IOWA CITY — Hours of built-up energy drained out of Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a matter of minutes, as those playing and cheering in black and gold watched their beloved guard lay crumpled on the court.
Molly Davis' second-quarter injury, which required her to be carried off by two Iowa managers while a sold-out building chanted her name through nervous tension, could've potentially flipped the entire afternoon. The Buckeyes used the opening to come charging back after Iowa's initial punch. It would certainly require more than Caitlin Clark to offset this absence.
Together, the No. 6 Hawkeyes mentally regrouped and leaned on the cohesive product that's gotten them on the doorstep of another magical March surge. Sunday's 93-83 win over No. 2 Ohio State — with ESPN's "College GameDay," FOX Sports and numerous celebrities in the house on senior day — again showed the Hawkeyes (26-4, 15-3 Big Ten Conference) aren't overwhelmed by any singular moment.
"Our team is so close that it's hard emotionally to regain your focus," said Iowa coach Lisa Bluder, who added that Davis suffered a knee injury that didn't look good in the moment or afterward. "You're worried about your teammate. You're thinking about the future instead of being in the now. That was a really tough thing to overcome."
It was an ominous scene after so many great ones, to see Davis surrounded by support staff for several minutes near the free-throw line — her right knee having buckled while going for a steal on an Ohio State inbound. A senior-day itinerary loaded with festivities did not include this despair.
Davis exited with 6:39 left in the second quarter and Iowa owning a 36-26 advantage, only for Ohio State to immediately slice that down to four once action resumed on consecutive 3-pointers. Iowa called time as Bluder and associate head coach Jan Jensen lit into the officiating crew for missing two moving screens. Boos relentlessly rained down. The veteran moxie that Iowa touts needed to show up in a hurry.
Clark, as she tends to do, became the critical stabilizer. Four points in the last minute of the first half — the last two coming on technical-foul free throws that pushed her past Pete Maravich for most points in NCAA Division I basketball history — supplied the Hawkeyes with a 48-39 intermission lead. Storm weathered, for now.
"That just kind of speaks to our culture, next man up," Clark said. "It's obviously hard watching an injury like that. I didn't see it. I think a lot of us had our backs turned to it. Molly is someone who gives so much and plays so hard, you kind of just want to do it for her. So it almost gives you energy in a way. It doesn't take it away.
"They went on a little run, and then we gathered ourselves. I thought Sydney (Affolter) came in and played great. I thought Kylie (Feuerbach) came in and played really, really well. That's what we're going to need going forward. I'm proud of our group. When they went on their runs, I thought we always had a response."
The Buckeyes kept coming in the second half but could never break all the way through, thanks to contributions that arrived in a massive way from others not named Clark.
There was Gabbie Marshall stringing together another scorching game from the outside, draining four pivotal treys that led to Carver eruptions each time. There was Feuerbach's second-half defensive clinic that produced four steals and Affolter's unwavering tenacity. Eleven second-half points from Kate Martin helped fill in any gaps.
All of it paired perfectly with Clark's heroics on the outside and Hannah Stuelke's relentlessness on the inside. Clark finished with 35 points, nine rebounds and six assists in what has become routine production. Stuelke dialed up 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting with nine rebounds to complete the dominant combo. The entire effort prevented Ohio State from getting within single digits for all but 40 seconds in the fourth.
"We felt like we gave up too many (offensive) boards at their place, and we did a much better job of that," Bluder said. "And we had 16 turnovers today, but a lot of them were unforced quite honestly. It wasn't like their press caused us the turnovers. It was really us, self-inflicted a little bit, plus their good quarter-court defense. I think we did a good job of handling the press."
There were early moments when it appeared Iowa would ride the Carver wave with ease all the way to the end. A 10-0 first-quarter run, stunningly with no Clark contributions, helped the Hawkeyes construct a 25-10 cushion as the noise poured from every corner. Would the drama die before hardly getting started?
Not with the nation's No. 2 squad on the other side.
Methodically but productively, Ohio State climbed back within respectable reach. Twelve first-half points from Jacey Sheldon kept the Buckeyes afloat. The daunting sea of black and gold parted when Davis went down.
Iowa, though, knows how to handle these moments better than just about anyone in women's basketball. The Hawkeyes have been in pressure-packed situations all season and don't rattle easily, even when their teammate is fallen on the floor.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register andHawkCentral.com. Email him atmsouthard@gannett.comor follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
