West Virginia's losing effort against Iowa wins hearts

True, she set the NCAA single scoring record, to go with her maybe unbreakable career record as she will end her career as the highest scoring player – male or female – in history.

But late in the third quarter, she bled just like every other human being from a cut on her leg, the blood running down toward her ankle until they had to patch up the wound.

It was that kind of game, played in WVU’s style. The Mountaineers, a No. 8 seed, did everything they wanted to do, except have the game moved from out of a frenzied Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Within that building they were 5 against the world. They striped the sold-out arena in Hawkeye colors. They roared at every move Clark made, at every basket Iowa made and they would have booed the officials, had any calls gone against Iowa.

“I’ve always been one to play to the crowd,” Clark said. “That’s what I kind of do — an entertainer, in a way. I always want to get the crowd going.”

Intimidated? Maybe, maybe not but the NCAA’s refusal to see that teams do not play on their home court in an effort to squeeze every nickel of the fans pockets, as if the TV money weren’t enough, leaves room to question how WVU could wind up making 3 of 5 free throws while Iowa made 25 of 30.

If a whistle is still ringing in your ears from watching the game on ESPN, which had been nervously sitting on the edge of their corporate chairs as the centerpiece of this NCAA – Clark – was in danger of being eliminated from the tournament before moving into the Sweet 16, here’s why.

Twenty-seven fouls were called on WVU, 11 on Iowa. WVU had four players with four fouls and two others – their best players, JJ Quinerly and Jordan Harrison – fouling out late in the going, preventing any chance of a last minute comeback.

True, an argument can be made that WVU’s aggressive defense, which put a different player on Clark almost every time down the court, may well have caused the disparity as Iowa was sitting in a zone ... but you wonder what the whistle count might have been on a neutral floor.

But it’s hard to imagine many people across America expected Iowa to be challenged at home.

They, however, don’t know the kind of coach Mark Kellogg is, running maybe the best defense in the country where they press and are in the top three in the nation in steals and turnovers caused. Iowa, normally careful with the ball, turned the ball over 15 times with eight of them being Mountaineer steals.

And if you are marveling at Clark’s 32 points, then marvel, too, over the fact that WVU frustrated her all evening and that she committed 6 turnovers to go with the points while making just 8 of 22 shots.

“Of course, I wish we could have made a few more shots, made a few more plays,” Kellogg said. “The game went about to script for us, as far as holding them down and giving us a chance late,”

“Our defense has been our identity all year,” Quinerly said. “That just speaks to how tough and resilient we are.”

WVU was playing at Mach 1 right from the start, opening a 5-0 lead, and extending it to six points at 11-5.

Iowa had to feel like Gen. George Custer at Little Bighorn as the defense kept swarming over them. They probably were the better team but the Mountaineers were out to make them prove it.

In the second quarter the Hawkeyes couldn’t believe what was happening to them. This team that averages nearly 90 points per outing scored six second-quarter points against WVU, a team that twice this season pitched a shutout for a full quarter against two Big 12 games.

In the third quarter Iowa figures out that instead of bombing from outside, they could make things happen by going inside. But West Virginia, like a mad dog holding onto your pant leg, they couldn’t shake WVU.

Iowa State scored 10 in a row to open a 12-point lead but WVU came right back with 9 straight and moments later they cut the lead to 2 points.

By the end of the third they had stretched out to 10 points again and with the crowd sensing a victory and at their loudest as the fourth quarter started, especially when Jayla Hemingway got them going as she was taken out of the game and while walking to the bench blew kisses to them, they had things seemingly under control at 48-48.

That was when the blood started to flow from Clark’s leg and the Mountaineers circled like shark, evening the game at 48 and then staying even until the Hawkeyes ran off 9 in a row, eight in a row to get into position to close it out and feel safe packing for Albany, NY, to face Colorado.

WVU finishes off Kellogg’s first season with a 25-8 record and with their growing legion of fans wishing the new season could start tomorrow.