Caitlin Clark and No. 2 Iowa women’s basketball beat State of Pennsylvania Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
While Clark’s rise to Kelsey Plum’s all-time NCAA women’s basketball record remains a hot topic, it was Hannah Stuelke’s 47-point breakout that stole the show tonight.
Clark is now only 39 points away from the scoring record.
Check out below to relive the game’s updates, highlights, analysis, and memorable moments:
More:Hannah Stuelke’s 47 points guide No. 2 Iowa women’s basketball past Penn State
FINAL: Iowa 110, Penn State 93
It’s hard to overstate how well Stuelke played tonight. 47 points on 17-of-20 shooting, good for the second-most points in program history and the most ever at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Clark did well to continue passing the ball to him as well, finishing with a game-high 15 assists to go along with 27 points.
T4/2: 25 Iowa 102, Penn State 85
Although Lisa Bluder didn’t knock out Iowa’s starters, the Hawkeyes all but finished this game.
However, after four physical quarters, the teams continued to commit frequent fouls and both teams were visibly frustrated.
Hannah Stuelke reaches 40 points
After a brief rest in the fourth quarter, Stuelke returned and used a superb post move to reach 40 points.
She shoots 16 of 18 from the field and 8 of 14 from the free throw line.
She is the third player in the Big Ten with 40 points in a game this season.
T4/6: 10 Iowa 91, Penn State 79
Stuelke walked out to thunderous applause after scoring 38 points on 15-of-17 shooting, by far a career high.
T4/7: Iowa 39 85, Penn State 72
Clark and Stuelke connected all night, much to the detriment of the Penn State defense.
The duo made it look easy; Clark gets into the paint, draws Stuelke’s defender, Clark throws him a big open layup.
Clark has a season-high 13 assists, and Stuelke continues to increase his career-high in points and now stands at 32.
End 3: Iowa 79, Penn State 63
Affolter had a few lucky bounces to make a triple late in the quarter.
Stuelke remains Iowa’s leading scorer and has a career-high 28 points.
Penn State struggled from the field for most of the game, shooting just 35.9%, but the Nittany Lions made a big run late in the game to stay within striking distance.
Clark was more passive in the third quarter. She is up to 23 points, 12 assists and 11 turnovers.
T3/2: 25 Iowa 74, Penn State 55
Clark finally scored his first basket of the third quarter, converting a step-back mid-range jumper.
Penn State is still in its 1-2-2 press, and Iowa has done well to openly oppose it.
T3/4:40 Iowa 68, Penn State 51
Penn State switched to a 1-2-2 defensive press all over the court. The Nittany Lions ran several defensive schemes against the Iowa offense tonight, to no avail.
T3/6: 19 Iowa 68, Penn State 49
As Penn State’s 3-point shooting has gone cold and more Hawkeyes have gotten involved, Iowa now has firm control of this contest.
Addison O’Grady and Sydney Affolter are up to four points each after each getting a couple buckets down the stretch of play.
Clark now has a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists. She focused more on facilitation in this third framework.
T3/7:02 Iowa 64, Penn State 47
Iowa came out on a 5-0 run, with Stuelke setting the tone again with an and-1 following an offensive rebound.
She has repeatedly hurt the Nittany Lions in the paint and now has 24 points, a new career high.
End 2: Iowa 55, Penn State 44
Clark, Stuelke and Martin did most of the offensive work in this half, totaling 47 points.
Penn State was determined to keep up with Iowa’s offensive pace by taking a 9-for-26 series of 3s, but the team’s efficiency waned late in the second quarter.
Clark also has seven assists and four rebounds, along with nine turnovers. If it can take better care of the ball and more Hawkeyes get involved offensively, Iowa should be in good shape.
T2/1:07 Iowa 51, Penn State 41
The show said Clark had a cut on his shooting hand, but it didn’t appear affected at all.
In fact, his efficiency in getting to the basket continued to increase as the game went on.
Clark finding her rhythm, coupled with her constantly urging the crowd to get up and make some noise, helped the Hawkeyes take a 10-point lead.
T2/4: 08 Iowa 39, Penn State 38
After a Penn State player went down with an injury, the Nittany Lions rallied to go on an 8-2 run.
They have been prolific behind the arc so far, hitting 8 of 20 attempts compared to just three for Iowa.
T2/05:49 Iowa 37, Penn State 30
Iowa has dominated the second set thus far. Clark energized the crowd by hitting a deep triple, and Stuelke got up to 12 points by continuing to position himself well around the basket.
The Hawkeyes could benefit from the involvement of Gabbie Marshall and Molly Davis, however. They combined for just one assist and no shot attempts.
T2/7: Iowa 25 30, Penn State 27
The pace picked up considerably to start the second frame. Clark led off with a walkaround triple, and Martin continued to bring toughness and energy into the paint.
As a result, the Hawkeyes went on a 7-0 run.
End 1: Iowa 23, Penn State 25
Clark committed her second foul near the 2-minute mark after being called for a charge. As she walked towards the bench, she was visibly frustrated.
Shortly after, Penn State’s Shay Ciezki hit back-to-back 3s and the Nittany Lions scored a last-second layup to take the lead.
Stuelke led the Hawkeyes with 10 points, but five Clark turnovers and scoring flurries from Penn State gave them the lead.
T1/2: 15 Iowa 20, Penn State 17
Penn State decided to shield Clark’s face out of the media timeout, but she still broke her cold snap by driving to the rim for a layup.
Penn State then quickly took a 17-15 lead before Stuelke tied the game with a putback layup.
On the next possession, Clark found Stuelke in transition for an and-1 layup. Stuelke roared with excitement before converting the free throw.
T1/4: 38 Iowa 11, Penn State 9
Clark gets off to a slow start, missing his last four shots since that opening triple. She even narrowly missed a pair of makeable layups.
Penn State seems to emphasize physicality on defense, especially when guarding Clark. She already has four turnovers.
Martin is off to a good start with four points and three rebounds. She even executed a nifty pass behind the back of a Penn State defender, recovering the pass herself before being fouled on her shot.
T1/5: 29 Iowa 11, Penn State 7
After Penn State’s Ashley Owusu opened the game with a tough layup, Clark came right back with a triple off a screen and an assist to Hannah Stuelke.
Kate Martin then responded to a Penn State score with a nifty layup of her own.
Penn State appears to be implementing a trap press defense when Clark lifts the ball.
How to watch Caitlin Clark, Iowa women’s basketball vs. Penn State
Pre-match reading
Who are the best Penn State women’s basketball players?
- Score leader: Ashley Owusu (18.3 PPG)
- Assists the leader: Ashley Owusu (4.3 APG)
- Bouncing leader: Ashley Owusu (RPG 6.4)
Gus Martin is a digital producer/content director for The Des Moines Register. Follow him on @GusMartin_DMR.
