Marshall’s block, Affolter’s three-point play put Iowa in front for good, igniting the Hawkeyes to a 64-54 win over West Virginia.

Call it a season-saving sequence.

Iowa had squandered a 10-point lead, and West Virginia’s J.J. Quinerly was lining up a 3-point shot from the right wing for the lead.

Instead, Gabbie Marshall made the defensive play of the game. Maybe the defensive play of the year.

“I had to do something for my team,” she said.

Marshall blocked Quinerly’s shot, and Sydney Affolter converted a three-point play moments later.

That six-point swing ignited the second-ranked Hawkeyes to a 12-2 run in the final 2:03, and ultimately a 64-54 NCAA second-round win Monday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“Gabbie made an amazing defensive play,” Affolter said. “Then I saw a lane and I took it.”

It was Marshall’s third block of the season, the 13th of her career. And it was reminiscent of a key swat she had in overtime against Nebraska in the Big Ten tournament final.

“To have that moment, it was amazing,” Marshall said.

One of five Hawkeyes making her final Carver appearance, Marshall didn’t score a point Monday. But her block — and Affolter’s conversion — was as big of a play as any that Iowa (31-4) mustered all night.

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“Gabbie didn’t score, but she never stops working her butt off on defense,” said Kate Martin, another senior.

“That play motivated us. You see that play, and you see that kind of passion in Gabbie, and it’s infectious. Then Syd, she had an opportunity and made a play at the rim.”

Iowa could have been down 55-52 had Quinerly nailed that 3-pointer with 2:12 left. Instead, Marshall made the swat, Affolter made the play on the other end of the court, and the Hawkeyes were up 55-52 at the 2:03 mark.

The remainder of the game was a free-throw fiesta. Iowa made 14 of 15 in the final 4:46, and the back end of Affolter’s three-point play started a 10-of-11 spree from the line in the final 2:03.

That included a late 3-of-4 from Hannah Stuelke, who had missed a pair earlier in the fourth quarter.

Stuelke was a 46-percent free-throw shooter as a freshman. This year, she’s up to 62 percent.

“Going into these big games, I’m going to need to knock down free throws, and I think this is a stepping stone to that for sure,” Stuelke said.

There’s at least one more big game to play, and perhaps as many as four.

Iowa will face No. 17 Colorado (24-9) in a Sweet 16 contest at 2:30 (CT) Saturday at MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y.

No. 6 UCLA (27-6) meets No. 8 LSU (30-5) in the other regional semifinal, at noon.

The regional final is 6 p.m. Monday.

Caitlin Clark is looking to lead the Iowa Hawkeyes to their first national title in program history before entering the 2024 WNBA Draft.

The No.1 seeded Hawkeyes are in the midst of a back-and-forth affair with the No.8 seeded West Virginia Mountaineers, with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen on the line.

Clark displayed frustration after teammate Hannah Stuelke could not reel in an errant pass late in the second quarter, giving the 2023 national college player of the year her fourth turnover in the first half. Twitter user @iam_johnw shared footage of the play, captioning the post:

“Caitlin Clark crying and throwing her hands up like she’s 5 every time her teammates don’t make a one handed catch is insane lmao”
Check out Caitlin Clark’s reaction to Hannah Stuelke’s inability to catch her pass below:

Clark has drawn criticism for her attitude on the court, with many accusing her of complaining too frequently, particularly to her own teammates.

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While the four-time All-American has thrived throughout her four-year collegiate career, she has struggled with taking care of the ball. The Hawkeyes guard has led the nation in turnovers per game in each season of her collegiate career.

While Clark has rightfully received all of the attention, Stuelke has played a vital role for Iowa.

The sophomore forward is averaging 14.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks per game while shooting 63.8% from the field, 50.0% from three-point range and 61.7% from the free-throw line.

Caitlin Clark discusses being snubbed from the USA youth team

Caitlin Clark has established herself as one of the best women’s college basketball players of all-time. The Iowa Hawkeyes guard recently sat down with Robin Roberts of Good Morning America, where she discussed being snubbed from the USA Youth Team, stating:

“I went to try out the next year and, honestly, I hurt my pinky during training camp, but, like, I keep playing, like, I was fine, but also, I just played really bad. I didn’t deserve to be on the team so I think, honestly, like that’s one of the lowest points of my basketball career.”
She added:

“It’s like, you’re on the team the previous year. You won a gold medal and then you go back to try out with all your teammates from the prior year, but I think it really allowed me to, like, find another fire. I think it just pushed me to work even harder and get better and want to prove people wrong.”

Check out Caitlin Clark’s comments on not making the USA Youth Team below (starting at the 4:21 mark):

Clark has done a great job of bouncing back from being cut, which she refers to as one of the lowest points of her playing career.

She was able to break the NCAA scoring record during her senior season and will look to lead the Hawkeyes to their first national title in program history.

WNBA star Brittney Griner has said in a tearful interview that her marriage to Glory Johnson was a ‘huge mistake’.

The 24-year-old filed for an annulment with Glory Johnson-Griner last Friday, just a day after Johnson-Griner announced she’s pregnant and only a month after the two players wed.

Just days after filing the paperwork, Griner spoke candidly to ESPN about her decision.

‘Prior to us getting married, I knew I didn’t want to… I shouldn’t have went through with it,’ she said. ‘I talked to Gloria about it but, you know, sometimes you feel pressured into things, and I went along with it. And I know I shouldn’t have. It was a huge mistake. I just knew it was a mistake.’

The 6-foot-8 Phoenix Mercury star married Johnson just three weeks after they were both arrested on domestic violence charges for a fight at their home in suburban Phoenix.

Both players were suspended seven games after their arrests and Griner agreed to undergo 26 weeks of domestic violence counseling as part of a plea agreement.

In the aftermath of the fight, both players apologized and said they worked out their differences – but Griner said she should have given herself more time before they walked down the aisle.

‘With everything going on and counseling and classes, it just wasn’t the right way to start off a marriage,’ she told ESPN. ‘It wasn’t the right way to start off a unity like that. I wanted to take time to get myself right and – shouldn’t have done it.’

She said they agreed to go their separate ways.

On Thursday, Johnson announced that she was pregnant by posting a picture of a ‘bun in the oven’ cake on Instagram. She used a sperm donor to conceive for the couple, TMZ reported.

Johnson, a two-time All-Star with the Tulsa Shock, will now be taking off the season.

Griner told ESPN that she was shocked by the timing of the announcement.

‘It’s very early,’ she said. ‘It’s too early to post or say anything about it. I was surprised.’

Towards the end of the interview, Griner said the last 10 months have been ’emotional’ and bent over and shook as she struggled to control her tears.

After composing herself, she smiled and said she now plans to ‘submerge’ herself in the game, adding: ‘I’m just counting down these next six games until I get back on the court.’

The honest interview came just days after Griner announced in a statement through ESPN that she and her wife would be parting ways.

‘Last Wednesday, Glory and I agreed to either legally separate, get divorced, or annul our marriage, she said.

‘I can confirm that today I filed for an annulment. In the week prior to the wedding, I attempted to postpone the wedding several times until I completed counseling, but I still went through with it. I now realize that was a mistake.’

Johnson’s sports marketing agent, D.J. Fisher, said in a statement that his client was unaware that Griner was filing and was ‘extremely hurt and blindsided’.

‘She loves Brittney and made a huge sacrifice to carry a child, put her career on hold, invest in their relationship and their future,’ Fisher said.

‘She knows how important marriage is, and made a lifetime commitment and decision to spend the rest of her life with Brittney.’