In Iowa City, Caitlin Clark isn’t the only star. Meet Money Martin, The Headband and March-all

IOWA CITY, Iowa — On any given game day inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, black-and-gold T-shirts for nearly every Iowa women’s basketball player are as visible as the No. 22 that reigns supreme throughout the college sports landscape.

Midwest T-shirt company RayGun mass produces athlete-specific apparel, but it doesn’t touch superstar Caitlin Clark — except for her “Damn It” quip that got her T’ed up last season. Arguably, no collegiate athlete has more appeal nationally than Clark, who has her shirts manufactured through her Nike contract. RayGun markets the rest of Iowa’s women’s basketball players, from which players also profit, and sales have soared beyond any rational expectation.

“We’ve worked with other teams that (have) great basketball players or great sports players in general,” RayGun owner Mike Draper said. “But there’s not the same level of charisma, which isn’t a requirement, obviously, to be good at basketball, but charisma, I think, helps for selling merchandise. … Women’s basketball at Iowa has been by far our best NIL project of all the teams we worked.”

Women, meet moment. Business, meet product. The top-seeded Iowa women’s basketball team is more than just Clark, and that was proven again in a 91-65 win against Holy Cross in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament first-round game. Clark recorded her typical productive line of 27 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, but it was her teammates who provided the backbone in victory.

Kate Martin had 15 points and 14 rebounds. Addison O’Grady scored 14 points off the bench, subbing for an ill Hannah Stuelke. Gabbie Marshall drilled the game’s first basket on a 3-pointer that nearly took the roof off Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Sydney Affolter battled for 9 points and seven rebounds while replacing injured guard Molly Davis, who hopes to play Monday.

The loudest ovation Saturday came on Marshall’s 3-pointer. The eruption hit 118 decibels, the second-loudest of any event in recent Carver-Hawkeye history. Only Clark’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Indiana was a shade louder (119 decibels).

When Marshall heard about the sound meter, she responded, “Are you serious?” It’s not surprising for the ear-piercing crowd salvo; Marshall herself is one of the fan favorites and generates some of RayGun’s most popular T-shirts. The latest one called “Gabbie March-all” welcomed her to the arena.

“It’s cool to see in the shirts that people have,” Marshall said. “I think there (were) like four ladies in the front row tonight that had all matching shirts with that on it.”

Before the NCAA Tournament’s second-round matchup against Georgia last year, Bulldogs coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson couldn’t remember Marshall’s name and referred to her as “Pretty Eyes.” RayGun instantly reached out to Marshall and produced a shirt that read, “Pretty Eyes. Defender. Sniper.”

“Gabbie has kind of her own mystique,” Draper said. “We immediately messaged her, and she signed off on the slogan and artwork. I think we gave her like three options.”

Marshall’s first shirt read “Grit Like Gabbie.” The most recent one was in reference to multiple BTN announcers calling her “March-all” throughout the Big Ten tournament for her proficiency in late-season moments. Last season, she knocked down 32 of 64 3-point attempts over the final 11 games. This season, Marshall has sunk 19 of 39 3-pointers over her last six games, including three against Holy Cross. She had five 3-pointers in that second-round victory over Georgia last season.

“When Gabbie’s hitting, it’s really fun for us, and when you see one go through the net, and it was her first shot and our first points, then makes are contagious,” Martin said. “It was really good to see that out of Gabbie, and — Gabbie March-all — it’s been fun for her. And I’ve been loving seeing her knock down some shots, continuing over from the Big Ten tournament.”

Shirts celebrating Hawkeyes women’s basketball players have become popular sellers in Iowa City. (Scott Dochterman / The Athletic)

Martin’s shirts are as connected to her persona as any of the RayGun offerings: “Kaptain Kate.” “Money Martin.” “Kate Martin, The Glue.” No one is as respected as Martin on the team, and she is the sole team captain. Her leadership exudes determination.

“Part of our culture is that every single person on this team matters,” Martin said. “We know that you can’t get to a championship with just one player. That’s just not how it works. So everybody on the floor has got to be threats and to be able to knock down shots or get stops and big moments or whatever it is, just contributing in any way possible. That’s just super important.”

Affolter’s ability to play any position with toughness provided the borderline NSFW acronym “Sydney AFfolter.” Primarily coming off the bench, Affolter became a plug-and-play competitor and was heavily promoted by Bluder and her teammates to win the league’s sixth player of the year award. Affolter, a junior, averaged 7.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season and totaled 41 points in three Big Ten tournament games.

“You go from not even getting the sixth player of the year — which, you know how I feel about that; I think she deserved it — to being on the all-tournament team,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.

Davis became just as much of a fan favorite as Marshall and Clark. She wears the same headband as she did in high school, and it has been stitched up several times by her father. It has led to some of RayGun’s most creative shirts: “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” “The Headband” and “Heart. Hustle. Headband.”

After a stellar three-year career at Central Michigan, Davis transferred to Iowa last season and has 1,765 career points. At Iowa, she serves as a co-point guard with Clark and started 27 games this season.

In the regular-season finale against Ohio State, Davis fell awkwardly on her right knee and was carried off the floor. Relief spread among Iowa fans when they learned it wasn’t a dreaded ACL tear, but she has spent the past three weeks resting and rehabbing her knee. At her senior day ceremony, Davis entered the playing floor in a wheelchair and received a standing ovation.

Iowa loves Molly D 🫶 pic.twitter.com/SoHy9GzIZf

— Bri Lewerke (@brilewerke) March 15, 2024

“When she was getting carried out of there, they were chanting, ‘Mo-lly, Mo-lly,’ and it about brings tears to your eyes,” Bluder said. “Nationally, everybody knows about Caitlin. But our Hawkeye fans, I think, respect all of our players on our team. And that makes me feel so good that they just recognize them for what they’re doing and what they’re contributing.”

Stuelke has grown the most year over year. As a freshman last season, Stuelke spelled veterans Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock but now has taken on her own role.

As Iowa’s primary post in a four-guard offense, Stuelke averaged 14.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Against Penn State, Stuelke scored a then-Carver-Hawkeye Arena record with 47 points. In the Big Ten tournament championship, she put up 25 points. Confident yet shy, Stuelke has earned some of RayGun’s catchiest slogans: “Happy Like Hannah.” “Stuelke Smooth.” “Alright, Stop. Hannah Time!”

“I’m really quick and athletic,” Stuelke said. “So I try to use that to the best of my abilities.”

Though no player can match her skill level, Clark has benefited from her teammates. And on a team with an alpha like Clark, it would be easy for Iowa’s “other” players to feel overshadowed. Instead, they are beloved. In Iowa City, at the height of their marketability, those complementary players collectively are prime-time performers, on the floor and off the shelves.

“I obviously didn’t think that it would outsell football,” Draper said. “Iowa basketball is now on a whole other level that is just hard to quantify.”

“Certainly, Caitlin is amazing,” Bluder said. “But when they (the fans) recognize that everybody else is doing these great things too, it’s rewarding.”

(Photos of Kate Martin, Molly Davis and Gabbie Marshall: Matthew Holst / Getty Images, David Berding / Getty Images, Keith Gillett / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)