On October 15, 2023, Iowa’s Women’s Basketball Team opened their season with a banger. The team played at Kinnick Stadium, the outdoor football field for Iowa. Caitlin Clark with a triple double in her first game of the season, creating even more popularity with the skilled 21-year old. Additionally, many other players made their debut in the game against DePaul. Sophomore Hannah Stuelke played a total of 29 minutes, differing from her very little playing time last season. She played a beautiful game, scoring 12 points, proving to be a great starter for this upcoming season. Molly Davis, fifth year and starter from previous years, also showed that her skill has done anything but diminish. Iowa has been known to be a great offensive team, but their defense definitely needs work. There were only two blocks the entire game, one by Clark and one by Stuelke. Rebound average was 4, which is pretty low for a Women’s basketball team, but we can’t expect them to be alike to WNBA stars. In addition, it seems that after half, they kept the Blue Demons within 10 points.
Setting records is not a surprising thing for this team, as they have grown immensely in the rankings over the past two years. Even in their first game of the season, they set an attendance record for NCAA Women’s Basketball of 55, 646 in Kinnick Stadium on Sunday. This was nearly double the previous record, which was set in 2002 in the Women’s Final Four. Kinnick Stadium seats around 70,000 people, which was used for this season opener because the demand for tickets was so high. This was also the first ever women’s basketball game held in a football stadium. The entire season for the basketball team was sold out the second they were set on sale, in the summer. The big reason why: Caitlin Clark. Caitlin Clark has been known as the female version of Steph Curry, as her finesse in three pointers is amazing. Last season, she accomplished the first ever 40 point triple double in Women’s NCAA history. Iowa’s women’s basketball team gained a lot of popularity last season, as Clark led the team to the championship against LSU in March Madness. Unfortunately, the team that ended on the short end of the stick was Iowa. However, this simply added more fuel to the fire as viewers are excited to see the team play again and maybe even come back for revenge against LSU.
There are three episodes based on this game, able to view here: https://hawkeyesports.com/crossover/
In conclusion, this season opener shows that if anything, fans are ready to see the team of young adults push the limits and succeed. With Caitlin Clark and her skilled teammates, the Iowa Women’s Basketball team looks poised to deliver an exciting, and historical season.
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LUCIA MAHER
My name is Lucia and I am a freshman at City High Middle. Some of my favorites things are soccer, reading, Clairo's music, and the movie Little Women.
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LUCIA MAHER#molongui-disabled-link
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LUCIA MAHER#molongui-disabled-link
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LUCIA MAHER#molongui-disabled-link
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LUCIA MAHER#molongui-disabled-link
