WBB Notebook: NCAA Tournament Second Round

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team (5 seed) advances to the NCAA Tournament Second Round, taking on 4-seed Kentucky on Tuesday, March 23 inside the Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas. Tipoff is set 2:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPNU.

WATCH/FOLLOW ALONG

• Saturday’s contest will be aired live on ESPNU. Eric Frede and Tamika Catchings are on the call.
• Live stats are available on the women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.

AUDIO COVERAGE

• Rob Brooks and Jamie Cavey Lang will call the action on the Hawkeye Radio Network. A link to the broadcast is available on the women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.
• Brooks is in his fifth year as the play-by-play announcer for the Iowa women’s basketball team. He has been Iowa football’s sideline reporter since 2004. He has called seven different Iowa sports on radio or television.
• Lang is in her fifth year as Iowa’s color commentator. She lettered at Iowa from 2002-05. Lang finished her Hawkeye career with 1,265 points and 506 rebounds. She was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.

HAWKEYES AT THE NCAA TOURNEY

• Iowa has made 26 NCAA Tournament appearances with 15 under the guidance of P. Sue Beckwith, MD, Head Coach Lisa Bluder.
• Iowa is 8-11 all-time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament
• The Hawkeyes won their 13th first round matchup in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 21.
• In the Hawkeyes’ last NCAA appearance (2019), they defeated Mercer, Missouri, and North Carolina State to advance to the Elite Eight, losing to the 2019 NCAA Tournament Champions, Baylor.

NCAA FIRST ROUND

• Iowa defeated Central Michigan, 87-72, in the NCAA Tournament First Round. The Hawkeyes are 13-6 all time in the first round.
• Sophomore McKenna Warnock recorded her third consecutive double-double, tallying 13 points and 10 rebounds.
• Freshman Caitlin Clark and junior Monika Czinano each tabbed 23 points for the Hawkeyes. Clark added seven assists, seven rebounds and two steals, while Czinano added six rebounds.
• Redshirt sophomore Kate Martin was a crucial part of getting the Hawkeyes going in the first quarter, dropping 13 points. Throughout the game, she added four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

HAWKEYES ON THE SEASON

• Iowa is 19-9 on the season, winning five of its last six contests.
• Freshman Caitlin Clark leads the Hawkeyes, averaging 26.5 points. Junior Monika Czinano and sophomore McKenna Warnock follow, averaging 19.6 and 11.8 points per game, respectively.
• Warnock leads the Hawkeyes, averaging 8.1 rebounds per game, while Clark and Czinano follow with 6.0 and 5.9 per game, respectively.
• Sophomore Gabbie Marshall leads Iowa with 53 steals. Redshirt sophomore Kate Martin and Clark follow on the season with 36 and 35 steals, respectively.
• Clark recorded nine 3-pointers at Maryland (Feb. 23) — the most from a Hawkeye against a Big Ten opponent since Melissa Dixon recorded nine at Northwestern on Jan. 29, 2015 and ties for the second most in program history. Melissa Dixon holds the record with 10 3-pointers at Drake (Dec. 21, 2014).
• The Hawkeyes upset No. 12 Michigan, 89-67, on Feb. 25 — the largest scoring margin over a ranked opponent since the Hawkeyes’ 1993 Final Four team beat No. 4 Penn State, 84-59.

YOU SERIOUS, CLARK?

• Big Ten Freshman of the Year Caitlin Clark has registered 25 20-plus point games this season, including 11 30-plus point games.
• The West Des Moines, Iowa, native leads the country in points per game (26.5), total assists (202), and 3-pointers made (106). She ranks second in assists per game (7.2) and 3-pointers per game (3.79).
• Clark is one of 13 women’s basketball players to record a triple-double this season, posting 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists against Western Illinois (Dec. 22, 2020). Clark is the first Hawkeye to reach the accomplishment since Sam Logic against Baylor (March 27, 2015) and marks the 10th triple-double in program history, which tied the second-most in the NCAA.
• Clark’s 743 points this year are the third most in a single season by a Hawkeye. Megan Gustafson ‘s junior (823) and senior (1,001) seasons rank above her. Gustafson’s junior season included 32 games and her senior season had 36 games — Clark has played 28 games.
• Her 202 assists ranks fourth all-time at Iowa for a single season.
• Clark earned unanimous first team All-Big Ten and Big Ten-All-Freshman team honors.
• Clark is a finalist for the Dawn Staley Award that goes to the best guard in the country and the Nancy Lieberman Award that goes to the best point guard in the nation.

UNSTOPPABLE MONIKA

• Junior Monika Czinano is leading the country in field goal percentage (67.2), making 240 of 357 shots attempted this season.
• Czinano has tallied 13 games shooting 70 percent or better, including six games over 85 percent.
• Czinano scored 28 points at No. 22/23 Northwestern (Jan. 9), shooting 13 of 14 from the field. Czinano’s field goal percentage (.929) is a Big Ten Record with a minimum of 12 attempts in a Big Ten contest, shooting 13-of-14 against the Wildcats. On three occasions, a Big Ten women’s basketball player has made 12 of 13 (.917) — the last being Indiana’s Quacy Barnes on Feb. 22, 1998 against Michigan State.
• Czinano has shot one perfect game this season, making all eight shots she took at Maryland (Feb. 23).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE, WARNOCK’S TROUBLE

• Sophomore McKenna Warnock has tallied seven double-doubles this season, registering nine in her career.
• Warnock has registered three-consecutive double-doubles, including 17 points and 11 rebounds against Michigan State (March 12) in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals and 10 points and 10 rebounds against No. 7/8 Maryland (March 13) in the championship game, and 13 points and 10 rebounds in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE BUBBLE

• Four Hawkeyes have recorded double-doubles this season, including freshman Caitlin Clark (9), sophomore McKenna Warnock (7), junior Monika Czinano (2), and redshirt sophomore Kate Martin (1).
• Clark has recorded eight double-doubles on the season, including a triple-double against Western Illinois (Dec. 22). She recorded the other seven against Drake (Dec. 2), Minnesota (Jan. 6), at Ohio State (Jan. 13), at Minnesota (Jan. 31), at Wisconsin (Feb. 28), and against Rutgers (March 11). Clark’s most recent double-double was accomplished with 21 points and 10 assists against Rutgers in the Big Ten Quarterfinals.
• Czinano recorded double-doubles in both matchups against Northwestern this season. In the first meeting (Jan. 9), Czinano posted 28 points and 12 rebounds. On the Hawkeyes’ home court (Jan. 28), Czinano recorded a career-high 34 points and added 11 rebounds.
• Martin recorded her first-career double-double against Penn State, recording 19 points and 11 assists.

SCOUTING KENTUCKY

• Kentucky is 18-8 on the season, winning six of its last 10 games.
• Kentucky won its first round matchup, 71-63, over Idaho State.
• SEC Player of the Year Rhyne Howard leads the Wildcats with 20.4 points and is followed by Chasity Patterson and Dre’Una Edwards with 12.8 and 9.5 points per game, respectively.
• Howard averages 7.3 rebounds per game, while Edwards follows with 6.1.
• In assists, Howard leads with 3.6 assists per game, Jazmine Massengill follows with 3.3 assists, and  Patterson averages 2.5 per game.
• Patterson is seventh in the country, averaging 2.8 steals per game, and Howard averages 2.4. Patterson led the SEC and Howard ranked third this season in total steals.

THE SERIES

• The two teams met once in 1991-92. Iowa won, 77-68, at Kentucky.

B1G TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP

• The Hawkeyes defeated Purdue (83-72), No. 19/23 Rutgers (73-62), and Michigan State (87-72) to make the Big Ten Tournament Championship game. Iowa fell to No. 7/8 Maryland, 84-104.
• Freshman Caitlin Clark averaged 22.3 points, 9.3 assists, and five rebounds, junior Monika Czinano averaged 26. 8 points and 6.8 rebounds, and sophomore McKenna Warnock averaged 9.3 rebounds and registered consecutive double-doubles in the semifinal and championship games.
• Sophomore Gabbie Marshall had a career-night in the quarterfinals against No.19/23 Rutgers, tallying 27 points, seven 3-pointers made, 10 field goals made, and seven rebounds to set career highs.