Caitlin Clark and entire offense were off for Hawkeyes Thursday in loss

IOWA CITY — Iowa has its women’s basketball GOAT. Kansas State brought a goat, which says something about why it beat the No. 2-ranked Hawkeyes Thursday night.

A Kansas State cheerleader toted a white stuffed goat (just a toy, mind you) back to the Wildcats’ Carver-Hawkeye Arena locker room to get loved up by K-State’s players after their 65-58 upset triumph.

“It’s the Gap Goat,” the cheerleader told me later, and that explanation made sense when K-State Coach Jeff Mittie described his team’s defensive effort.

“We want to get three stops in a row seven times to narrow the gap,” Mittie said.

Three straight stops and the cheerleader waves the goat, or something like that. Did the Wildcats meet their gap goal?

“I think we did,” Mittie said.

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Yes, one would think so. Iowa didn’t score in the final 2:40 after baskets already hadn’t come easily.

Not even the GOAT herself, Caitlin Clark, could get a shot to fall as the Hawkeyes’ 58-53 lead vanished and the crowd of 14,998 went home having seen something they certainly hadn’t planned on witnessing: A home defeat, and a dreadful offensive performance.

Clark, the college game’s scorer of scorers, had 24 points. But she was responsible for 2-of-16 of Iowa’s 2-of-21 from deep, and she was just 9-of-32 overall.

Iowa had another stat you may not see approached the rest of the season. Sixteen turnovers, nine assists. Ick.

After a showcase win against Virginia Tech last week and a dominant walloping of Northern Iowa, those Hawkeyes looked nothing like Thursday’s Hawkeyes.

“I think that we felt really good coming into this game after the UNI game and Virginia Tech,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. “Maybe too good. Maybe that was the situation. Maybe we thought we had it won instead of coming out and understanding that Kansas State is a really good basketball team.”

Iowa got next to nothing in transition, something it usually uses for feeding frenzies. Clark’s shot simply was off. Starters/veterans Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin watched most of the second half from the bench after providing no offense. Hannah Stuelke, who had a strong first half, got one field goal attempt after that.

The sky isn’t falling. This season has barely gotten started, and 10 of the top 12 teams in the preseason rankings have suffered defeats including the champions from LSU.

Clark is the magnetic center of not just the Hawkeyes, but women’s college basketball. Heck, all of college basketball. So when she looks strangely mortal for a night, nothing seems right in the world. It may have thrown the rest of her team off its axis.

Mittie said the game plan was for his team to guard Clark in waves.

“It sounds great when it works,” said Mittie, “but the challenge of that is everybody has on point of what we’re doing. We were good at what we wanted to do.

“And sometimes with Caitlin, it doesn’t matter how good you are, she can still knock shots down. So we were fortunate to do our job and have her missing.”

Clark was frustrated and irritated at many points, as you would fully expect.

“That’s not Iowa basketball,” she said later. “Me as the point guard, I have to take responsibility for that. I have to get us in our offense a little better, deliver a little better shot selection.

“It was one of those nights where I didn’t shoot the ball very well. I never helped myself in getting to the basket and taking advantage of fouls when we needed to.

“I’m not going to shoot the ball well every game, but we can find other ways to win. I thought that’s the biggest area we grew last year and another area we can grow this year. This loss isn’t going to break our season or whatever.”

Then-No. 4 Iowa lost at Kansas State last Nov. 17 and it didn’t do a thing to define the Hawkeyes’ season. This defeat could be a useful splash of cold water, a reminder winning takes fighting through long and determined defenders.

The magic of last March won’t resurface just because Carver is sold out for the season and 55,000 saw the team play in Kinnick Stadium a few weeks ago. Nor because you can buy T-shirts in downtown Iowa City that are approved and licensed by several Hawkeye players. “Grit Like Gabbie,” “Money Martin,” etc.

Defense wasn’t Iowa’s problem area Thursday. Iowa doesn’t need a goat and still has its GOAT. The sky still is where the sky should be.

But the Hawkeyes could use a few more 3s to fall and some fast-break scores here Sunday. A Drake team that just beat Iowa State by 12 points would be happy to give No. 2 a second-straight jolt.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com