Iowa
Indiana downs Iowa, UNC beats NC State in a pair of top-10 Thursday night upsets
A pair of top-10 upsets headlined a busy night of women’s college basketball on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:
No. 14 Indiana silences No. 4 Iowa, remains undefeated at home
Just one game removed from Caitlin Clark breaking the all-time women’s NCAA scoring record, the Hoosiers welcomed Iowa to Assembly Hall with smiles on their faces from start to finish. Indiana took an 11-point lead into the locker room at halftime and never looked back, beating the Hawkeyes 86-69 to improve to 14-0 at home.
NO. 14 INDIANA UPSETS NO. 4 IOWA, 86-69!#NCAAWBB x @IndianaWBB pic.twitter.com/n7hcUcUffL
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) February 23, 2024
The Hoosiers were led by a dynamic duo of Sara Scalia and Mackenzie Holmes who scored 25 and 24 respectively. A sort of inside-out attack the two made Iowa pay in all kinds of different ways. Scalia not only drilled three crucial three-pointers throughout the game, she was also perfect (8-8) from the FT line. Holmes was a force inside for IU, shooting 11-16 and grabbing nine rebounds.
Although, the normal star of the show, Caitlin Clark, put up an impressive 24 and 10 double-double, with nine assists, Indiana’s defense suffocated Iowa elsewhere. Outside of Clark the Hawkeyes only combined for 45 points.
Indiana now leaps Iowa in the Big Ten standings, improving to a 13-3 record. Iowa falls to 12-3 in conference, with both squads chasing No. 2 Ohio State. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten, only losing one game in conference play so far.
North Carolina’s balanced scoring attack downs No. 6 NC State
Anything is on the table in a rivalry game. Especially when one rival is unranked and the other is in the top-10 — oh, and the unranked team is playing at home.
Welcome to Chapel Hill, where rules aren’t made up and the points DO matter. North Carolina was aware of that from start to finish. The Heels were able to find balance across their roster to beat the Wolfpack, 80-70.
TAR HEELS TAKE DOWN NO. 6 NC STATE AT HOME!#NCAAWBB x @uncwbb pic.twitter.com/NcsTw813MU
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) February 23, 2024
Five UNC players found themselves scoring in double-digits, led by Lexi Donarski who hit five threes and shot 9-16 from the field. Donarski wasn’t the only one to catch fire from beyond the arc, as Alexandra Zelaya drilled four long-range missiles with Indya Nivar adding two more to the Tar Heel stat sheet.
North Carolina is now tied for sixth in the ACC with Notre Dame after the rivalry win. NC State falls to 11-4 in the conference with a date against Duke next, in Durham. Carolina will visit Blacksburg to take on conference-leading Virginia Tech on Sunday.
Iowa
Arrests made in SD in Iowa courthouse incident
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Two suspects in the incident at the Lyon County, Iowa, courthouse were arrested in Spearfish, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post earlier Saturday.
The sheriff’s office identified two suspects as Brandon Lyle High Pipe, 39, and Luciano Eliseo Sanchez, 18, in a social media post on Thursday. Nationwide warrants were issued for the two suspects.
The sheriff’s office said on Tuesday the courthouse had burglarized overnight. The damage inside includes writing on walls, broken glass, tipped-over Christmas trees and other items tossed around.
The incident caused the courthouse to be closed for at least one day.
The sheriff’s office said on Saturday morning that more information should be released later.
Iowa
Iowa City West sweeps City High in a pair of close contests
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Grace Fincham led the West High girls to a second-half comeback in a 60-51 win over City High, giving the Trojans a win on their rival’s home floor.
The Trojans improve to 6-2 with the win. The Little Hawks drop to 6-2.
In the boys’ nightcap, the Little Hawks’ comeback attempt fell short, as the Trojans held on for a 53-51 win.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa
Iowa football dissects LeVar Woods succession plan
The loss of LeVar Woods, the Iowa Hawkeyes’ long-time, elite special teams coordinator, cannot be dismissed. The Hawkeyes have consistently been among the nation’s best special teams units, from punting to kicking to owning the return and field position battle.
With LeVar Woods departing Iowa for Big Ten foe, the Michigan State Spartans, the Hawkeyes have a big hole to fill, and head coach Kirk Ferentz spoke to the media this week on what that succession plan may look like.
“Yeah, it’s not a light decision. The trick will be to find the next LeVar Woods. He’s done a fantastic job. He didn’t have the profile necessarily maybe at that point to predict what he was going to do, but he’s done all the work. It’s like a good player; players do the work. LeVar has done a great job immersing himself and learning every aspect and then growing with each and every turn. So I guess I’m describing what we’re looking for, a guy who’s a good coach, who’s eager to take a challenge on, and immerse themselves in that world.
“Special teams is a unique niche, if you will. I’m sure we’ll have good candidates. It’s not pressing right now in my mind. What is pressing is the next two weeks getting ready for the game, and then after that we’ll have eight plus weeks or eight plus months actually to get it right. I don’t plan on waiting until August to fill it, but we’ll figure that out when we get in the new year,” Ferentz said about LeVar Woods.
The past few seasons, Iowa has been elite on special teams with kicker Drew Stevens being incredibly consistent, the punting game flipping fields, and the run of returners consisting of Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Charlie Jones, Cooper DeJean, and Kaden Wetjen.
The Hawkeyes have won more than their fair share of games relying on this unit, and to continue that success, Ferentz needs to hit on this hire.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
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