Kansas State pulled off a big early-season upset, knocking off 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament runner-up Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark 65-58 on Nov. 16.
The Hawkeyes, who also lost to K-State last year and entered that game ranked No. 2 in the country, may not have long to wait for revenge and it may happen right here in Southwest Florida.
Kansas State and Iowa are just two of the eight teams lined up to play in the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena this weekend.
A Wildcats vs. Hawkeyes rematch is no given, however, as 2022 NCAA teams North Carolina, FGCU, and Vermont are in the field as well as Western Kentucky, Delaware, and Purdue Fort Wayne.
Clark led Iowa against Kansas State with 24 points but made just 9-of-32 shots and 2-of-16 from 3-point range. It's the first time she missed 20 or more shots in a game.
"It's certainly one we can learn from and probably taught us a lot of lessons of how we can get better,” Clark said.
However, the Iowa faithful will continue to support the senior guard, who routinely knocked down 25- and 30-footers on the way to averaging almost 28 points a game while leading the Hawkeyes to the 2022 national championship game.
At an exhibition game at Kinnick Stadium vs. DePaul, more than 55,000 fans attended.
“Caitlin, certainly her stardom is at a different level than we’ve ever seen,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “Ever to be quite honest.
“It’s curse and blessing, right? She can’t go and be a normal college kid but obviously, there’s great NIL deals, and she relishes being out in the community. Yeah, that’s always a balancing act. The most important thing is winning the game. That all goes out the window when we hit the floor," Bluder said.
The lesson learned, Bluder said, is that Iowa can have another dynamite team if Clark becomes even more of a distributor where she averages more than seven assists per game.
Iowa post players Hannah Stuelke, Sharon Goodman, and Addison Grady hit 7-of-12 shots.
“She’s like Michael Jordan where everyone stands around instead of working together,” Bluder said. “Caitlyn has had quite a few assists but more than 10 a game would be a great thing to strive for.
“I think we have a lot of players who can step up. Kate Martin can step up. Gabbie Marshall can step up. Sydney Affolter, Sharon Goodman. If they do, that’s where we’re at our best.”
Iowa’s first foe will be Purdue Fort Wayne (2-1), which opened the season with an 80-61 loss to Michigan. Guard Shayla Sellers (14.3 points per game, 41.7 percent 3-point shooting) leads five players in double figures.
What about FGCU?
FGCU could get Iowa in Round 2 if it tops Delaware on Friday. Like the previous two times that the Eagles played in the Gulf Coast Showcase, they have a revamped roster because of senior departures.
“We’re still a long way from understanding what we want to do,” FGCU coach Karl Smesko said. “We’re subbing quite a bit this time of year as we’re seeing how they can best play within our style.
“I think we can (be nine or 10 deep) as long as we stay healthy."
At this time of year, Smesko said film sessions after wins and losses can be better learning lessons than practices.
“Then they see how what they do truly impacts the game,” he said. “When we were playing USC (67-51 loss), they got us to play the way they wanted us to play rather than the way we wanted to play. We weren’t sharing and creating for others, it was more of a one-on-one competition.
“We did a much better job of moving the ball against FIU (81-48 win) and working to get good shots.”
Forward Uju Ezeudu and guard Maddie Antenucci are averaging in double figures for the Eagles.
Delaware has a tough 1-2 combination of center Klarke Sconiers (21 points, 10 rebounds per game) and forward Chloe Wilson (18, 6.5).
North Carolina will take on Vermont in a matchup of NCAA Tournament teams from last year.
Guard Deja Kelly leads five Tar Heels in double figures. Vermont is led by point guard Emma Utterback, who leads the team in scoring and assists.
Kansas State and Western Kentucky open tournament play at 11 a.m. Friday.
Against Iowa, K-State got 22 points and 12 rebounds from 6-foot-6 center Ayoka Lee, who missed last season because of a knee injury. Zyanna Walker, who is shooting better than 50 percent from 3-point land, is another Wildcat to watch.
Guard Acacia Hayes, who leads the team in scoring and 3-point shooting percentage, paces Western Kentucky.
Gulf Coast Showcase: What to know
When: Friday-Sunday
Where: Hertz Arena
Ticket information: www.gulfcoastshowcase.com
Watch: All games streamed on flohoops.com
Friday’s games
11 a.m.: Kansas State vs. Western Kentucky
1:30 p.m.: North Carolina vs. Vermont
5 p.m.: FGCU vs. Delaware
7:30 p.m.: Iowa vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
Saturday’s games
11 a.m.: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
1:30 p.m.: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
5 p.m.: Semifinals
7:30 p.m.: Semifinals
Sunday’s games
11 a.m.: 7th-place game
1:30 p.m.: 5th-place game
5 p.m.: 3rd-place game
7:30 p.m.: Championship
Team capsules
Delaware
Nickname: Blue Hens
Conference: Colonial Athletic
NCAA Tournament history: Delaware has been to five NCAAs and made the Sweet 16 in 2013.
Fun fact: President Joe Biden is a Delaware alum.
FGCU
Nickname: Eagles
Conference: Atlantic Sun
NCAA Tournament history: FGCU has made nine NCAAs and won four tournament games. It was the Division II national runner-up in 2007.
Fun fact: The Princeton Review ranks FGCU No. 15 for undergrad entrepreneurship.
Iowa
Nickname: Hawkeyes
Conference: Big Ten
NCAA Tournament history: Iowa has made 29 NCAAs and last year played in the national championship game.
Fun fact: For consecutive years, Iowa has been ranked as one of the best academic hospitals in the U.S. In the best college football tradition - the Hawkeye Wave – fans, players and coaches wave to pediatric patients and their families at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital after the first quarter.
Kansas State
Nickname: Wildcats
Conference: Big 12
NCAA Tournament history: Kansas State has made 17 NCAAs and reached the Elite Eight in 1982.
Fun fact: With its campus in Manhattan, Kan., the school is known as ‘The Little Apple.’
North Carolina
Nickname: Tar Heels
Conference: ACC
NCAA Tournament history: NCAA has made 30 NCAA and won the national title in 1998.
Fun fact: North Carolina got the nickname the Tar Heel State because workers here used to sell tar, pitch, and turpentine from the state's longleaf pine trees to be used in wooden ships.
Purde Fort Wayne
Nickname: Mastodons
Conference: Horizon League
NCAA Tournament history: Purdue Fort Wayne never has made the Division I tournament. It has made three NCAA Division II tournaments.
Fun fact: The only university with the country of Mastodons, the school has the nickname because Mastodons roamed the southern Great Lakes region of North America more than 10,000 years ago.
Vermont
Nickname: Catamounts
Conference: America East
NCAA Tournament history: Vermont has made seven NCAAs. Its only win came in 2010 against Wisconsin.
Fun fact: UVM is the first institution of higher education to declare public support for freedom of religion and the first university to admit women and African Americans into Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
Western Kentucky
Nickname: Lady Toppers
Conference: Conference USA
NCAA Tournament history: Western Kentucky has made 20 NCAAs and finished as national runner-up in 1992.
Fun fact: Western Kentucky was the top producer of Fulbright Scholars in 2018.
