Caitlin Clark, No. 2 Iowa struggle, fall to Kansas State - ESPN

IOWA CITY, Iowa — In just the second week of the season, upsets have been the story of women's basketball. The latest came Thursday, as the unranked Kansas State Wildcats beat the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes and superstar Caitlin Clark 65-58.

There were losses by preseason No. 1 LSU and No. 2 UConn before the voting for Monday's Associated Press poll. Those upsets helped boost the Hawkeyes to No. 2 behind No. 1 South Carolina to start this week.

But then for the second season in a row — almost a year to the day later — Kansas State upset Iowa. Last season, the unranked Wildcats won over the No. 4 Hawkeyes 84-83 in Manhattan, Kansas, in a game in which Clark turned her ankle in the closing seconds.

That injury didn't cause her to miss any games, though. Iowa rallied from early-season losses for a Final Four run, making the national championship game as Clark was named the national player of the year. The Hawkeyes and Clark hope they benefit from this loss, too.

«It's certainly one we can learn from and probably taught us a lot of lessons of how we can get better,» said Clark, who led Iowa with 24 points but struggled from field, going 9-of-32 overall and 2-of-16 from 3-point range.

It's the first time in the senior's career that she missed 20 or more shots in a game; her 32 attempts were a career high. It's also the first time since Clark arrived at Iowa for the 2020-21 season that the Hawkeyes have been held under 60 points. Clark and coach Lisa Bluder credited K-State's defense but also said the Hawkeyes didn't play well.

«We need more people to be able to contribute, and that's on me to get them involved in the game,» Clark said. «Especially on nights where I might not shoot the ball as great. Rely on my teammates, get them