Monday March 20th Local Sports

IOWA CITY — The third-ranked Iowa Hawkeye women survived a fight to advance to the Sweet 16. After stumbling in the second round a year ago, the Hawkeyes made the stops they needed down the stretch to beat upset minded Georgia 74-66 on Sunday in Iowa City.

That’s Iowa coach Lisa Bluder who says the sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd was a big factor in the outcome.

The Hawkeyes played without freshman standout Hannah Stuelke, who injured an ankle in a Saturday practice.

Caitlin Clark led four Hawkeyes in double figures with 22 points. She also added 12 assists.

Clark accounted for 33 of Iowa’s final 35 points as the Hawkeyes improve to 28-6.

Former Iowa player Katie Abrahamson-Henderson is the Georgia coach. The Bulldogs were within two late but three straight turnovers were costly.

Iowa now advances to the Seattle Region #4 semifinal on Friday at a time to be determined. They’ll face the winner of tonight’s Duke-Colorado game.

 

== On the other side of Iowa’s regional bracket, top seed Stanford was upset at home last night, trailing from start to finish in a 54-49 loss to Ole Miss. It’s the first time a top seed has not made it to the Sweet 16 since 2009.

 

 

 

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE — Cold shooting led to an early exit for the Iowa State women. The Cyclones shot only 35 percent, including six of 31 from three point range in an 80-73 loss to Toledo in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday.

That’s Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly. It was a disappointing finish for the Cyclones who won the Big 12 Tournament a week ago.

The Cyclones finish with a record of 22-11.

 

 

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Key mistakes down the stretch proved costly as the Drake women fell short in their upset bid of Louisville as the Bulldogs fell 83-81 in Austin, Texas on Saturday.

That’s Drake coach Allison Pohlman. The Bulldogs shot better than 51 percent for the game but could not overcome 19 turnovers.

The Bulldogs finish with a record of 22-11.

 

 

MASON CITY — The North Iowa Bulls swept Aberdeen in a weekend series at the Mason City Arena. On Friday, the Bulls scored three straight goals in the third period to win 4-2. Landon Peterson had the final two goals while Jack Seaverson and Joe Sweeney also scored. On Saturday, Mitch Day picked up a 24-save shutout in a 4-0 victory. Justin Mexico, Simone Dadie, Byron Hartley and Max Scott all scored for the Bulls. North Iowa improves to 28-21-2-1, and with 59 points move into a tie for second with St. Cloud. The Bulls host Minot Friday and Saturday night.

 

 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Matt Boldy recorded his second career hat trick and the Minnesota Wild rebounded to beat Washington 5-3 on Sunday. Minnesota, which had its 14-game point-streak end Saturday against Boston, is within one point of Dallas for the Central Division lead and two points up on Colorado for second with a dozen games to play. Ryan Reaves and Brandon Duhaime also scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves for Minnesota, improving to 7-0-0 in his last seven starts. Alex Ovechkin scored twice on the power play for Washington.

 

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Carolina Panthers have added yet another experienced veteran to their offense on Sunday night, agreeing to terms with free agent wide receiver Adam Thielen from the Minnesota Vikings. The 32-year-old Thielen was released earlier this offseason after spending the past nine seasons with the Vikings. Thielen caught 70 passes last season for 716 yards and six touchdowns. The Panthers were in need of adding experience in the wide receiver room after trading D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears. Last week the Panthers agreed to terms with running back Miles Sanders, tight end Hayden Hurst and quarterback Andy Dalton, providing the offense more experience at the skill positions.