WBB vs Iowa: Ran out of gas and couldn't keep up

Opponent: Iowa (28-4, 16-3 B1G, 2nd seed)

B1G Tournament Semifinal

Result: Loss, 95-68

Record: 20-13, 11-10 B1G, 6th place

Date:  3/9, B1G tournament in Minneapolis

Starters: Laila Phelia, Lauren Hansen, Jordan Hobbs, Chyra Evans, Elissa Brett (16 starts together this season)

Injuries/inactives: 

• Sollom, Brown, and Taylor Williams all dressed, but did not play
• Iowa was without Molly Davis, who got injured in Iowa’s final regular season game

1st quarter:

• The teams traded offensive fouls on the first two possessions. First the refs called a debatable charge on Phelia, but Brett drew an equally debatable one on Clark ten seconds later
• After Iowa went up 4-0, Hobbs scored Michigan’s first points when an Iowa player knocked her down after a three point attempt. Hobbs sank all three free throws
• Clark got a lucky bounce on her first attempt from three with brett in her face when the ball bounced up, hit the rim a couple times, and finally dropped through
• Hansen hit a three on a broken play when an Iowa player deflected her entry pass to Evans. Evans was able to get a hand on the ball and tip it back to Hansen for the wide open three
• Woodson hit a jumper from the free throw line when Phelia drove, turned back and found her wide open
• With the score tied, Woodson missed a midrange jumper, but Stuck went up high for an offensive rebound and got it to Phelia at the three point line to take the lead. 
  • Clark lost her handle on the following play and Hansen hit a three in transition to make it a 6 point lead
• Michigan started 6-6 from deep with three from Hansen and one each from Hobbs, Brett, and Phelia
• Phelia committed her second foul at the end of the first quarter when Clark found Stuelke down low, but she missed the shot. Marshall got the ball on the inbounds and hit a corner three to close Michigan’s lead to just three at the buzzer
• Michigan started hot and built an 8 point lead behind Hansen’s 11 points, but Iowa kept up because of 6 assists from Caitlin Clark

2nd quarter: 

• Phelia stayed on the floor despite two fouls
• Iowa retook the lead when Clark drove and got the ball to Stuelke down low for a layup
  • On the following possession, Hobbs hit a three to keep Michigan perfect from deep
• Iowa went up 5 when Hobbs lost her handle and Clark ran the ball out for an easy layup. KBA took timeout
• Brett took her second foul when she committed a block on an Iowa drive. She stayed in the game
• Michigan’s first miss from three point range was a contested Hobbs shot with six and a half minutes left in the quarter
• Iowa took a 12 point lead when Hansen tried to take a charge that the refs didn’t call and found her teammate open from three
  • Brett answered on the next possession with a three of her own
• Taylor Woodson committed a freshman foul when she extended her arm and made contact with an Iowa player while dribbling across the lane. However, on the next possession, Woodson matched up with Clark and deflected a pass for a turnover
• Brett committed her third foul while going for an offensive rebound and went to the bench. The contact seemed incidental, but the ref blew their whistle anyway
• Hobbs cut the lead to 9 when she found her way into the lane and hit an off balance jumper, but Clark came down and hit a logo three to make it 12 again
  • Hobbs answered with a three to make it a nine point halftime lead for Iowa. Iowa had time for a last shot, but Hansen got a steal and Woodson missed the heave at the buzzer
• Iowa owned this quarter because of 14 points and 5 more assists from Caitlin Clark. Michigan kept within striking distance, but finished the half with a bit of foul trouble: Brett had 3, while Phelia and Woodson both had 2.

3rd quarter: 

• Iowa hit a three on their first shot of the second half, but Brett answered with a wide open three assisted by Phelia who drove and kicked it back out
• Phelia missed her first two driving shots of the half, buckets she’s usually able to convert
• Brett got her fourth foul when she switched onto Clark while Clark was driving and went to the bench
• After a Hansen miss, Taylor Woodson tied up an Iowa player to force a jump ball (possession Iowa) instead of an easy defensive rebound
• Michigan could not hit a shot in the first five minutes of the second quarter, going 1-8 and not getting any lucky bounces
• Woodson hit 3 of 4 free throws when she was fouled on two different possessions while driving. Unfortunately, she also lost the ball while taking it up the court when Iowa poked it out from behind
• With Iowa up 16, Stuck drew a charge on Clark to get the ball back, but Michigan couldn’t find any points as Phelia missed a corner three
  • Clark drove and found a teammate to make it 18, but Phelia came down and finished through contact for the the three point play to make it 15
• Clark drew a foul and hit both free throws, then went to the bench with 20 seconds left in the quarter and Iowa up 17
• Iowa extended its lead in this quarter and kept hitting their shots so that Michigan could never mount a comeback

4th quarter: 

• Brett fouled out on the offensive end when she extended her arm and made contact while going for a deflection
• Clark made it a 20 point lead with a quick three, then Michigan immediately turned it over with a careless inbounds
• Evans found Phelia open on a backdoor cut for an easy layup
• Stuelke went down with a rolled ankle on a long assist from Clark. She was able to walk to the bench, but didn’t come back in the game
• Michigan looked very out of sorts at the start of the quarter, committing 3 ugly turnovers. One saw Hansen steal the ball, then lose her handle while bringing it up the floor and give it right back to Clark for an easy layup
• Down 32, Phelia kept shooting and hit a mid range jumper and a three in the last few minutes of the game 
• Crockett and Kampschroeder saw time in the fourth after the outcome was clear to KBA
• Woodson hit a nice catch and shoot two when she curled towards the baseline and got the ball from Stuck
• Michigan could not keep up with Iowa’s depth and looked ready to go home after a chaotic start to the quarter. They continued to play solid defense and look for productive shots, but never put the outcome of the game in doubt.

Notable stats:

• Phelia finished with 21 points and 7 assists, shooting 8-16 and 2-4 from deep
• Hobbs contributed 14 points and Hansen scored 13
• While it looked bad at the end, Michigan only had 3 more turnovers than Iowa, 15-12
• Clark had a double-double with 28 points and 15 assists
  • Iowa had 30 assists as a team

Overall: 

• Michigan hung with Iowa for a quarter and looked like they might mount a comeback after half, but Caitlin Clark took over and Michigan devolved to their worst habits, not closing out threes, turning it over, and missing shot after shot. 

Up next: 

• Now we wait. Selection Sunday isn’t for another week and while Michigan is almost assuredly in the field, their next game won’t be until either Friday 3/22 or Saturday 3/23. The biggest question is what seed they get; it should be somewhere in the 9-10-11 range. 

Most recent bracketology: 

• ESPN has Michigan as a 10 seed and one of the “last four byes” (updated 3/10)
  • 7 B1G teams in the field
• Her Hoop Stats has Michigan as a 10 seed (3/9)
  • 8 B1G teams in field
• College Sports Madness has Michigan as an 11 seed (3/4)
  • 8 B1G teams in field