A guard slugfest: Five Takeaways from Dowling Catholic at Ames
In a way, the second half of Dowling Catholic’s 51-50 win over Ames on Friday was a bit of a boxing match. Dowling’s Caitlin Clark would land a blow on the Little Cyclones — via a 3-pointer or a preposterous…
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Continue ReadingIn a way, the second half of Dowling Catholic’s 51-50 win over Ames on Friday was a bit of a boxing match. Dowling’s Caitlin Clark would land a blow on the Little Cyclones — via a 3-pointer or a preposterous and-one finish — and Ames’ Caroline Waite would respond with a blow of her own. The result was a win for a Dowling and an entertaining game, as Clark scored 32 of her 38 points after halftime and Waite finished with 35.
Waite had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Dowling held on in an exciting game.
Dowling Catholic 51, Ames 50. Caitlin Clark 38, Caroline Waite 35. Here’s a good look by Waite near the final buzzer. What a game. #iahsgbb pic.twitter.com/hHJ2MeqQtg
— Hayes Gardner (@HayesGardner) February 9, 2019
Here’s what stood out:
Caitlin Clark is a good of a scorer as you will find
Caitlin Clark, the best player in Iowa, started off 2-of-12 from the field as Ames built a first half lead. But in the second half, Clark was purely unstoppable. The 5-foot-11 guard is as polished a ball-handler, off-the-dribble shooter and penetrator as you’ll find, and when she got going in the second half, she was unstoppable.
She scored 19 points during a six minute stretch in the third quarter and hit 3-pointers from well beyond the arc, as well as aggressively at the rim. For the entire game, she finished 15 of 31 from the field, including 5 of 14 on triples.
“Right now, our offense — and it’s no secret — a lot of things go through her and I thought especially in the third quarter she got to the basket pretty well, so that’s where she’s probably most dangerous,” Dowling coach Kristin Meyer said.
Members of coaching staffs from both Iowa and Iowa State were on hand to watch the nationally coveted guard.
Clark had troubles keeping her emotion in check
After drawing a foul in the second quarter, Clark said something that the referee didn’t like and was whistled for a technical foul. Meyer benched Clark for the remainder of the half as a punishment and to let her cool down. At halftime, Dowling trailed Ames 20-14 and Clark had just six points.
“She came out well in the second half, after sitting a little bit there in the second quarter. I think having to watch a little bit there in the second quarter got her a little bit more focused and a little bit more zoned-in,” Meyer said of Clark.
She erupted in the second half scoring-wise, but was visibly upset with the referees at several points. Frustrated with a call at one point, she zipped a one-handed, high-velocity pass from midcourt to a referee at the baseline. Between that aggressive pass and other displays, she could’ve easily been called for another technical. As polished as she is as a scorer, controlling her emotions is a certain area of improvement.
Caroline Waite, record-holder
Ames’ had an incredible performance from their lead guard, as well. Considerably more mellow than Clark — both in her play and demeanor — sophomore Caroline Waite was just as productive as Clark. She finished with 35 points on 13 of 29 shooting (4 of 12 from deep), plus 7 rebounds.
Waite was good as a freshman, but has emerged this year as a truly potent scorer. She is vital to Ames’ offensive success and scorer throughout Friday’s contest in a variety of ways: at the rim, from deep, and, fairly often, on 8-foot jumpers and floaters.
“You can’t give her any space at all, especially that floater in the lane, I thought she played fantastic. She’s a tough matchup to have to guard,” Meyer said.
Waite is undersized (5-foot-4), but has developed the cleverness to score from anywhere. Her 35 points set an Ames high single-game record. Not only that, her 68 3-point makes this year are an Ames’ season record.
“Caroline was not gonna back down,” Ames coach Joel Sullivan said. “She had an opportunity to make some shots, the gal guarding her got in some foul trouble, and she smelled some blood in the water, and she started attacking the hoop.”
Caroline Waite cans this 3 (she has 35 points) and Ames trails Dowling just 50-51 with 37 seconds left. Clark has 38. #iahsgbb pic.twitter.com/zp3NX1VSyK
— Hayes Gardner (@HayesGardner) February 9, 2019
‘The gal guarding’ Waite
That gal that Ames coach Joel Sullivan alluded to was Dowling’s Ella McVey. When Dowling plays, all eyes in the building are on Caitlin Clark at all times, and she’s by far the reason for Dowling’s success this year. But the Maroons have a handful of other capable players, most notably junior Grace Gaber, who averages 8.6 points per game and can guard, handle and score the ball.
But on Friday, 5-foot-5 sophomore Ella McVey stood out. She was tasked with guarding Waite and — despite Waite’s point total — demonstrated terrific on-ball defense. She face-guarded Waite and showed off some terrific lateral quickness and forced a steal on one occasion. McVey wound up getting four fouls and was forced to sit for a bit, which allowed Waite to do a little bit more damage.
On offense, McVey took just two shots (Dowling players not named Clark took just 12 shots) and she made one of them, a corner 3 which she called for and knocked down.
Ames defenders
Ames sophomore Brooke Spraggins was tasked with guarding Clark and displayed her athleticism in making things difficult for the all-around scorer. Clark has no clear hole in her offensive game, so Spraggins said she focused on guarding Clark as completely as she could — rather than force her to shoot, or force her to drive. For awhile, it worked. But Spraggins picked up her third foul on Clark early in the third quarter and was benched. During that time is when Clark truly erupted.
One of the other defenders Ames tried on Clark was junior Teagan Lipsey. Aside from Waite and sophomore Ashley Iiams (11 points), Lipsey was the only other Little Cyclone to score, as she knocked down a 3-pointer. Lipsey rarely posts eye-popping stats, but the athletic junior hustles as hard as anyone else.
“Teagan Lipsey just plays so stinking hard. She had about 16 offensive rebounds, I think, in the flow of the game,” Ames coach Sullivan said, hyperbolically.