Iowa women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder says the Hawkeyes need more scoring balance. Junior guard Caitlin Clark and senior center Monica Czinano combined for 56 points in the 16th ranked Hawkeyes’ Sunday loss at Illinois. They also took 44 of Iowa’s 64 shots.

Bluder says other players need to step up.

The Hawkeyes need Gabby Marshall to get involved. The senior guard is averaging only four and-a-half points per game and shooting just 20 percent from three point range.

The Hawkeyes visit 14th ranked Michigan on Saturday.

Iowa will be shorthanded tonight (Thursday night), when hosting 15th ranked Indiana. Junior forward Patrick McCaffery has stepped away from the team to deal with anxiety. He was averaging nearly 13 points per game.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery who says Patrick is still with the team.

McCaffery says there is no timetable for Patrick’s return.

Iowa is 0-3 in the Big Ten and will host a Hoosier team that is expected to contend for the league crown.

With Patrick out, sophomore Payton Sandfort will get more playing time. The Waukee native is shooting only 21 percent from three point range.

(Radio Iowa) – The top Republican in the Iowa House says the 2023 legislature is unlikely to fill a state fund created to finance water quality and outdoor recreation projects. In 2010, Iowa voters passed a constitutional amendment creating the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund where money from a FUTURE sales tax increase would be deposited. Last year, Senate Republicans proposed a maneuver to fill that fund, by converting all local option sales taxes to a statewide one percent sales tax.

House Speaker Pat Grassley says about 50 cities and counties, though, do not have a local option sales tax, so it would be an increase in those areas.  “Now I know there are people that want to offset it and different conversations,” Grassley says, “but at the end of the day, it could cost somebody something.” In early 2020, Governor Kim Reynolds proposed a one cent sales tax increase as part of a plan that put money in the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Fund AND reduce state taxes overall, however the proposal drew some G-O-P opposition and was tabled once the pandemic hit.

The 2023 legislative session begins Monday.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will stock rainbow trout in five urban lakes and ponds this month for anglers who enjoy winter fishing. Mike Steuck, the D-N-R’s regional fisheries supervisor for northeast Iowa, says trout get stressed in warmer water and can even die if the temperature is too high. “They don’t like temperatures higher than 70,” Steuck says. “So they’ll quit feeding. They act a little funny and they try and seek out colder water sources.”

Steuck says water temperatures are much cooler now, in the 30s, so it’s an ideal time for the D-N-R to stock the trout — and for Iowans to seek them out by casting a line. “We want people to catch them right away,” he says, “and take them home and see how good fish are to eat and see how much fun fishing is.”

Steuck says the DNR will stock one-to-two-thousand trout in lakes in Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Mason City and a few other locations. He says people catch the fish generally within a month after they’re stocked.

(reporting by Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

Atlantic assistant football coach Lee Saathoff was named the Class 3A Assistant Coach of the Year by the Iowa Football Coaches Association for the 2022 season. He has been the longtime defensive coordinator for the Trojans. Saathoff was among six area assistants that were honored.

In 8-Player Fremont-Mills’ Kyle Fichter and Woodbine’s Ryan Coenen were honored, Wayne’s Dave Daughton was the winner in Class A, Curtis Boothe of Central Decatur won in 1A, and Barry Loeffelbein of Glenwood was honored in 4A.

Underwood’s Nate Mecahaelsen was named the Class 1A State Coach of the Year.

Former Denison-Schlewswig head coach Dave Wiebers was named to this year’s IFCA Coaches Hall of Fame class.

A few area coaches were also named as coaches for the 2023 Iowa Shrine Bowl All-Star South Team staff: Clarinda’s Collin Bevins, Harlan’s Todd Bladt, and Lenox’s Cole Bonde were named to the 2023 staff.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa men’s basketball redshirt junior Patrick McCaffery will be taking an indefinite leave to address anxiety.

PATRICK McCAFFERY STATEMENT

“I have been battling anxiety for a while, and recently it has peaked, which has inhibited my preparation and performance on the court. It’s not fair to myself or teammates to be on the court when I am not myself. The anxiety has affected my sleep, appetite, and stamina, which has resulted in not having the energy level necessary to compete at my full capabilities. My struggle with anxiety affects every aspect of my well-being and makes it incredibly difficult to function normally. This is what I am battling right now. For this reason, I am taking an indefinite leave to address my situation. It might be two games, it may be four games, it may be more, but I will return when I feel like myself. My leave of absence is not related to my past battle with cancer”

COACH FRAN McCAFFERY STATEMENT

“Patrick is one of the millions of people who battle through anxiety on a daily basis. It has become more noticeable on and off the court over the past couple weeks. Patrick has the full support of his family, coaches, teammates, and administration as he fights through this. All of us admire his courage and willingness to be open about this struggle and we hope others know that they are not alone. We will be with him every step of the way.”

Iowa returns to action on Thursday, hosting No. 15 Indiana at 8 p.m. in Iowa City.

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger expects his 25th ranked Cyclones to handle the road better tonight at Oklahoma. ISU’s first road game in early December resulted in a 19-point loss at Iowa.

Iowa State will defend a sooner team that is shooting a shade over 50 percent from the floor and nearly 40 percent from three point range.

Oklahoma is 9-4 overall and coming off a one point loss to Texas at home in its Big-12 opener.

The Cyclones opened conference play with a lopsided win over 12th ranked Baylor.

The Drake men look to break through on the road in Missouri Valley conference play on Wednesday night with a visit to Southern Illinois. The preseason Valley favorites are 2-2 and in both road losses have squandered late leads.

That’s Drake coach Darian DeVries who says the Bulldogs have not been as good offensively as they hoped.

DeVries says the Bulldogs have not been good enough at closing out games.

Drake women’s basketball coach Allison Pohlman says senior guard Megan Meyer injured her knee in practice leading up to an Iowa State game that was cancelled prior to Christmas. Drake announced on Monday that Meyer will miss the remainder of the season with an ACL injury.

Meyer was averaging 13 points per game and Pohlman says it will be several players who are required to pick up the slack.

Meyer is listed as a senior but could return next season.

The Bulldogs are 1-1 and host Missouri Valley newcomer Belmont on Friday night.

The Atlantic boys basketball team got within 52-50 of the Glenwood Rams early in the fourth quarter, but Glenwood would put together a 15-1 run to seize control of the game and ultimately win 68-55.

Atlantic Head Coach Derek Hall said the Trojans just had too many breakdowns on the defensive end.

Coach Hall rotated a lot of guys in and out of the line-up early in the game and he said he was rewarding some guys for their work over the holiday break.

Glenwood was led by 17 points each from Caden Johnson and Risto Lappala and the Rams improved to 7-2 on the season. Logyn Eckhart added 13 and Zac Kelsey also got to double-digits for the Rams with 10.

Atlantic was led by 15 points from Caden Andersen and Carter Pellett added 13 points. The Trojans fall to 3-6 on the season and will now prep for a trip to Carroll on Friday to square off against Kuemper Catholic.