Iowa

Iowa’s Clark beats buzzer, MSU with 3 from logo

Published

2 years ago

January 3, 2024

Alexa Philippou, ESPNJan 3, 2024, 12:15 AM ET
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- Covers women’s college basketball and the WNBA
- Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant
- Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with further experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati Enquirer

Reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark added to her highlight reel Tuesday night, hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the fringe of Iowa’s half-court logo to secure a 76-73 victory for the host Hawkeyes over the Michigan State Spartans.

After a back-and-forth outing in which both teams led for stretches, and with the tie game’s final seconds ticking away on Iowa’s last possession, Clark drained the 3 and ran to the front row on the court’s far side to celebrate with fans.

A few seconds before, it looked like the Hawkeyes might not get a good last look and overtime was on the horizon. But forward Hannah Stuelke, standing beyond the top of the 3-point arc, passed the ball to Clark, and the guard faked right, took a dribble step-back and then launched the shot with 0.1 seconds remaining.

“We practice those plays every single day in practice,” Clark said in her postgame interview on Peacock. “That’s what we run every single time, get Hannah the ball, let me create with some space. They contested it pretty well, honestly, so lucky it went down.”

The shot earned Clark her 10th 40-point game of her career, breaking a tie with former Missouri State guard Jackie Stiles for the most of any Division I player across the past 25 seasons.

Iowa improved to 14-1 (3-0 in Big Ten), and the Hawkeyes have now won 11 straight, their longest win streak since the 2004-05 season.

Clark also reached 35 points in her fourth consecutive outing, tying Alysha Clark, who played at Belmont and Middle Tennessee, for the longest streak by a Division I player in the past 25 seasons.

The Hawkeyes won despite shooting just 41.8% compared to Michigan State’s 46.3%. Their 10 second-quarter points were their fewest of any period this season, and the Spartans led by as many as six late in the third.

“A close game, they played us really well, you’ve got to give them credit,” Clark continued. “But proud of this group. Things didn’t go our way tonight but just persevered and got through, and you walk away with a win. At the end of the day nobody’s really going to care what the score is as long as it’s a win.”

Clark didn’t have the most efficient night herself, attempting a career-high 34 shots and making just 14 of them. She also missed her first six shots of the second half, before hitting the one that counted most.

“I think I kind of struggled there, got a little hot, got a little cold, especially to start the second half,” she said. “I subbed myself out of the game to get a quick breather. But you just come back, you’ve got to let it go, and you’ve got to respond. I think that’s kind of where I’ve grown the most over the past few years.”

The West Des Moines product and presumptive No. 1 2024 WNBA pick is within reach of breaking the all-time Division I scoring record later this season. She is averaging a nation-best 31.5 points per game, the second most by a D-I player through 15 games of a season over the past 25 years. She trails only former Baylor guard Odyssey Sims, who averaged 31.8 in the same span in 2013-14.

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Iowa

Rapid reactions from Iowa high school state wrestling Class 3A session

Published

11 hours ago

February 19, 2026

Press Room

Rapid reactions from Iowa high school state wrestling Class 3A session

We are officially underway from downtown Des Moines for the 2026 Iowa state high school wrestling tournament.

Wrestlers and coaches have a slightly different schedule than in years past, with only Class 3A competing in the evening on the opening day of the tournament. After the first session on Wednesday evening, quarterfinal matches have been set in Class 3A. The start of competition in Class 2A and 1A begins on Thursday, Feb. 19.

Here are some rapid reactions and analysis from the start of the IHSAA wrestling tournament.

Southeast Polk starts hot at Iowa state wrestling tournament

The Rams are out in front after the first session, to no surprise, sending 11 wrestlers to the quarterfinals and having 13 of their 14 state qualifiers still competing. They’re already out to 68 team points, 10 more than second-place North Scott.
Leading the way was Amir Newman-Winfrey (106 pounds), Mat Prine (120), Eddie Woody (126), Nash Hanson (132), Nico DeSalvo (138), Wil Oberbroeckling (144), Justis Jesurgoa (150), Dokken Biladeau (165) and Cael Roberts (285). That group of nine reached the quarterfinals while adding bonus points for the team. Those nine wrestlers are responsible for 52.5 team points alone, which would be good enough for fourth place as a team.
On the team’s mentality entering the tournament, looking for a third state tournament crown, Oberbroeckling said this: “We’re pretty confident. We weren’t so sure at the start, but these guys caught along pretty quick (on) what it is supposed to look like out there.”

Indianola’s Cain Crosson discusses first Iowa state wrestling tourney

Indianola’s Cain Crosson discusses his first Iowa state wrestling tourney, wrestling with his brother

Des Moines-area’s top wrestlers thrive in opening rounds

As always in the state’s largest class, Des Moines-metro schools came to compete. Of the top 10 schools in the team standings, six of them are from the Des Moines area, including Southeast Polk (first), Indianola (third), Dowling Catholic (fourth), Urbandale (seventh), Waukee Northwest (eighth) and Ankeny (tenth).
Dowling Catholic has seven wrestlers in the quarterfinals, including Cruz Gannon (106), Jack Wallukait (113), Kayden Eller (120), Kyler Simons (138), Airic Conn (144), Jayden Zachary (150) and Brady Hagan (285). Gannon, Wallukait, Eller and Hagan all earned wins by fall and are expected to be the top-point getters for the Maroons.
The always pesky Indianola program had a nice showing as well. Five of its wrestlers are in the quarterfinals, including the Crosson brothers, Cain (113) and Mac (165), who both carry legitimate state title aspirations at their weight.
Waukee Northwest also had a particularly nice showing, sending six of its nine state qualifiers to the quarterfinals. While they sit in eighth, only Southeast Polk and Dowling Catholic have more in the quarterfinals. Of those six, just one is a senior, heavyweight Henry Mohr. The Wolves may not be team state title contenders this time around, but this young program has a lot to be excited about this week and beyond, with wrestlers like Carew Christensen (113) and Hayden Hutt (144) who continue to show potential.

Fort Dodge’s Dreshaun Ross has a dominant start to his fourth state title run

Ross left nothing to chance in his first match to reach the quarterfinals. He defeated Bettendorf’s Armon Williams in just 56 seconds with a 21-6 technical fall.
Normally, a 56-second technical fall involves a lot of near-fall swipes, but Ross posted seven takedowns in less than a minute. He mixed equal parts speed in counterattacks and strength with big blast-double takedowns to roll to the quarterfinals.
Ross is now 32-0 in his senior season as he seeks his fourth state title. Iowa wrestling fans should enjoy his talent now because if he keeps up that type of pace in all his matches, he’ll only have a couple of minutes left of his high school wrestling career.

Class 3A team scores at Iowa boys state wrestling tournament

1st – Southeast Polk (68 points)
2nd – North Scott (58)
3rd – Indianola (55.5)
4th – Dowling Catholic (52)
5th – Bettendorf (42.5)

Full team scores and updated brackets can be found on Flowrestling.com.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

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Iowa

Marty Pevey returning for 14th-straight season managing Iowa Cubs

Published

23 hours ago

February 18, 2026

Press Room

Marty Pevey returning for 14th-straight season managing Iowa Cubs

The winningest and longest tenured manager in Iowa Cubs history will be back in Des Moines this year to add to his historic numbers while trying to help another wave of prized prospects get to the big leagues.

The Chicago Cubs announced Wednesday, Feb. 18, that Marty Pevey would return to Iowa for his 14^th consecutive season managing the organization’s Triple-A team in 2026.

Pevey has a franchise record 822 victories during his time with Iowa. Under his leadership, some of the organization’s biggest prospects have successfully made the final jump in the minor leagues.

In Iowa, Pevey managed some of Chicago’s biggest stars, including Kris Bryant, Kyle Hendricks, Javier Baez, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Cade Horton, to name a few.

Pevey is in his 18th season in the organization and has over 30 years of professional experience, with 13 of those coming as a player.

He owns a 1,466-1,511 career minor league managerial record. Pevey’s 1,466 victories are the fifth-most among active minor league skippers through 2025. During his time in Iowa, Pevey has become a fan-favorite.

His 2026 staff includes hitting coaches Damon Minor and Taylor Forney. The team’s pitching coaches are Tony Cougoule and Jamie Vermilyea. Nick Lovullo is the bench coach.

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Iowa

Iowa Boys High School Bowling State Tournament Fields Set

Published

1 day ago

February 18, 2026

Press Room

Iowa Boys High School Bowling State Tournament Fields Set

The fields for the upcoming Iowa High School Athletic Association boys state bowling tournament are now set, as qualifying meets took place around Iowa on Monday.

The boys state bowling tournament begins on Monday, February 23 from Cadillac XBC in Waterloo, Iowa with the Class 3A individuals and 1A team events. On Tuesday, February 24, the 1A individuals and 2A team hit the lanes.

Wednesday, February 25 will be the third and final day of bowling action, as the 2A individuals and 3A team events are held.

Waterloo West rolled a 3,351 in 3A for the highest score at all of the state qualifying sites, as Waukee, Dubuque Senior and Southeast Polk broke 3,200. Rounding out the field will be Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Dubuque Hempstead and Valley.

North Scott had the best score in 2A with a 3,222, as ADM, Central DeWitt, Decorah, Denison-Schleswig, Lewis Central, Waterloo East and Western Dubuque comprise the remaining qualifiers.

In 1A, Charles City’s 3,215 was the highest score, with Clarke County, Columbus Catholic, Greene County, Louisa-Muscatine, Maquoketa, Monticello and West Delaware also advancing.

As for the individual top scores, Urbandale’s Damien Timm rolled a 777 series in 3A, Jaden Demers of Davenport North had a 793 in 2A and Joey Robel of Charles City cracked 800 in 1A with an 809 series.

Only Lewis Central is back to defend its title in 2A, as the 3A champion – Muscatine – and the 1A winner – Vinton-Shellsburg – did not qualify.

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