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Iowa vs. West Virginia is a matchup of scorers vs. stoppers
Hawkeyes’ 92.8-point scoring rate leads the nation; so does the Mountaineers’ plus-8.8 turnover differential. The teams collide Monday with a spot in the NCAA women’s basketball Sweet 16 on the line
Mar. 24, 2024 4:59 pm
IOWA CITY — Mark Kellogg’s thumbprint on this team has been immediate.
West Virginia is rooted in defense, and not just the part in which you stop the other team from scoring.
“We've been aggressive by nature, and steals and turnovers have been our (modus operandi) for most of the year,” said Kellogg, in his first year as the Mountaineers’ coach.
West Virginia (25-7) leads the nation in turnover margin (plus-8.8) and is third in turnovers forced (23.9) and steals (14.0).
So it will be the Mountaineers’ stoppers taking on Iowa’s scorers when the teams collide in an NCAA women’s basketball second-round encounter Monday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Tipoff is 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised by ESPN. The second-ranked Hawkeyes (30-4) are 16 1/2-point favorites to reach the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
“Our steals create our offense,” WVU guard Jordan Harrison said. “We want to stay in their hip pocket. We know they’re going to make shots.”
Iowa leads the nation in scoring offense, at 92.8 points per game. West Virginia allows 57.6 points per game.
Harrison (2.97 steals per game) and teammate J.J. Quinerly (2.94) both rank in the top 15 individually in that category.
“J.J. doesn’t back down from anybody,” Harrison said. “If the world doesn’t already know that, they’re going to find out (Monday).”
The Hawkeyes welcome the challenge.
“They’re a really aggressive team,” Iowa’s Sydney Affolter said. “I love when teams try to press us. We’re going to break it, and they’re going to have to take it off.”
Kate Martin referred to the Mountaineers as “a really athletic team. They want to turn you over, and one turnover can turn into two, or three, or four.
“We have to stay composed and stay locked in.”
Kellogg is West Virginia’s third head coach in three years.
“I’m really proud of the group and the buy-in, and it's the collective group in that locker room that really is just tight-knit,” Kellogg said. “We had six returners, seven new ones. So it was really a battle of how could we blend this and how quickly could we blend it.”
When the pairings were released last Sunday, Kellogg made a quip to the West Virginia fan base: “Let's win one (against Princeton) and then send Caitlin Clark packing.”
The Mountaineers beat Princeton, 63-53, Saturday. Now they have that opportunity to end Clark’s storied collegiate career on her home floor.
“He tried to backtrack from that,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. “It’s not something I’m going to bring up again (to the team). I guess I wouldn’t have isolated one player (in Clark).”
Affolter said, “Caitlin’s our best player. But we have 12 others in the locker room, and we’ll be ready.”
One of them is Hannah Stuelke, who proclaimed herself as “ready to go” after missing the second half of Saturday’s first-round game with a migraine.
“I feel great,” she said. “I got home, got some food, got some rest. That did the trick for me.”
Monday’s winner advances to the Sweet 16 at Albany, N.Y., and will face No. 17 Colorado (24-9) on Saturday in a regional semifinal.
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
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