IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa junior Monika Czinano and freshman Caitlin Clark were named Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, the conference announced Monday.
The Big Ten Player of the Week nod is the first for Czinano. Clark has been named Freshman of the Week eight times this season and has tallied 13 Big Ten Weekly honors on the year, including the eight freshman honors, three Big Ten Player of the Week honors, and two Player of the Week Honor Roll nods.
In a pair of games against No. 23/23 Northwestern and Minnesota, Czinano averaged 28.5 points, eight rebounds, and shot 28-for-33 (.848) from the field. Czinano recorded her second double-double this season, scoring a career-high 34 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.
The Watertown, Minnesota, native made 15-consecutive buckets – believed to be a Big Ten single-game record. Czinano made her final three shots in Iowa’s previous game against Purdue (Jan. 18), making her streak 18-consecutive makes — another Big Ten record.
Czinano is current ranked first in the country in field goal percentage (70.1), outshooting the next best by nearly six percent. Ranked second is UConn’s Olivia Nelson-Ododa (64.2) and sitting in third is Michigan’s Naz Hillmon (63.6).
Clark averaged 22.5 points and 9.5 assists in two games last week, recording her fifth double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 assists against the Gophers. She posted 23 points and eight assists against the Wildcats.
The West Des Moines, Iowa, native broke onto Iowa’s freshmen all-time scoring list with 1:20 left in the first quarter of the Iowa at Minnesota matchup. She now ranks seventh, tallying 254 points on the season and passing former Hawkeye Megan Gustafson (252).
The Hawkeyes head to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the Buckeyes inside Value City Arena on Thursday, Feb. 4. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. (CT) on Big Ten Network.
