IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Caitlin Clark struggled through a poor shooting performance and No. 2 Iowa failed to score in the last three minutes Thursday night, falling to Kansas State 65-58.
Clark, The Associated Press national player of the week in women’s basketball who swept national player of the year awards and led the Hawkeyes to their first NCAA championship game last season, scored 24 points on 9-for-32 shooting from the field and 2-for-16 sniping from long distance, failing to make her first 3-pointer until just over a minute left in the second quarter.
Iowa (3-1), which had been averaging 92 points in its first three games, shot just 36.1% from the field and was 2 for 21 from long distance.
22 points by Ayoka Lee, including 10 in the fourth quarter, drove Kansas State’s victory come from behind.
Last season, when Iowa was ranked fourth, Kansas State also handed the Hawkeyes their first defeat.
With 2:42 remaining, the Wildcats (3-0) were behind 58-53, but they would not let up a point for the remainder of the game against the Hawkeyes, who had gone almost eight minutes without scoring during a stretch in the second half.
With 1:12 remaining, Lee sank two free throws to give Kansas State a 59-58 lead. Gabby Gregory of Kansas State scored in the lane after Clark missed a jumper to extend the margin to three points.
Kansas State’s Jaelyn Glenn missed two free throws with 23 seconds, giving Iowa a chance to tie the game. Clark missed a 3-point attempt with 19 seconds left and then missed another eight seconds later.
Zyanna Walker added 12 points for Kansas State. Molly Davis had 10 points in the second half for Iowa.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas State: The WIldcats weren’t going to be overwhelmed playing the second-ranked team in the nation. Lee’s early foul trouble – she picked up two fouls in the first 2:15 of the game – was never a factor.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes never got into an offensive flow, even during the second-half 13-0 run that gave them the lead. With a chance to close out the game in the final seconds, Clark couldn’t come up with the big shots.
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