in its season opener, 78-67, on Monday night.
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For the first time in program history, UNI women’s basketball has been selected as the Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorite for the 2023-24 season. In the Tanya Warren era, the Panthers have been in the top two six times including this year’s No. 1 projection.
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They return three of their starters from a season ago and seven others while bringing in three newcomers.
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Of the starters returning, guard Maya McDermott and forward Grace Boffeli were named to the MVC Preseason First team with Boffeli being awarded Preseason Player of the Year honors.
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The Panthers were led last season by Grace Boffeli in scoring (531), rebounds (303) and field goal percentage (55.3%). Maya McDermott led the way for UNI in three- pointers made (60) and assists (116), while Ryley Goebel led Northern Iowa in blocks (41) and steals (43) coming off the bench.
Postgame Virginia Tech Notes for Iowa
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Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Iowa leads the nation with 79 games of scoring 80+ points.
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Fifth time in Clark’s career she has registered 40+ points, 5+ assists, and 5+ rebounds.
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Second AP Top 10 victory in the month of November and first of the Bluder era. The other came against LA Tech on Nov. 28, 1993.
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It was Iowa’s first AP Top 25 win in the month of November since the Hawkeyes defeated No. 25 WVU on Nov. 23, 2018.
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Iowa now leads the all-time series, 3-1.
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Bluder is 3-0 against Virginia Tech as the head coach at the University of Iowa.
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It was Bluder’s 17th AP Top 10 victory of her career.
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11th AP Top 25 victory in the month of November in program history.
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34th overall AP Top 10 win in school history. (34-70)
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98th overall AP Top 25 victory in program history. (98-154)
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Clark has netted a 3-point basket in 60 consecutive games which is an NCAA-best.
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It was Clark’s 43rd career game with 25+ points, 5+ assists, and 5+ rebounds. (NCAA Best)
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Iowa is 6-3 when Clark records 40 or more points in her career. Clark has registered 40 or more points in three out of her last five games. (Louisville, South Carolina, and Virginia Tech)
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It was Molly Davis’ third career start for the Hawkeyes.
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It was the fifth time in Stuelke’s career that she has recorded back-to-back games in double figures.
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