Ohio state

Quality loss. Probably not gonna get it once it goes to OT but they had it. Missed some big FT's, didn't close the lane well enough at times in the fourth esp. holding the zone and letting people go right by. Have to make those fouls count. Not getting their $$ worth and letting too many shots go up for OSU and 1's.

Really should have had it. Correctable stuff though. CC some hero ball at times shooting a couple of threes with nobody under for one and done instead of attacking for foul outs or getting some easier buckets. Though you can see her weary of the missed bunnies.
 
Sorta felt this would be an L - No reason other than a tough roadie and Hawks were "due".
KateM was a little off today on both ends. Surprised and felt good when up 12 but as others have mentioned, Iowa started walking the ball and didn't attack their bigs with 4 fouls!
Throw in the scoring draught and OSuck just dominating the paint
... Just slipped away.

The Achilles heal exposed... The paint. Seems every quality team just has a stable full of huge horses. Can't imagine facing the likes of S. Caro, Stanford or UConn front courts in the tourney.
 
Sorta felt this would be an L - No reason other than a tough roadie and Hawks were "due".
KateM was a little off today on both ends. Surprised and felt good when up 12 but as others have mentioned, Iowa started walking the ball and didn't attack their bigs with 4 fouls!
Throw in the scoring draught and OSuck just dominating the paint
... Just slipped away.

The Achilles heal exposed... The paint. Seems every quality team just has a stable full of huge horses. Can't imagine facing the likes of S. Caro, Stanford or UConn front courts in the tourney.
Where do Goodman go ? Came up missing!!!!
 
Read where Clark was nearly injury by an osu fan during the court storming at the end of the game. Sounds like she’ll be ok but that would be insane if she had truly been injured.
 
Hopefully, as with last season, the team will use this loss to help galvanize them going into the post-season.

A few observations about this game:

1. Probably the worst officiated game I've watched since last season's final, and I mean both ways. The officials were terrible.

2. Our bigs were way too robotic - missed lay-ups, lack of blocking out, static feet on defense, etc., etc. The coaches work hard with all of the players at the 5 spot, but the lack of some basic fundamentals at times is perplexing and frustrating.

3. Martin was never mentally in the game. She looked out of sorts from the opening tip.

4. When 1-3 are happening, CC is not going to be able to bail us out against the better teams.
 
Where do Goodman go ? Came up missing!!!!
Goodman is a big body to throw out there but is so limited athletically and in her ability to catch/score, let alone even just grab rebounds. Her biggest attribute is to simply absorb fouls and give Steulky a breather.
While OGrady had a solid game today, I actually like 34 - Ediger(?) over both OG and Goodman lately.
Either way... Hawks front court is the weak link and there are so many teams out there with huge, athletic bigs.
 
Their baskets came easier right under the basket. Iowa needs bigger stronger center that’s where they lost the game .
That was their undoing last year vs LSU and it's why they may not even make the final four this year. They need a defensive minded rebounding brute down there like that 6'6 player from Kansas State. South Carolina and LSU and UConn have plenty of size inside. When we go man Caitlin is basically a power forward while Gaby and Mollly chase guards.
 
That was their undoing last year vs LSU and it's why they may not even make the final four this year. They need a defensive minded rebounding brute down there like that 6'6 player from Kansas State. South Carolina and LSU and UConn have plenty of size inside. When we go man Caitlin is basically a power forward while Gaby and Mollly chase guards.
Why didn’t Lisa go after a big in the portal ?
 
Goodman is a big body to throw out there but is so limited athletically and in her ability to catch/score, let alone even just grab rebounds. Her biggest attribute is to simply absorb fouls and give Steulky a breather.
While OGrady had a solid game today, I actually like 34 - Ediger(?) over both OG and Goodman lately.
Either way... Hawks front court is the weak link and there are so many teams out there with huge, athletic bigs.
O'Grady had a solid game? I'd say she was damn near perfect during the few minutes she got. After Stuelke struggled both offensively and defensively, when OGrady got in the game she immediately blocked/altered a couple of #32's shots, scored 2 left-handed layups on the offensive end, and I believe she was 2/2 from the FT line. At the end of regulation, with every FT vitally important, there's no way Stuelke should have been in the game...and she predictably missed 3 of 4 FTs inside of the last few minutes.
That was just one of Bluder's coaching mistakes, among several over the course of this game. It seems like at least once/year, Bluder gets outcoached, and today's game certainly qualifies. After watching tape, she'll kick herself for not having OGrady in the game at the end.
On the plus side for Bluder, her scheme to play most of the 1st half with a 'box and 1' -- playing Gabby woman-to-woman on #4 their outstanding Guard while the other Hawkeyes played zone -- took her completely out of her game and I don't think she scored a single point in the 1st half. Why Bluder got out of that scheme the last few minutes of the 1st half and didn't play it at all in the 2nd, is anybody's guess...#4 scored 20 pts in the 2nd half alone.
In the last 5 minutes of regulation, when #32 seemed unstoppable when she got the ball in the paint, Bluder made no change to alter Iowa's Defense -- none. Could have shifted to a 1-3-1 zone and fronted her, ANYTHING to keep her from getting the ball and keep them from running the same play successfully over and over again. Horrible coaching by Bluder those last 5 minutes.
 
That was their undoing last year vs LSU and it's why they may not even make the final four this year. They need a defensive minded rebounding brute down there like that 6'6 player from Kansas State. South Carolina and LSU and UConn have plenty of size inside. When we go man Caitlin is basically a power forward while Gaby and Mollly chase guards.


Naah, LSU shot 21% from 3 during the regular season and was lights out in that title game. LSU saw what happened to South Carolina and refused to let that happen to them. Shots that those young ladies attempted or didn’t even take during the regular season, all went in for them in the title game.
 
The asking price for a big in the portal was too high. She said anyone that they could afford wasn’t any better than what they already had.

Yep. Bluder made the “salary cap” comment when a beat reporter asked her about this back in October.
 
Naah, LSU shot 21% from 3 during the regular season and was lights out in that title game. LSU saw what happened to South Carolina and refused to let that happen to them. Shots that those young ladies attempted or didn’t even take during the regular season, all went in for them in the title game.
Lots of things went LSU's way that day, but yes outside shooting was definitely one of them. They punched way above their weight from the perimeter at the most opportune time.
 
You simply can't miss 4 free throws late in the fourth quarter in a close game especially on the road

Caitlin, Davis, and Marshall all played over 40 minutes

Martin and Marshall had 11 points in the game

Hawks got 12 points from the bench

Ohio State had 13 offensive rebounds, and they might have scored on each one

The odds are extreme against going undefeated in the Big Ten

This is a quality loss at Ohio State with rabid hostile fans

Idiot who slammed Caitlin to the floor after the game should be arrested for attempted murder
 
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On the Hawkeye of the Storm post-game show a caller said that most of the team was sick with the flu or possible food poisoning. Don't know how true that is.
 
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