No. 3 Iowa women’s basketball defended its house.
In a primetime matchup on FOX against No. 14 Indiana, the Hawkeyes (17-1, 6-0 Big Ten) won 84-57 to take sole possession atop the Big Ten Conference standings over the Hoosiers (14-2, 5-1 Big Ten).
Caitlin Clark led the way with 30 points and 11 assists, tying her season high. But Molly Davis was the sparkplug early, setting the tone during Clark’s slow start before finishing with a career-high 18 points.
Kate Martin also made an impact with 10 points and 12 rebounds while surpassing 1,000 career points.
Re-live all the highlights and the best moments from the game below in our live blog:
SATURDAY’S GAME REPORT: Strong second half carries No. 3 Iowa women’s basketball to rout over Indiana
FINAL: Iowa 84, Indiana 57
Iowa cruised to victory in the final minutes as Clark hyped up the crowd when exiting the court to thunderous applause.
Q4/2:59 Iowa 81, Indiana 55
After a cold shooting start (2-of-15 from 3), Iowa is up to 14 made 3-pointers, hitting at a 40% rate. Clark (six) and Marshall (four) lead the charge.
Clark also tied her season high in assists (11).
Q4/5:20 Iowa 77, Indiana 53
With a one-handed whip pass to the corner for a Sydney Affolter 3-pointer, Clark tallied her ninth double-double of the season (30 points, 10 assists).
She now has three straight game of 10 assists and reached the mark in five of her last six outings.
Q4/8:25 Caitlin Clark limps off court
After notching her seventh assist of the night, Clark limped off the floor and was helped into the tunnel.
She appeared to quickly recover and checked back into the game shortly after.
End 3: Iowa 65, Indiana 48
With 35 seconds left in the half, Clark ballooned her point total to 30 with a deep step back triple.
She then concluded the quarter with a steal and fantastic outlet assist to Davis for a layup in the final seconds for the Hawkeyes’ largest lead of the game (17 points).
Davis now has a season-high 16 points.
Iowa won the frame 22-11, primarily because of its efficient shooting, smart shot selection and stronger interior defense, the area where Indiana’s offense typically thrives and found success in during the first half.
Q3/1:08 Iowa 60, Indiana 46
Clark continues to dominant, now up to 27 points and five assists.
Indiana, meanwhile, has turned the ball over 14 times and is struggling to shoot from deep (4-for-16). Holmes has also been held in check in the third quarter, missing all three of her shots.
Q3/4:47 Iowa 54, Indiana 39
After Clark’s fifth triple of the contest gave Iowa its first double-digit lead of the evening, a steal by Martin and 3-pointer from Marshall extended their lead to 15 points and forced an Indiana timeout.
The 9-0 run sent the Hawkeye crowd into a frenzy.
Q3/7:02 Kate Martin surpasses 1,000 career points
With a corner 3-pointer, Martin surpassed 1,000 career points with the Hawkeyes in her five years in the program.
Halftime: Iowa 43, Indiana 37
Clark hit back-to-back triples to end the half. She made four of her last five 3-point attempts after an 0-for-6 start from deep.
She leads all scorers with 20 points (7-for-14, 4-of-11 from 3) and is 20 points away from becoming the NCAA’s fourth all-time women’s basketball scorer.
Still, she (three turnovers) and other Hawkeyes got sloppy with the ball over the final few minutes, leading to multiple steal-and-scores for Indiana to help the Hoosiers weather Clark’s long-range barrage.
Aside from nine turnovers, Indiana shot extremely efficiently (55.2% from the field). Holmes (12 points, 5-for-6 shooting) led the way.
If Iowa can maintain its second-quarter shooting stroke and defend the paint better, the Hawkeyes should be in the driver’s seat toward their 14th consecutive victory.
Q2/1:45 Iowa 37, Indiana 33
Davis has been terrific in the first half, notching 13 points (5-of-6 shooting) and scored seven of her team’s nine points during one stretch.
Q2/4:49 Iowa 28, Indiana 24
Iowa began heating up, hitting three straight triples — two by Clark, one by Marshall — to build a cushion.
But Indiana halted the momentum and quieted the crowd with a 3-pointer from Parrish.
Clark is up to 14 points and two assists.
Q2/7:08 Iowa 22, Indiana 19
Clark finally makes a triple after missing her first six attempts.
She broke the ice with a difficult step back move.
Q2/7:27 Iowa 19, Indiana 19
Both teams start the frame cold, with Iowa missing its first four shots.
Head coach Lisa Bluder said on the broadcast after the first quarter that she wants her team to be more selective with its 3-point shot attempt. Still, the Hawkeyes chucked up two triples and three total jump shots to start the second quarter.
End 1: Iowa 19, Indiana 17
Iowa couldn’t buy a shot (30% shooting for the quarter) but appeared committed to shooting from deep, going 2-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Indiana packed the paint and didn’t want the Hawkeyes to get anything easy at the rim, even blocking three shots.
Iowa’s defense was active as well, forcing five turnovers.
The opening frame was extremely physical. Not the prettiest basketball, but competitive and worthy of the hype entering the game.
Q1/1:00 Iowa 17, Indiana 17
Iowa has cooled off significantly and is now shooting just 30% (6-of-20) from the field.
Despite missing her first six triples, Clark is 3-for-3 on two-point shots and is taking advantage of Indiana’s over commitment of drives by finding open shooters. She has two assists.
Hawkeyes doing well to take care of the ball with zero turnovers through the first 9 minutes.
Q1/4:59 Iowa 13, Indiana 8
Both teams came out shooting quickly and scoring often. Iowa’s Molly Davis (6 points, 2-for-2 from 3) has led the way thus far while Clark (1-for-4 shooting) is still settling in.
Q1/7:33 Good crowd despite weather
Despite sub-zero-degree temperatures in Iowa City, fans flocked to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to see Clark and the Hawkeyes face their biggest test yet. The broadcast said it was a sellout crowd of around 15,000 spectators.
Q1/10:00 Tip-off in Iowa City
The teams have tipped off in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
7:07- Starters announced
Iowa: Caitlin Clark, Gabbie Marshall, Molly Davis, Kate Martin, Hannah Stuelke
Indiana: Mackenzie Holmes, Chloe Moore-McNeil, Yarden Garzon, Sara Scalia, Sydney Parrish
6:55- Caitlin Clark closing in on top-4 NCAA scoring list
Clark enters Saturday’s contest with 3,244 career points, ranking fifth on the NCAA women’s basketball’s all-time scoring list. Just 39 points behind Baylor legend Brittney Griner, Clark could vault the WNBA 2013 first overall pick if she were to have a huge scoring night.
Gus Martin is a Digital Producer/Content Director for The Des Moines Register. Follow him on X at @GusMartin_DMR.