West Virginia HC's Caitlin Clark comments backfire as Iowa advances to Sweet 16

There were two things amiss with what West Virginia coach Mark Kellogg said. One, the game was played at Carver-Hawkeye Area, the Hawkeyes’ home floor. Even if they lost, they wouldn’t pack because they’re already home.

Two, Clark gets fired up by trash talk, officials or anyone who’s in her way on a basketball court. She scored 32 points in Iowa’s 64-54 win, shooting 11-for-12 from the foul line and breaking Kelsey Plum’s single-season scoring record.

Kellogg’s talk did fire up the Mountaineers, who delivered a great defensive effort. They held Clark to 1-for-5 shooting and Iowa to only six points in an impressive second quarter. The problem was they only scored nine themselves.

West Virginia also held Iowa to a lone field goal in the fourth and tied the game with a 10-0 run to start the quarter. But they committed 12 fouls in the quarter, and Iowa made 14 of their last 15 free throws to advance.

Now Iowa will be packing for the Albany regional, where Clark will try to extend her scoring record against Colorado. The head coach of the Buffaloes wisely hasn’t said anything about Clark. Yet.