The first meeting of the 2023-24 season between the No. 14 Hoosiers and the No. 3 Hawkeyes was full of questions entering the game.
Winter storms and hazardous weather conditions across the Midwest changed the narrative in the few days leading up to the game from “What will this game look like?” to “Will this game even happen?”. And if the game happened, what would fan attendance look like? Would the roads be clear enough for travel? Would Indiana even be able to make it in a reasonable time?
Indiana made it to Iowa with relatively little trouble; the Hoosiers flew out of Bloomington Saturday morning and made it to their hotel with plenty of time to have a full shootaround and prepare for the game that would give them a chance to show the nation exactly who they are. Iowa fans, as dedicated as ever, filled Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Of course, the questions didn’t stop then. Instead, they went back to wondering what the game would be like. Would Caitlin Clark drop 30-plus points? What would Chloe Moore-McNeil’s defense look like? Did the Hawkeyes have an answer for Mackenzie Holmes? What did each team have to do to win? Who would win?
In a game full of uncertainties, there were a few sure things: it was going to be tough, it was going to be intense and it was going to take a full team effort to win.
Indiana didn’t have an entire team effort. Iowa did. Because of that, the Hawkeyes won by a score of 84-57.
“I wish we could have played so much better than we did tonight,” Teri Moren said postgame. “We weren’t very good.”
The first half of the game was the one most basketball fans expected; the score stayed close, Caitlin Clark was making her 3-pointers and Mackenzie Holmes was making her layups. The two teams went toe-to-toe on possessions, playing the way two top teams would.
But Indiana’s perimeter play on both ends of the floor left much to be desired and turnovers plagued them. On the other hand, Iowa saw multiple players hit their stride offensively and went into halftime with a six-point lead and all the momentum thanks to a last-second 3-pointer from Clark.
Six points are by no means insurmountable. That’s a pretty decent spot to be in at halftime against the No. 3 team in the country.
But Indiana came out of the locker room lacking the willpower and fire they needed to take down the Hawkeyes on their home court and bent to the will of Clark and her teammates. The Hoosiers were outscored 41-20 in the…