No. 4 Iowa Silences Cyclones in Ames

BOX SCORE

Iowa State made sure Caitlin Clark wasn't going to beat it single-handedly Wednesday night at a sold out Hilton Coliseum. Enter Kate Martin. The sixth-year senior helped out the star down the stretch. 

The veteran duo led a hard-fought, 67-58 victory in the toughest environment Iowa had faced to date. The Hawkeyes needed big plays to stave off the upset bid by a young ISU outfit. 

Clark hit another milestone in her illustrious career. The senior knocked a long three-pointer to go over 3,000 points. She became the 15th women's basketball player to ever reach that mark. 

Fourth-ranked Iowa (9-1) overcame an uncharacteristically poor shooting performance Wednesday. The visitors were 34.9 percent on their field goal attempts, which included 29.0 percent from behind the arc. 

Luckily for the Hawkeyes, they matched the home team's defensive intensity. The Cyclones hit only 34.4 percent of their shots from the field and were just 5 of 20 (25.0) on treys. 

Iowa led for 29 minutes Wednesday but could not shake the Clones in a game that saw 12 lead changes and nine ties. A 10-2 ISU run gave it a 55-54 advantage with 4:30 remaining in regulation. Then it threw even more defensive attention at Clark. 

She recognized the tactic. So did Martin. They were on the same page, as expected after playing alongside each other for four seasons. 

After a pair of Sydney Affolter free throws put Iowa in front again by a point, the visitors got a defensive stop. Clark drew three defenders on the ensuing possession and assisted Martin on a bucket. The same combo connected the next Hawkeye possession. 

Clark scored again the following time with the ball and then Martin sank two free throws. At the end of the flurry, Iowa led 64-56 with 45 seconds on the clock. The Clones would not recover. 

The Hawkeyes lost in Clark's only other trip to Hilton back in 2021. Wednesday's win was important for the Des Moines native. 

She finished with a game-high 35 points on 12 of 31 shooting from the floor. She was 6 for 16 on three-pointers with nine rebounds, five assists and three turnovers in 39 minutes. 

Martin tallied 16 points, joining Clark as the only Hawkeyes in double figures. Martin made 6 of 12 field-goal attempts, knocking down 2 of 3 trey tries. She swiped a game-high three steals. 

Iowa's cause was aided by it making 14 of 15 free throws. It also held an advantage in points off turnovers, fastbreak points and bench points. The Cyclones owned a 43-42 rebounding edge. 

ISU's freshmen tandem of Audi Crooks and Addy Brown combined for 29 points, 22 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. The Cyclones committed 11 turnovers to Iowa's nine. 

The Hawkeyes won for the seventh time in their last eight meetings with Iowa State. They swept the in-state season series with ISU, Drake and Northern Iowa for the 11th time in coach Lisa Bluder's career. 

Iowa returns to action for its Big Ten opener at Wisconsin. The game can be seen at 1:30 pm CT on BTN.