Kate Martin’s career-high ignites No. 2 Iowa in 113-90 win over Drake

IOWA CITY — Drake is likely to do some really nice things this winter.

But the Bulldogs caught the Iowa Hawkeyes at the wrong time — and in the wrong frame of mind — Sunday night.

“That’s Captain Obvious,” Bulldogs Coach Allison Pohlman said. “That was the white elephant in the room.”

The second-ranked Hawkeyes were fully awake, fully aware and probably a little angry Sunday night, outgunning the Bulldogs, 113-90, in an intrastate women’s basketball game before a sellout crowd of 14,998 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“This was the most fun kind of basketball,” Caitlin Clark said after the offensive showcase. “This is what the crowd loves to come and see.”

Iowa (4-1) set a school record for points in the first quarter (37) and first half (64), and missed the school record for points in a game by two.

“We came out and resumed playing Iowa basketball,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said.

Clark posted 35 points, six rebounds, 10 assists and seven steals to lead the Hawkeyes.

She moved up to 19th all-time on the NCAA Division-I women’s basketball scoring chart, upping her total to 2,872 points.

Three nights after going scoreless in Iowa’s 65-58 loss to Kansas State, Kate Martin responded with a career-high 25 points.

“I just shot with confidence tonight,” said Martin, who came into the game averaging 6.8 points per game. “All week, my teammates have been building me up.

“With (Drake’s) matchup zone, the corners and short corners were vulnerable. (The baseline drive) worked for me, so I kept doing it.”

Coming off a flat performance Thursday, the Hawkeyes were razor-sharp offensively Sunday.

They topped Thursday’s 58-point scoring output when Taylor McCabe hit the second of back-to-back 3-pointers at the 1:10 mark of the second quarter.

It was, simply, an offensive masterpiece.

Down 14-10 about three minutes into the game, Iowa turned on the jets. Thanks to a 15-of-20 shooting bonanza, the Hawkeyes led 37-24 by the end of the quarter.

Drake (3-1) hung around through most of the second quarter, but Iowa landed a 12-0 haymaker to close the half and led 64-41 at intermission.

Sharon Goodman added 15 points, Molly Davis 10, and the Hawkeyes shot 64.3 percent from the field (45 of 70).

Each of Drake’s starters reached double figures, led by Grace Berg’s 19 points.

“It was a fun basketball game,” Berg said. “(Iowa is) a really good basketball team. You dream about playing in an environment like this.”

Pohlman said, “We put our best foot forward. But when the other team shoots 65 percent ... ”

The Hawkeyes head to Estero, Fla., for the Gulf Coast Showcase, starting with a first-round game against Purdue Fort Wayne at 6:30 p.m. (CT) Friday.

Drake hosts the three-day Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic beginning Friday with a 2 p.m. encounter with Louisiana Tech.

Iowa 113, Drake 90

At Iowa City

DRAKE (90): Anna Miller 5-10 4-4 15, Courtney Becker 5-5 0-0 10, Grace Berg 8-12 2-2 19, Taylor McAulay 4-10 2-3 10, Katie Dinnebier 6-12 2-2 15, Shannon Fornshell 2-6 0-0 5, Ashley Iiams 1-4 0-0 3, Anna Brown 2-5 2-2 8, Ava Hawthorne 2-3 0-0 5, Brooklin Dailey 0-1 0-0 0, Hannah Nilges 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-68 12-13 90.

IOWA (113): Hannah Stuelke 2-3 0-0 4, Molly Davis 4-6 0-0 10, Kate Martin 10-12 2-2 25, Caitlin Clark 14-22 2-2 35, Gabbie Marshall 0-3 0-0 0, Sydney Affolter 2-3 1-2 5, Sharon Goodman 7-11 1-1 15, Kylie Feuerbach 2-2 2-2 7, Addison O’Grady 1-4 2-2 4, Taylor McCabe 2-3 0-0 6, Kennise Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Jada Gyamfi 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 45-70 10-11 113.

Drake 24 17 25 24 — 90

Iowa 37 27 24 25 — 113

3-point goals: Drake 8-31 (Miller 1-5, Beeg 1-4, McAulay 0-3, Dinnebier 1-5, Fornshell 1-5, Iiams 1-4, Brown 2-4, Hawthorne 1-1), Iowa 13-24 (Davis 2-2, Martin 3-4, Clark 5-11, Marshall 0-3, Feuerbach 1-1, McCabe 2-3). Team fouls: Drake 10, Iowa 15. Fouled out: Goodman. Rebounds: Drake 34 (Miller 10), Iowa 26 (Clark 6). Assists: Drake 23 (Berg 5), Iowa 27 (Clark 10). Steals: Drake 5 (McAulay 2), Iowa 16 (Clark 7). Turnovers: Drake 22, Iowa 13.

Attendance: 14,998.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com