Good vibes return for No. 4 Hawkeyes in 101-85 Sunday stroll against Illinois

IOWA CITY — It sounds simple. Matter-of-fact.

And that’s what this game was. Matter-of-fact.

“We just ran our offense,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. “People stepped up and hit shots.”

That’s generally what happens for the Hawkeyes after a loss. They bounce back. And they score a ton.

Caitlin Clark registered her 16th career triple-double, three others reached double-figures and No. 4 Iowa handled Illinois, 101-85, in a Big Ten women’s basketball game before a sellout crowd of 14,998 Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“We want to feel good about ourselves heading into the last week of (regular-season) play,” Clark said.

They feel a whole lot better than they did three days prior.

Coming off an 86-69 loss Thursday at Indiana, the Hawkeyes (24-4 overall, 13-3 Big Ten) scored the first nine points, led 30-18 after a quarter and coasted from there.

Iowa is averaging 103.0 points per contest in the four games this season following losses.

Despite a 6-of-18 shooting performance from the field, Clark notched 24 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

Hannah Stuelke added 20 points (on 9-of-12 shooting) and nine rebounds, five on the offensive end.

“Every day, we stress offensive rebounding,” said the sophomore from Cedar Rapids. “Second-chance points are critical.”

First-chance points aren’t bad, either. And Stuelke got a lot of hers on Iowa’s pick-and-roll game, from feeds by Clark.

“When Hannah plays with confidence and believes in herself, she can do anything,” Bluder said. “Her biggest obstacle is that sometimes she gets in her own way.”

“I agree,” Stuelke said. “The pick-and-roll with Caitlin ... we have great chemistry.”

Molly Davis scored 17 points, plus her second block of the season. Kate Martin tallied 13, Kylie Feuerbach nine, Sydney Affolter eight.

The Hawkeyes nailed 17 3-pointers (in 37 attempts) and tossed around 28 assists, one shy of the season-high.

“I love that other people stepped up,” Bluder said.

Davis’ block came in the first minute and got the Hawkeyes going. It was 9-0 after 2 1/2 minutes.

After the Illini (13-13, 7-9) closed within 14-10, The Hawkeyes went on a 10-0 run in a matter of 68 seconds, with a pair of Feuerbach treys bookending that blitz.

From that point on, it was a matter of trading little jabs the rest of the way. The margin got as large as 21, as small as 11.

All five Illinois starters reached double-figures, with Makira Cook leading with 26 points.

The Hawkeyes play at Minnesota on Wednesday, then conclude the regular season Sunday at home against No. 2 Ohio State, which clinched a share of the Big Ten championship Sunday with a win over Maryland.

Bluder was asked what questions remained as the Hawkeyes approach their final week.

“I would still like more consistency out of our backup post players (Addison O’Grady, Sharon Goodman and A.J. Ediger),” Bluder said. “It’s like we’re gambling on who to put in between the three of them.

“Be consistently good or be consistently bad. But be something.”

Iowa 101, Illinois 85

At Iowa City

ILLINOIS (85): Kendall Bostic 5-12 0-0 10, Camille Hobby 3-10 6-6 12, Genesis Bryant 7-15 2-2 19, Makira Cook 8-19 6-6 26, Adalia McKenzie 6-11 1-2 13, Gretchen Dolan 2-10 0-0 5, Shay Bollin 0-0 0-0 0, Kam’ren Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0, Brynn Shoup-Hill 0-0 0-0 0, Cori Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Aicha Ndour 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-77 15-16 85.

IOWA (101): Hannah Stuelke 9-12 2-3 20, Molly Davis 6-12 2-2 17, Kate Martin 5-11 0-0 13, Caitlin Clark 6-18 7-8 24, Gabbie Marshall 1-4 0-0 2, Sydney Affolter 3-4 1-2 8, Addison O’Grady 1-3 0-0 2, Kylie Feuerbach 3-6 0-0 9, Taylor McCabe 2-2 0-0 6, Sharon Goodman 0-0 0-0 0, Kennise Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Jada Gyamfi 0-0 0-0 0, A.J. Ediger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-72 12-15 101.

Illinois 18 16 27 24 — 85

Iowa 30 20 24 27 — 101

3-point goals: Illinois 8-23 (Bryant 3-8, Cook 4-10, Dolan 1-5), Iowa 17-37 (Davis 3-6, Martin 3-6, Clark 5-14, Marshall 0-3, Affolter 1-1, Feuerbach 3-5, McCabe 2-2). Team fouls: Illinois 17, Iowa 16. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Illinois 41 (Bostic 17), Iowa 42 (Clark 15). Assists: Illinois 13 (Bryant 6), Iowa 28 (Clark 10). Steals: Illinois 11 (Cook, Dolan 3), Iowa 6 (Martin, Clark 2). Turnovers: Illinois 13, Iowa 17.

Attendance: 14,998.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com