Iowa and Louisville advance to the Elite 8

Friday's games had great action to kick off the tournament in Seattle!

Day 1 of the four-day tournament in Seattle did not disappoint. Fans were treated to two hotly contested matchups between Iowa/Colorado and Louisville/Ole Miss.

Iowa Hawkeyes outlast the Colorado Buffalo

Iowa and Colorado exchanged baskets to start the game. Colorado was sloppy early on with a few turnovers. While Caitlin Clark is the main attraction, Iowa used very balanced scoring in the first period. The Hawkeyes built a big lead but Colorado used a 10-0 run to cut down Iowa’s double-digit lead and tie the game. Clark ended the run with a contested pull-up three. After Colorado tied it up, the teams played even the rest of the period. Frida Formann led Colorado with 14 points, and Clark added 11 for Iowa. Formann looked just as good if not better than Clark early on in this game. The Hawkeyes led 23-22 after the first period of play.

We were treated to a fun post-matchup between Aaronette Vonleh and Monika Czinano with both players getting some good looks. Colorado’s team defense was impressive limiting both Clark and Czinano in the 2nd quarter. Clark was limited to just 4-11 FG in the first half that included scoring just two points in the second period. Tameiya Sadler drove into the lane and made a basket in the final possession to put the Buffs on top 40-39 at halftime.

Iowa’s Clark and Czinano weren’t ready for their season to end and went to work early in the third period, leading the Hawkeyes on a 13-0 run. Clark scored seven points during that span and assisted on the other baskets. She capped it off with a big steal near midcourt and raced down the lane for the easy two resulting in the Iowa faithful erupting in celebration.

Colorado’s leading-scorer, Formann, picked up her 3rd and 4th fouls in quick succession and was forced to go to the bench. Her foul trouble was a huge issue in the 2nd half. After scoring 19 points in the first half she would be limited to just two additional points over the final two periods before fouling out.

Iowa’s offense scored 25 points in the third and took a 64-53 lead into the final frame.

Colorado’s Head Coach JR Payne stated after the game that the big difference in the third period was Iowa’s ability to get out in transition and score quickly. The Hawkeyes capitzalized on some turnovers that led to the big run.

For a moment, it looked like Iowa would cruise to an easy victory but the Buffs used a 7-2 run to cut Iowa’s double-digit lead down to just six at 76-70; forcing Iowa to take a timeout. A Jaylyn Sherrod layup with 1:49 left to play cut Iowa’s lead down to four but the Buffalo would not be able to get it any closer.

Late in the game, things got chippy with some hard fouls and jawing going on. At one point two players had to be separated. The Hawkeyes knocked down several free throws in the final two minutes.

Iowa won the game 87-77 over the Colorado Buffalo in a thrilling high-scoring game to kick off the Sweet 16 in Seattle. Unsurprisingly, Caitlin Clark led all scorers with 31 points. She also dished out eight assists including a few that made the crowd ooh and ahh.

Kate Martin added 16 points for the Hawkeyes. Monika Czinano added 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the victory.

Frida Formann led Colorado with 21 points. Seattle’s Quay Miller added a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. The Buffalo had a 40-32 rebounding advantage including 21-7 on the offensive glass. Aaronette Vonleh added 14 points and Sherrod contributed with 11.

Louisville’s Defense Shuts Down Ole Miss

Ole Miss got out to an early lead knocking down an early three-pointer. They had good looks to start the game and led 9-3 through the first four minutes.

Louisville started to turn things around with added defensive pressure and fullcourt press that forced Ole Miss into some mistakes. This allowed Louisville to take the lead after going on a 15-4 run to make it 18-13.

After the first quarter, the Cardinals led the Rebels 20-15. Hailey Van Lith led Louisville with seven points and Marquesha Davis led Ole Miss with eight.

The Rebels started using their size and athleticism to regain the lead going on a 15-3 run over a five-minute sequence. Ole Miss briefly led 29-27 before Louisville finished the first half on a 7-0 run. The say basketball is a game of runs and this one was no different. Each team scored 14 points in the second quarter as Louisville took a 34-29 lead into the locker rooms.

Van Lith led the Cardinals with 10 points and Morgan Jones added eight more. Myah Taylor led the Rebels with 10 points as well.

The third period continued their back-and-forth battle. Neither team was able to make a huge change in the game’s momentum. The Rebels started to fall behind after missing eight consecutive shots and going scoreless for more than three minutes. This allowed the Cardinals to push their lead to eight before the Rebels would stop the bleeding.

A three-ball by Merissah Russell put the Cardinals up 10 at the end of the third by a score of 52-42.

Through the first five minutes, the two teams played evenly as Ole Miss continued to trail by ten points. The Rebels cut the Cardinals’ lead to five at 58-53. They wouldn’t get any closer as Louisville pushed their lead back up to double-digits with an 8-3 run.

Both teams were evenly matched in the fourth quarter as they each scored 20 points. Ole Miss never seriously threatened to retake the lead as Louisville consistently had an answer usually in the form of a basket from either Van Lith or Mykasa Robinson.

Ultimately, the Cardinals punched their ticket to the Elite 8 with a 72-62 victory over the Rebels.

Van Lith led the team in scoring with a game-high 21 points. Morgan Jones had some really nice standout moments, especially in the first half. Both Jones and Robinson finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Olivia Cochran added 10 points and six rebounds.

Myah Taylor and Marquesha Davis both finished with a team-high 19 points for the Ole Miss Rebels. Angel Baker added 11 points. Unfortunately, they didn’t get enough offensive contributions from the rest of the team.

Thoughts on Their Elite 8 Matchup

The favorites both won on Friday evening leading to an Elite 8 matchup between the Iowa Hawkeyes (2) and the Louisville Cardinals (5). They won with two very different styles which will make Sunday’s contest interesting to watch. The Hawkeyes just had too much offensive firepower scoring nearly 90 points in their victory over Colorado. Meanwhile, Louisville limited Ole Miss to just 62 points with their press and stifling defense. An interesting little nugget is that Iowa scored 15 points more in their win compared to Louisville (87-72). However, the Cardinals held their opponent to 15 points less than the Hawkeyes did (62 compared to 77).

The big question will be whether or not Louisville’s defense can hold Iowa to a much lower scoring output. If the Hawkeyes get to the 80-point mark they will almost certainly win.

It’ll also be fun to watch Caitlin Clark and Hailey Van Lith do battle against one another on Sunday. Both of them led their respective teams in scoring Friday night. Both players are Juniors and (in theory) could enter the 2024 WNBA Draft. Clark will likely be the #1 overall pick when she does enter the WNBA Draft due to her dynamic scoring ability and Steph Curry-esque range.

My prediction is that Iowa’s offense will be able to get the job done against Louisville and the Hawkeyes will be cutting down the nets on Sunday evening.

Saturday’s Games

Friday’s games were even better than advertised and, on paper, Saturday’s matchups look even better! The UConn Huskies (2) will battle it out against the Ohio State Buckeyes (3) at 1:00 PM. Then Tennessee (4) will challenge Virginia Tech (1) at 3:30 PM for our final game of the Sweet 16.

Make sure you’re signed up for the newsletter for the recap of those games!