I don't see us winning on Sunday so we'll have 3 losses in the B1G which will put us right there with Maryland and Ohio State.
Hawkeye Women’s BBall Season 2021-2022
- Thread starter huntermmm
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I don't see us winning on Sunday and I don't see us winning the conference. I predict we will lose tomorrow and lose again to Michigan at Carver. i don't see us beating Maryland or Indiana either as our improved defense buckles against good shooting teams and our offense stalls if you take away Clark.
I want to be wrong but until other players step up on both sides of the floor we are not an elite team. We are a good top 20 team capable of competing with similar talent. I think next year we can be a top 15 - top 10 type team or better when we have bodies and post players who can shoot/guard on the perimeter.
Warnock is likely out a couple weeks. Gabbie could come back Sunday or within a week or so. Cook will comeback soon but other than rebounding and setting screens she doesn't add much.
Our best hope is to get hot in the BTT with hopefully a healthy roster (minus Goodman/Wettering) and make the title game and then hope we play lights out while our opponent has an off shooting night.
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It a big ask. Last year based on the box score it was Clark, Cizano, and Goodman, and Martin that did the damage. It I swap Goodman for O'Grady. I think defense form Marshall and overall depth could be the difference. I'm in the wait and see camp. We have also seen flashes from some of the subs, and you never can tell if/when young players might take a step forward. It seems like O'Grady usually starts slow with hesitation, then gets into the flow of the game. Its still possible that her good performances against lower ranked teams has as much to do with lack of consistent playing time as ability.
That is a gloomy outlook and I hope you are wrong. I would rather be optimistic and believe they can win. There is no harm in having faith. Lo que será, será.
Gabe generally speaks the truth IMO, but I could see Iowa beating Michigan once, and MD and IU are hard to evaluate with their injuries, so perhaps there is hope. So far, the CC era is more about hype and individual play than team success. Last year, Iowa went 2-8 against ranked BIG opponents, and this year is 0-1 against ranked BIG opponents. Beating a ranked KY team to get to the Sweet 16 was awesome, but not a harbinger of things to come. Until the athleticism and ball handling deficits can be narrowed, and I'm still hoping that Feuerbach can help, Iowa's ceiling may be more about top 20-30 than top 10-15. Perhaps if Iowa finishes as poorly as Gabe envisions it will prompt Bluder to be aggressive in the portal.
If we get Warnock back, we might have a shot at Michigan at home. Another option would be playing O'Grady 8-10 minutes at the 4 in addition to backing up Monika at the 5. It would allow the team to attack Hillman on offense and provide some size and length on D to be in position to block shots. I like Kate playing the 4 in Warnock's absence but she lacks size. I also like seeing Tomi with extended minutes. She was under utilized.
Indiana is still very dangerous, and my concern is their shooting prowess vs our perimeter defense. Maryland is actually the easier matchup at the moment as they are not as consistent from deep and are somewhat vulnerable in the paint.
I would feel a lot better about the finish of the season if we had a healthy roster and had Goodman back. Next year we are in a much better place. Monika could still come back but we have depth if she decides to graduate. I wouldn't mind if Tomi decided to come back. She has come on strong. But we add some guard depth with McCabe and Stuelke and Gyamafi are versatile forwards.
Bluder does need to aggressive pursue a PG in the portal. A grad transfer, preferably one with 2 years remaining as we're not having any luck attracting PGs. Jasmine Powell could also be an option if she is still available at the end of the year.
It’s sad how injuries can put a little damper on your season. We really need to get at least 2 wins against either Michigan, Indiana, or Maryland if we have want to have a good seed in the tournament. As much as it sucks that we won’t have McKenna or Gabbie for who knows how long, it’s nice that the other players are going to get heavy minutes against a top team. Michigan is going to be a real test for them and I'm looking forward to seeing how they do. Another reason why I say we lose is because we whooped their asses at Carver last season and you know they’re going to want revenge.
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Indiana almost lost to Minnesota at home this week. Maryland has looked bad for most of the year and now might be without its point guard. I think expecting losses in those two games given where those teams are is overly pessimistic. We could certainly lose those games, but it's far from a given.
Michigan went to overtime to beat IUPUI, won by 12 at Wisconsin, won by 12 at home vs Minnesota, got stomped by 21 at Nebraska, and beat Purdue by 13 at home. They are not an all-conquering team by any means. Iowa, though short handed, still has a fair chance tomorrow. And it's quite clear that this Iowa team plays better on the road, as they are less distracted, especially Caitlin Clark.
That is one thing this season that I find so interesting is that it seems that we are better on the road than we are at home. I can't remember the last time we were like that. It seems like Caitlin kinda cracks under pressure when we play at home to please the crowd. I'm sure that's something she will grow to manage better.
Yeah she folded under the home crowd pressure last Monday. Only scored 43 points.
And lost! In fact they haven't beat a top 25 team this year.
A point guards top priority is making others better. It's clear the goal of this team is to run up her stat sheet
Doyle and Megan carried this program better than Clark. She's a ne first player and the team isn't that good with her.
It's just hype this year and it's disappointing.
Caitlin leads the nation in assists
I keep seeing people here or elsewhere say we haven't beaten a top 25 team. While that's true, we've only played 2 teams currently ranked. Both of those games were close and Iowa easily could've won either of them. It's not Iowa's fault the Big Ten backloaded its schedule or that Indiana got Covid just before the game at Carver.
I understand the "no ranked wins" argument when discussing Iowa's resume or Iowa's poll ranking, but to say Iowa isn't a good team because it has no ranked wins is just willfully ignoring the situation. You can't get ranked wins when you don't play ranked teams.
I understand the "no ranked wins" argument when discussing Iowa's resume or Iowa's poll ranking, but to say Iowa isn't a good team because it has no ranked wins is just willfully ignoring the situation. You can't get ranked wins when you don't play ranked teams.
The TEAM isn't good because the TEAM struggles to rebound and plays poor defense. These have been problems for the past few seasons.
Doyle and Megan were great defenders. But they also had some great defensive players and very good rebounders surrounding them. Amanda Ollinger was one of the best rebounders Iowa has had under the Bluder era. She also was good at blocking shots. Mackenzie Meyer was a great shooter and an excellent defender. Hannah Stewart was a very good rebounder and could block a shot now and then. Sevillian was a tough defender when she was healthy.
We have good defensive players in Gabbie, Kate and Tomi but we have almost zero post defense with Monica and McKenna. They are great offensive players but consistently get beat on defense. And Megan/Amanda were much better rebounders than McKenna/Monika. Both Monica and McKenna have improved but still need to get better. On the flip side Mckenna/Monika are lethal on offense, especially when McKenna gets hot from three.
The good news is that we do have young posts who can defend and rebound. O'Grady is improving every day and is already above average as a shot blocker. Ediger is a fantastic rebounder. And Sharon Goodman is excellent at rebounding/blocking shots. I cannot stress enough how huge of a loss she was just due to her post presence. If Goodman is 100% next year, I still believe she can be at the level of Jamie Cavey/Bethany Doolittle before her career is over. She has all the tools.
As for this year we'll only go as far as the defense takes us. Next year we add Stuelke and Gyamfi and get Goodman back. Hopefully that will help to shore up our post defense. We also could use a transfer PG so the offense doesn't bog down when Caitlin is on the bench. Several games we've seen Iowa lose large lead when she is out of the game.
This is why I have mixed feelings regarding Monica possibly coming back next year. Part of me would like her return and whatever her decision is, I'm ok with it. But on the other hand I question how this affects our team and roster next year. I think maybe O'Grady/Goodman getting the 40 minutes next year at the 5 will work out just fine. I hope if Monica comes back, that doesn't change a couple of other's decision. I'm looking forward to having our two underclasswomen centers coming back for the next 3 years.
If Monika comes back I'd like the minutes distribution to be more like 20 / 20 instead of 32 / 8. I echo what others have said that the defense has a pretty low ceiling with her on the floor as much as she currently is. (No disrespect -- I love her -- see my avatar haha.) Optimistic that the offensive development of the others will be to the point where it's not a huge offensive drop off when they are in. Or, I'd like to see us implement both the 4-out motion offense and the two post triangle offense at times so we have more minutes for the bigs.
i think had Goodman been healthy she would have been a 10 pt/5 rebound type player as a backup. I too think we need more even distribution. I can live with 25/15. I also agree I'd like to see other bigs on the floor with Monika for short spells.
If Monika comes back, it's going to be hard to distribute minutes unless players decide to redshirt. If Monika wants to keep playing basketball, she's likely to find plenty of opportunities overseas. I've enjoyed her time at Iowa and I respect her game, but I also worry about the development of other bigs. If Goodman is up to pre-injury form, I'd prefer Monika graduate. But ultimately it's Monika's decision and i'll respect whatever choice she makes and cheer for her either way.
If Monika does stay another year, I worry that someone like O'Grady will end up transferring and end up going back home or somewhere else
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Clark is NOT the the problem.... the depth in the post and at PG are.
when Clark is not in the game it is a huge struggle. The injuries and the loss of Meyer or having another capable PG behind Clark is a problem.
As badly as we've shot from 3 this years is also a problem, yet we've overcome it to be right there. If we can get the 3 ball to start falling again, watch out.
my only concern with Clark is turnovers. The late game TO's vs OSU cost them the game. She needs to know that when it's crunch time you have to value possessions more.
I agree, but the kick that was not called really turned the game in my opinion. We were up 3 with the ball and the kick and the next TO and we were down 1.
You are as wrong as wrong can be. Caitlin creates openings for everyone on the team and makes them more effective.
Re:caitlin’s turnovers, I agree needs todo better, was grimacing after last game. But when this team is clicking, I also see a team that, with Clark, also is pushing itself as a team, together. I see a shared aggressiveness and passion . ( though still lacking defensively, tho varies by game…).
We were up 3, OSU kicked the ball and scored. We are up 1 and Caitlin turned it over in forecourt and OSU scored again. a layup I recall, and we are down 1.
Tough loss today. Rebounding just wasn’t there (44-27) and allowed 16 offensive boards.
The fight was there however and that’s what you like to see with just seven healthy players. Story coming soon…
The fight was there however and that’s what you like to see with just seven healthy players. Story coming soon…
Iowa's rally falls short at Michigan
Caitlin Clark poured in a career high 46 points, but it wasn't enough at #6 Michigan.
Caitlin is ESPN's player of the week.
"Clark's numbers just keep piling up, including her fifth triple-double of the season this past week: 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists in a victory against Wisconsin. Over three games during the week, Clark totaled 116 points, 19 rebounds and 28 assists.
The only bad news for the sophomore is that the Hawkeyes lost two of those games, to ranked opponents Ohio State and Michigan. Nonetheless, Clark has been on a tear. She is shooting 46.4% from 3-point range in her past six games after shooting 23% before that.
Clark had a career-high 46 points Sunday in the loss to Michigan, and her second half was particularly spectacular. She had 33 points, the most by an Iowa player ever in either half; 25 came in the fourth quarter.
Clark has five career games with at least 30 points and 10 assists, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That's more than any other Division I women's player over the past 20 seasons."
"Clark's numbers just keep piling up, including her fifth triple-double of the season this past week: 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists in a victory against Wisconsin. Over three games during the week, Clark totaled 116 points, 19 rebounds and 28 assists.
The only bad news for the sophomore is that the Hawkeyes lost two of those games, to ranked opponents Ohio State and Michigan. Nonetheless, Clark has been on a tear. She is shooting 46.4% from 3-point range in her past six games after shooting 23% before that.
Clark had a career-high 46 points Sunday in the loss to Michigan, and her second half was particularly spectacular. She had 33 points, the most by an Iowa player ever in either half; 25 came in the fourth quarter.
Clark has five career games with at least 30 points and 10 assists, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That's more than any other Division I women's player over the past 20 seasons."
Must stomp Ohio State if Iowa meets them in the Big Ten tournament.
I would love to see Kevin McGuff act like Brian Joens. He seems to have mellowed a bit, after the humbling years without Kelsey Mitchell.
I admit to being an @ss but I really hope Rutgers give OSU a taste of their own medicine tonight and just hard fouls on every possession.
Assessing Iowa women's hoops NCAA resume
Where does the Iowa women's hoops team stand with their NCAA Tournament resume? We take a look.
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