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Hawkeyes face a WVU team that leads the nation in turnover margin
Mar. 24, 2024 10:27 am, Updated: Mar. 24, 2024 5:06 pm
What: No. 2 Iowa (30-4) vs. West Virginia (25-7), NCAA women’s basketball tournament second round
When/where: 7 p.m. (CT) Monday, Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City
TV: ESPN
Live stream: ESPN.com or ESPN app
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network affiliates
Iowa’s next game: Winner faces No. 17 Colorado (24-9) in the regional semifinals Saturday (time TBA), at Albany, N.Y.
What to know: Albany-2 top-seed Iowa takes its nation-leading scoring offense (92.8 points per game) into a matchup with the stingy, 8-seed Mountaineers (57.6 ppg allowed).
West Virginia leads the nation in turnover margin (plus-8.8) and is third in turnovers forced (23.9) and steals (14.0).
The Hawkeyes are seeking their 10th Sweet 16 appearance, their second straight. They rolled past Holy Cross, 91-65, in the first round, outscoring the Crusaders 25-9 in the second quarter to break it open.
Caitlin Clark scored 27 points (sending her career total to 3,798), and added eight rebounds and 10 assists. Kate Martin added 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Hannah Stuelke missed the second half due to a migraine, but Addison O’Grady picked up the slack with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
West Virginia’s defense was on full display in the third quarter of a 63-53 first-round win over Princeton. The Mountaineers allowed seven points in the third, turning a 26-24 deficit into a 42-33 advantage.
Ja’Naiya Quinerly scored 29 points, and WVU shot 52.5 percent from the field.
The Moutaineers started the season 13-0 and, at 12-6 in the Big 12, finished in a tie for fourth place. Their only Sweet 16 appearance came in 1992.
Iowa leads the all-time series, 4-1. The last meeting was in 2019, an 84-81 victory at the Junkanoo Jam, in which the Hawkeyes rallied from a 24-point deficit.
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
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