Iowa is elite: Strong second half propels Hawkeye women to Sweet 16 win

YES, IT CERTAINLY WAS A REALLY GOOD TEAM WIN FOR THIS IOWA TEAM AGAINST A VERY GRITTY COLORADO SQUAD. IOWA STILL DANCING AFTER A NICE WIN HERE IN SEATTLE. CAITLIN CLARK, VINTAGE 31 POINTS, EIGHT ASSISTS. THE STAR OF THE NIGHT. PEOPLE IN SEATTLE WERE TREATED TO A SHOW. HAWKEYES WERE TESTED BY COLORADO, WERE ABLE TO USE A MASSIVE THIRD QUARTER. ONE 8777. IT’S THE FIFTH ELITE EIGHT APPEARANCE NOW FOR THE HAWKEYES IN THE PROGRAM’S HISTORY. THE LAST TIME THEY WENT WAS 2009 TEAM. THE TEAM SHOWED A LOT OF RESILIENCE. THEY TRAILED BY ONE AT THE HALF. CAITLIN CLARK AND MONICA SANTINO EACH FOUND THEMSELVES IN SOME EARLY FOUL TROUBLE AND HAD TO SIT OUT LONGER THAN WE NORMALLY SEEN THEM DO SO BEFORE. A GREAT NIGHT FOR THE HAWKEYES, THOUGH. JUST ONE WIN AWAY FROM A FINAL FOUR. YOU KNOW, WE’RE SUPER EXCITED AND HAPPY TO BE IN THE ELITE EIGHT. BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN’T GET REALLY TOO HIGH BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO TAKE ANOTHER STEP AND GET TO DALLAS. AND WE UNDERSTAND WE’RE GOING TO PLAY A REALLY GOOD LOUISVILLE TEAM, A REALLY GOOD OLE MISS TEAM. BUT, YOU KNOW, I’M PROUD OF THIS GROUP, YOU KNOW, PERSEVERED. AND MAYBE AT TIMES IT WASN’T THE PRETTIEST. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST WANT TO KEEP COMING BACK TO PRACTICE EVERY SINGLE DAY. WE DON’T WANT IT TO END BECAUSE WE LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH AND LOVE GETTING TO SPEND TIME WITH ONE ANOTHER. THE HAWKEYES WILL RETURN TO PRACTICE TOMORROW. THEY KNOW THEIR OPPONENT NOW. THEY’RE GOING TO TAKE ON LOUISVILLE, WHO JUST BEAT OLE MISS IN THE SECOND GAME OF THE EVENING. THIS IOWA TEAM ON A MISSION. THEY LOOK GOOD TONIGHT AND WE’RE GOING TO HEAR FROM THEM TOMORROW HERE IN SEATTLE, REPORTING

The Colorado Buffaloes charged hard, but the Hawkeyes had the answer: Caitlin Clark. The All-American megastar lit up the scoreboard for 31 points, 8 assists, and 3 rebounds as Iowa advanced to the Elite Eight with an 87-77 win Friday night in Seattle.Colorado led 40-39 at the half, but the Hawkeyes came out swinging in the third quarter. Iowa went on a 15-2 run to open up a double-digit lead. Iowa led by as many as 15 in the third as Clark continued to make great passes and attack the rim. In the fourth, she hit a 3-pointer from the midcourt logo that had the crowd on its feet at Climate Pledge Arena. She shot 11-for-22 overall and 4-of-9 from three.Senior Monika Czinano added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Iowa shot 55 percent as a team. Kate Martin added 16 points and 6 rebounds. Iowa will face the No. 5-seed Louisville at 8 p.m. Sunday, the winner is on to the Final Four in Dallas.The Hawkeyes advanced to the Sweet 16 with NCAA Tournament wins against Southeastern Louisiana and Georgia. The Hawkeyes program has advanced to the Elite Eight four other times (1987, 1988, 1993, 2019) and made it to the Final Four once (1993).��vlog's Jeff Dubrof has live coverage tonight on the ��vlog News.Previous coverage:

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Colorado led 40-39 at the half, but the Hawkeyes came out swinging in the third quarter. Iowa went on a 15-2 run to open up a double-digit lead.

Iowa led by as many as 15 in the third as Clark continued to make great passes and attack the rim. In the fourth, she hit a 3-pointer from the midcourt logo that had the crowd on its feet at Climate Pledge Arena. She shot 11-for-22 overall and 4-of-9 from three.