‘The Show’ has concluded at Iowa; what will the sequel look like?

CLEVELAND — At the time, 2019 seemed to be a peak for the Iowa women’s basketball program.

Megan Gustafson and crew reached the Elite Eight. Couldn’t possibly get better than that, could it?

That proved to be a mere foothill. A mountain was right behind it.

Caitlin Clark committed that next winter, and eventually took the program to heights few thought was imaginable.

“It all exceeded my expectations,” Kate Martin said Sunday, shortly after the Hawkeyes fell to South Carolina, 87-75, in the NCAA championship game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. “I dreamed of playing in the NCAA tournament and winning Big Ten titles.

“But I never could have expected this.”

Who could?

The last two seasons produced records of 31-7 and 34-5, two Big Ten tournament titles and two postseason runs into April.

The Hawkeyes played with joy, precision and ferocity. As a result, they were a major factor — THE major factor? — in the nationwide explosion of the sport.

“I don't know if you can really describe and put it into words this legacy,” Clark said. “Honestly, I just hope we've brought a lot of people joy and we've brought a lot of people together.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena was sold out all season, with celebrities regularly mingling among the masses. Iowa put on an exhibition game at Kinnick Stadium, which drew more than 55,000 on Oct. 15.

Sellouts were common on the road, too. A common denominator, home or away, was the sight of hundreds of elementary- or middle-school girls (and a good number of boys, too) with black “22” jerseys, equipped with signs and Sharpies with hopes of attention from Clark and her teammates.

After last year’s run to Dallas, the Hawkeyes opened the season ranked No. 3 by the Associated Press and stayed in the top five all season.

They tied for second in the Big Ten with Indiana, a game behind Ohio State, then won the Big Ten tournament, rallying from a double-digit deficit in the final game against Nebraska to force overtime, then winning.

Iowa earned a 1-seed to the NCAA tournament. After coasting past Holy Cross in the first round, the Hawkeyes had to sweat it out in the second round, closing with a 12-2 run to beat West Virginia, 64-54.

Then came the Albany regional, in which Iowa whipped Colorado, then earned a measure of revenge against LSU to return to the Final Four.

That game was played before a TV audience of 12.3 million. The next one, a thrilling 71-69 victory over Connecticut in the national semifinals, eclipsed that at 14.2 million.

Iowa was vanquished by a taller, deeper, better South Carolina team in the finals. No shame in that.

“This one is going to sting for a while,” Sydney Affolter said. “Hannah (Stuelke) and I will be back in the gym sooner rather than later.”

Five players depart, led by Clark, the presumptive No. 1 pick of the Indiana Fever in next Monday’s WNBA Draft and the leading scorer in NCAA history with 3,951 career points.

Martin and Gabbie Marshall both scored more than 1,000 points and added immeasurable intangibles.

“I hope I proved to people that you don’t have to be the biggest, maybe not the most talented, the quickest,” Marshall said. “But you can control your effort and your attitude.”

A 2022 transfer from Central Michigan, Molly Davis was a backcourt starter for much of the season, then suffered what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury in the regular-season finale. Sharon Goodman was a backup post.

Looking ahead to the 2024-25 Iowa women’s basketball team

Iowa loses 64.7 percent of its scoring for 2024-25. Affolter and Stuelke form the nucleus of hope that a drop-off will be minor.

“I think this summer is an opportunity for me to get better, to add some skills,” said Stuelke, a Cedar Rapids native and the top returning post player.

“I’m going to have to step into more of a leadership role.”

Post Addison O’Grady, wing Kylie Feuerbach and sniper Taylor McCabe are other key returners.

Led by Ava Heiden, a post from Oregon, Iowa’s 2024 recruiting class is ranked ninth nationally by ESPN.

The class also consists of Taylor Stremlow and Teagan Mallegni, a pair of guards from suburban Madison, Wis., Aaliyah Guyton (Peoria, Ill.), who is rehabbing from an ACL tear, and Miss Iowa Basketball Callie Levin, from Solon.

With the assumption that Iowa neither gains or loses in the transfer portal, one projection — OK, a guess — for a starting lineup for the season opener would be Stuelke inside, along with Heiden or O’Grady, with Affolter, Feuerbach and maybe Stremlow on the perimeter.

A reasonable expectation for that roster? That’s a guess, too.

The Big Ten will be both bigger (18 teams) and better (USC and UCLA probably will be preseason top-10 teams) next year. Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan State are top-25 material.

For Iowa, a top-third finish in the Big Ten is attainable. So is another NCAA berth, though a top-four seed and home-court advantage for the first two rounds might be a stretch.

It will be fresh, but it won’t be The Show, a phrase coined by the Iowa marketing department for the pregame hype video.

The Show has concluded. Long live The Show.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com