Friday, October 18

Tag: Iowa Hawkeyes

What could Caitlin Clark’s WNBA transition from Iowa look like?
15Apr By adminNo Comments
Sports

What could Caitlin Clark’s WNBA transition from Iowa look like?

Reality is coming.In the words of Diana Taurasi, as spoken to Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, Caitlin Clark is due for a reckoning when she gets to the WNBA. After four years of dominating the college game, Clark is starting the next chapter of her career at the bottom as one of the youngest players in the most talented league in the world. Regardless of what the overall arc of Clark’s career ends up being, it is unlikely that she hits the ground running as the best player on the court every night, as she did at Iowa. Diana Taurasi on Caitlin Clark coming to WNBA "Reality is coming….you look superhuman playing against some 18 years olds but you're going to come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time" pic.twitter.com/fxBxGoRZCS — Gifdsport...
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South Carolina and Iowa prove if ‘given an opportunity, women’s sports just thrives’
10Apr By adminNo Comments
Sports

South Carolina and Iowa prove if ‘given an opportunity, women’s sports just thrives’

CLEVELAND — Everyone wanted to talk about the game, which was expected after the South Carolina women’s basketball team held off Iowa for an 87-75 victory and second national championship in three years. But Dawn Staley also wanted to talk about the other game. Actually, that’s not strong enough. She was going to discuss it.Basketball has played such an important role in her life that she protects it as fiercely as a mother would a newborn. Her love for it is matched only by her respect for it. So even as questioners asked about the Gamecocks becoming just the 10th team in NCAA Division I history to finish a season undefeated, going 38-0, Staley purposely turned the spotlight back to the person who was central in helping to make this a transformative season and inflection point in the gam...
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With the WNBA Draft nearing, what’s next for Caitlin Clark?
10Apr By adminNo Comments
Sports

With the WNBA Draft nearing, what’s next for Caitlin Clark?

Caitlin Clark’s college career ended Sunday with a loss to South Carolina in the national championship. But the Iowa star’s popularity won’t be going away.“I know what’s next is soon,” she said.Eight days, to be exact.That’s when Clark will be in New York for the WNBA Draft, where she’s expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever. After rising to national prominence during her collegiate career, there are already signs that she will make an impact in the professional league.The Pulse NewsletterFree, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign upFree, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign upBuyWhat to know about the WNBA DraftThe draft will take place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on April 15. ESPN will air the draft and it will also ...
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South Carolina tops Iowa 87-75 in national championship to complete perfect season
8Apr By adminNo Comments
Sports

South Carolina tops Iowa 87-75 in national championship to complete perfect season

CLEVELAND — Raven Johnson never shied away from her ultimate goal.She wanted a national championship, and she wanted it to come by beating Iowa.“Like I said, it was a revenge tour and there’s no better way than to play them in the championship and beat them,” Johnson said.Last year she became a social media phenomenon, but not in a positive way, when Iowa star Caitlin Clark waved her off when she was wide open at the 3-point arc. They didn’t respect Johnson’s scoring ability.In Sunday’s national championship win, Johnson didn’t do much scoring, but her defense helped the Gamecocks beat Iowa 87-75 to become the first undefeated national champion since UConn in 2016.The Pulse NewsletterFree, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign upFree, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. ...
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Iowa-UConn Final Four matchup breaks record for most-watched women’s college basketball game
7Apr By adminNo Comments
Sports

Iowa-UConn Final Four matchup breaks record for most-watched women’s college basketball game

Another Iowa women’s basketball game, another new record for the sport when it comes to viewership.Iowa’s 71-69 win over UConn on Friday night in Cleveland set a new record for the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history. The game was viewed by 14.2 million people and peaked at 17 million viewers. Chad Leistikow of the Des Moines Register was the first to report the news.This game tops the previous all-time viewership record, which was set on Monday when Iowa’s win over LSU averaged 12.3 million viewers and peaked at 16 million viewers. To put this in perspective. This game tops… • Every World Series game last year.• Every NBA Finals game last year.• Every Daytona 500 since 2013.• Every Masters final round viewership since 2013.• All but five CFB games in 2023. https://t.c...
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Iowa vs. South Carolina gives us the ending we wanted and the finale this season deserves
7Apr By adminNo Comments
Sports

Iowa vs. South Carolina gives us the ending we wanted and the finale this season deserves

CLEVELAND — Just when you thought this women’s basketball season couldn’t give any more, just when you thought it had drained itself of record on-court performances, all-time viewership numbers and compelling grudge matches, it is giving us an opportunity to witness all three in one game, pitting Iowa against South Carolina in the national championship showdown most fans and every ABC executive wanted.It had to end this way, right? Great player versus great team. The quest for the perfect ending versus the pursuit of the perfect season. An opportunity for South Carolina to avenge its only loss of the last two seasons. A way to cap a memorable season with a potentially unforgettable finale.If the Iowa-LSU regional final drew an average of 12.3 million viewers on a Monday night on cable, it...
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In Final Four, Caitlin Clark and Iowa can break streak of Hawkeyes heartbreak
5Apr By adminNo Comments
Sports

In Final Four, Caitlin Clark and Iowa can break streak of Hawkeyes heartbreak

Follow live coverage today as Iowa, UConn meet in Final FourIOWA CITY, Iowa — Second-seeded Iowa led top-seed UNLV by 20 points in the 1987 men’s basketball Elite Eight.The 1970 Iowa men’s basketball team still holds the Big Ten record for points per game (102.3) and led Jacksonville by one point with seconds remaining in their Sweet 16 matchup. Ronnie Lester was the best player in the 1980 Final Four, and the Hawkeyes point guard proved it in his first 10 minutes against Louisville.Ronnie Harmon was an All-American running back entering the 1986 Rose Bowl against UCLA, and No. 3 Iowa still had a shot at the national title. The unbeaten Hawkeyes held a four-point lead on Michigan State after a punt with less than 10 minutes remaining in the 2015 Big Ten football title game.With 11 seconds...
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Louisiana Gov. says athletes should ‘risk their athletic scholarship’ if absent for national anthem after LSU-Iowa
5Apr By adminNo Comments
Sports

Louisiana Gov. says athletes should ‘risk their athletic scholarship’ if absent for national anthem after LSU-Iowa

The 2023 championship rematch between Iowa and LSU in this year’s Elite Eight was a scintillating production that stockpiled praise from celebrities, athletes and fans alike, while shattering the record for the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever.But Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry was unimpressed before a basketball even bounced Monday after LSU was not present for the national anthem, calling for a policy to be put in place that risks a student-athlete’s scholarship if the player is absent during “The Star-Spangled Banner.”“My mother coached women’s high school basketball during the height of desegregation, no one has a greater respect for the sport and for Coach Mulkey,” Gov. Landry wrote on X on Tuesday. “However, above respect for that game is a deeper respect for those that...
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Data dive: Caitlin Clark vs. Steph Curry and other top shooters
21Dec By adminNo Comments
Sports

Data dive: Caitlin Clark vs. Steph Curry and other top shooters

In a nearly empty arena in late November 2020, Caitlin Clark shot her first college 3-pointer. Time was ticking down in the first quarter of the Hawkeyes’ matchup against Northern Iowa. Clark forced a steal at midcourt and weaved her way to the right wing. With two defenders around her, she rose up. Her attempt was blocked.That didn’t discourage her.Now a senior, Clark is perhaps the biggest star across both men’s and women’s college basketball. She’s made more than 400 3-pointers throughout her college career and re-written the record book — at Iowa and nationally. “We see it every single day in practice, she hits one (shot) that amazes you or makes one pass that makes your jaw kind of drop,” Iowa assistant Abby Stamp says.Clark passes with pin-point accuracy. Teammates and coaches alike...
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WNBA 2024 mock draft: Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink headline
12Dec By adminNo Comments
Sports

WNBA 2024 mock draft: Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink headline

The 2024 WNBA Draft order is set. Indiana won the draft lottery Sunday, giving the Fever the first pick in what could be one of the deepest drafts in league history. Could is the operative word, as every draft-eligible senior in this class has the opportunity to return to college for a fifth season due to the COVID-19 bonus year given to every player who suited up in 2020-21.Indiana is the fourth team in the last decade to earn consecutive No. 1 picks after Seattle had the top selections in 2015 and 2016, Las Vegas had a three-year stretch of picking first from 2017-2019, and New York won the lottery in 2020 and 2021. The Storm won two titles with the duo of Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart, and the Aces have done the same with the trio of Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young. The Fev...
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