Hawkeyes’ experience, Cyclones’ youth collide in Wednesday’s Cy-Hawk women’s basketball game

IOWA CITY — Just look at the rosters.

On one side of the scorer’s table, you’ve got a team glistening with experience, led by the best player in the nation.

On the other, you’ve got a team in transition, zapped by offseason defections and an injury to its top remaining player.

At first glance, this screams mismatch.

However, in the words of Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder:

“Sometimes things get a little wacky in these rivalry games.”

The fourth-ranked Hawkeyes (8-1) visit Iowa State (4-3) in their annual Cy-Hawk women’s basketball encounter Wednesday; tipoff is 6 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum in Ames in a game televised by ESPN2.

“Everybody looks forward to this matchup,” said Audi Crooks, one of three likely freshman starters for the Cyclones. “It's always a fun game, no matter who you root for.”

Whether she comes back for a fifth season next year or not, this will be Caitlin Clark’s final visit to Ames. The Hawkeyes suffered a 77-70 setback at Hilton two years ago.

“It’s going to be loud and exciting,” said Clark, who needs 22 points to become the 15th Division-I women’s basketball player to hit the 3,000-point mark for a career.

Gone are Lexi Donarski and Denae Fritz, who transferred from ISU to North Carolina and Baylor, respectively, after last season. Out (presumably) is all-Big 12 performer Emily Ryan, who has missed the early portion of the season with injury.

“I don’t know them like we did the previous years when they had the same starting five for two or three years,” Clark said. “It definitely makes you pay attention more, lock in a little more.”

Freshmen make up nearly 65 percent of the Cyclones’ scoring. That includes Crooks (16.0 points per game), a sturdy 6-foot-3 post who was Miss Iowa Basketball 2023 after leading Algona Garrigan to a pair of Class 1A state championships.

“She’s really good. She’s really physical, hard to defend,” Clark said. “She keeps her hands high, doesn’t bring the ball down.”

Bluder added: “She’s (faster) that people give her credit for. I think she gets up and down the court pretty well. And her hands are really good.”

Crooks and her classmates come with potential. Clark and the veteran Hawkeyes? A proven commodity.

“She’s unguardable,” Fennelly said of Clark, the reigning national player of the year. “In my lifetime, I don’t know that I’ve said that about a lot of people.

“She has the ball in her hands all the time. I mean, there's been a lot of great teams and a lot better coaches than me that have not been able to figure it out. And we're not gonna figure it out by Wednesday. So you have to do the best you can. Figure out ways to limit the damage.”

Kate Martin is averaging 14.6 points in the last five games.

“I'm a huge Kate Martin fan,” Fennelly said. “I think she's playing at a really, really high level. She has great experience and she's the kind of kid that does exactly what that team needs when they need it.”

There are other storylines, of course. One is Kylie Feuerbach, who played a season at Iowa State, transferred to Iowa and has returned to active duty after missing last season with a torn ACL.

“When you get to play on a team with somebody like Caitlin ... this is the team I want to play on,” Feuerbach said. “I’m happy I’m here.”

Another is Kelsey Joens, the third Joens sister to play for the Cyclones after growing up in Iowa City.

“You know how big it is, so just to be able to play in it, it means the world (to me)," Joens said.

Bluder said, “It feels they’ve had a Joens there forever. So you know Kelsey is going to be a good shooter.”

And what about Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke, who has missed the last three games, and may or may not be back Wednesday?

“I don’t know about Hannah’s status,” Bluder said Monday. “I have no idea.”

Look at the various projections, and Iowa is favored by 5 to 8 points, and it seems like it ought to be more. But, as Bluder said, in this series, things can get “a little wacky.”

“Whether you're a huge women's basketball fan or not, being involved in these things is a lot of fun,” Fennelly said. “The energy leading up to it. The game. All that stuff is why you coach and why you play.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com