usatsi-21858423-168395753-lowres-1-1.jpg
USATSI

The No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes survived a tough test against No. 8 Virginia Tech with a 80-76 win Thursday in the Ally Tipoff in Charlotte. These two powerhouses drew an announced attendance of 15,196 -- the largest ever to attend a women's regular-season game in North Carolina.

The game started very even with neither team being able to pull away. Iowa star Caitlin Clark had a "quiet" first half with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field. The Hawkeyes (2-0) were the top offensive team in the nation last season, but the dynamic looked different early in the game without Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock. 

Even though Iowa wasn't perfect, Clark is always reliable and eventually took control. She finished the night with 44 points, eight rebounds and six assists. This was her 38th career game with 30-plus points, tying Kelsey Plum for the most 30-point games in the last 25 years.

"I don't really care how I shoot the ball at the end of the day as long was we win and as long as I can inspire a lot of these people," Clark said. "Give them something to smile about. That's what it's about. Basketball is just fun for me."

Iowa's Hannah Stuelke, who fouled out, and Kate Martin also reached double digits. As a whole, Lisa Bluder's squad shot above 40% from the field, but went a low 23% from 3-point range. Virginia Tech (1-1) deserves a lot of credit, particularly Georgia Amoore for her offensive contributions. The senior guard took over for the Hokies with 31 points, including an impressive half-court shot to end the second quarter. 

Moore hit her seventh 3-pointer of the night with five seconds remaining to make it just a 3-point game. Despite her late-game heroics, there was not enough time for the Hokies to finish the comeback. 

"This is going to be a good [game] to learn from," Clark said. "You can't get too high, you can't get too low. 

"But I think it shows us we can be right where we want to be."