A second consecutive national championship appearance beckons for Iowa women's basketball, one of the most prominent brands in all of college sports.
Caitlin Clark tends to draw all the attention when it comes to Iowa. It's little surprise why — her gunslinging style is quite easy on the eye, as is her bravado. But there's a host of Hawkeyes talents making their presence felt on the world's stage.
One of those is Gabbie Marshall, a scrappy veteran who has captivated the masses over the course of Iowa's last two tournament runs. Marshall has been a near ever-present in Lisa Bluder's squad since her debut back in 2019. But just what is her background?
The Sporting News details the rise of Marshall, an elder stateswoman on Iowa's glittering roster.
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Who is Gabbie Marshall?
Marshall is one of the senior-most members of Iowa's basketball team, having joined the program in 2019-20 after a successful career at Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati.
As a freshman, Marshall only started one game. However, she received plenty of playing time, averaging 5.0 points and 1.2 assists per game in 16.8 minutes a night. The former three-star prospect developed a reputation as a dogged defender and 3-point specialist.
Clark's arrival into Bluder's setup offered Marshall a new lease on life in her sophomore campaign. She saw an uptick in playing time, starting all 30 contests for the Hawkeyes. She also increased her scoring (9.1 points per game), rebounding (2.1 rebounds per game) and playmaking (1.9 assists per game). Furthermore, Marshall established herself as one of the Big Ten's best perimeter defenders, placing eighth in the conference in steals per game (1.9).
Marshall's numbers dwindled slightly in the following seasons, but Clark's emergence as one of the greatest talents in college basketball history certainly explains some of that phenomenon.
Nevertheless, Marshall will leave the Hawkeyes as the program's record-holder in games played (163). She has also nabbed the fifth-most steals in school history (228).
Marshall has tended to save her best for primetime. Iowa's run to the national championship in 2023 was speckled with Clark's starlight, but Marshall quietly sank 41.4 percent of her triples, proving one of the country's most dangerous threats from beyond the arc.
How tall is Gabbie Marshall?
Compared to the beanstalks that strut the floor across the Big Ten, Marshall is rather short. She stands at 5'9, far shorter than her a great many of her Iowa teammates.
In fact, Marshall is tied for the third-shortest player on Bluder's roster. Then again, does height really matter when you're a floor general like Marshall?
Gabbie Marshall family
Marshall has basketball swirling through her blood. Her dad, Ernest, played four years of ball at Bellarmine University, while her mom, Marne, played a year of hoops at Aquinas College before an injury cut her career short.
She has three siblings: Noah, Luke and Lily.
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Gabbie Marshall hometown
Marshall hails from Cincinnati, Ohio. She starred at Mount Notre Dame High School, leading the Cougars to state championships in 2017 and 2019. She ranks as one of the school's most successful athletic alumni, a notable accomplishment given the fact that USWNT star Rose Lavelle, Olympian Rachael Adams and Michigan standout Laila Phelia all attended the Catholic school.
What year is Gabbie Marshall?
Marshall is a fifth-year senior. Despite playing for the Hawkeyes for the whole of her career, Marshall gained an extra year of eligibility after the NCAA offered players a one-year waiver due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gabbie Marshall major
Marshall is a health and human physiology major at Iowa.
