SUMMARY
- The Iowa Hawkeyes dominated the West Virginia Mountaineers 64-54, sending them home after the second round.
- Before the game, West Virginia's Mark Kellogg told his players to send Caitlin Clark packing.
Caitlin Clark took over the college basketball scene this season. It seems like there isn’t much that can be done to stop her at this point. Her main objective is to bring the Iowa Hawkeyes a championship trophy before she ventures off into the professional environment. The Hawkeyes have been doing a great job under her leadership and it seems like they might achieve what they’re looking for as well.
WVU HC Mark Kellogg with some strong words
“Let’s win one and send Caitlin Clark packing”
— Wesley Shoemaker (@wesleyshoe) March 18, 2024
Iowa was scheduled to meet West Virginia at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Ahead of the game, the Mountaineers’ coach Mark Kellogg threatened to end Clark’s run in the NCAA tournament. He said, “Let’s win one and then send Caitlin Clark packing.” This seemed like major shade thrown her way and Clark claimed it didn’t affect her at all. Kellogg eventually got a taste of his own words.
Caitlin Clark makes Mark Kellogg eat his words
The Hawkeyes were already favorites coming into this matchup against the Mountaineers. The eighth-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers did not necessarily play well under pressure. They gave up too many fouls, allowing Iowa to capitalize on free-throw shots. Ultimately, the final scores were tallied at 64-54. Iowa shot 36.2% from the field, 22.7% from deep, and 83.3% on 30 attempts from the foul line.
Impressively, it seemed like Clark took it upon herself to send Kellogg and his Mountaineers squad home. She drained all five of the Hawkeyes’ three-pointers. She also finished with 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists during the game. Hannah Stuelke and Sydney Affolter scored in double digits to lead them to a victory.
Mark Kellogg defends his comments on Caitlin Cl
After Mark Kellogg received some backlash for his comments, he tried his best to pin it on something someone else had said. And he also used social media as an excuse to keep him out of the drama. He said, “I’m not a trash-talking… I wasn’t out to get Caitlin Clark. It’s not Mark Kellogg versus Caitlin Clark. Somebody else in the room is the one that used the ‘packing’ line to me, and it turned into, ‘Well, guys, if we want to do something special, we have to win one and then we’d have to send Caitlin Clark home.”
Caitlin Clark dropped 32 and eliminated West Virginia after their HC Mark Kellogg said this earlier in the week 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/xKtRxK7Ghz
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 26, 2024
He added, “You know how social media works. The clip just keeps getting shorter and shorter, and then finally by the end of it, it is Mark Kellogg calling out Caitlin Clark.” Clark will face the Colorado Buffaloes (#5) in the NCAA Sweet 16 bracket on March 30. The Mountaineers can only hope for a better end next season.