Caitlin Clark scored 27 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished 10 assists to lead No. 1 seed Iowa to a 91-65 win over Holy Cross in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Iowa City.
Kate Martin added 15 points and 14 rebounds for Iowa (30-4), which has not lost since Feb. 23. Addison O’Grady finished with 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
Bronagh Power-Cassidy scored 19 points to lead No. 16 seed Holy Cross (21-13). Janelle Allen scored 18 points and Cara McCormack chipped in 11.
The Hawkeyes advanced to the second round of the tournament, where they will play the winner of Saturday evening’s game between No. 8 seed West Virginia and No. 9 Princeton.
Clark shot 8 of 19 from the field, 3 of 9 from beyond the arc and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. She added three steals and a blocked shot.
Iowa shot 46.3 percent (31 of 67) overall and 31.3 percent (10 of 32) from beyond the arc. Holy Cross shot 32.4 percent (22 of 68) from the field and 20.6 percent (7 of 34) from long distance.
Holy Cross led 11-10 with 5:08 remaining in the first quarter after Power-Cassidy made a 3-pointer off an assist from Kaitlyn Flanagan. That marked the Crusaders’ final lead of the game as Iowa gradually took control.
A dominant second quarter helped Iowa put the game out of reach. The Hawkeyes outscored Holy Cross 25-9 in the period to grab a 48-30 halftime lead.
Iowa opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run. Martin made a 3-pointer, Clark added two free throws and Gabbie Marshall drained a 3-pointer to give the Hawkeyes a double-digit lead at 31-21 with 7:08 left in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Iowa increased its lead to as many as 31 points. Sydney Affolter made a layup to give the Hawkeyes an 84-53 lead with 4:23 to go.
No. 8 West Virginia 63, No. 9 Princeton 53
JJ Quinerly scored 29 points on 10-for-19 shooting, and West Virginia pulled away to beat Princeton in Iowa City, Iowa.
Jordan Harrison added 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting for West Virginia (25-7), which finished tied for fourth in the Big 12 Conference during the regular season. Kylee Blacksten chipped in 10 points.
Madison St. Rose scored 22 points to lead Princeton (25-5), which won the Ivy League but had its season come to an abrupt ending in the tourney. Kaitlyn Chen contributed 17 points for the Tigers.
West Virginia advanced to play No. 1 seed Iowa Tuesday in Iowa City.
West Virginia shot 52.5 percent (21 of 40) from the field and 33.3 percent (3 of 9) from 3-point range in Saturday’s win. Princeton shot 33.3 percent (17 of 51) overall and 28.6 percent (6 of 21) from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media