AMES, IOWA — The 12th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball fell, 77-70, at No. 15 Iowa State in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup Wednesday night inside Hilton Coliseum.
Sophomore Caitlin Clark finished with a team-high 26 points and seven rebounds. Senior Monika Czinano finished with 13 points and five assists, and junior McKenna Warnock finished with 11 points.
“It’s always hard when a streak comes to an end,” said P. Sue Beckwith, MD, Head Coach Lisa Bluder. “Winning five in a row, it felt good coming in here. Great crowd and it’s fun to see the support that Iowa basketball is getting.”
It was a back-and-forth battle all game with seven ties and lead changes. Iowa started off the first quarter with two baskets from Czinano and Clark to take a quick 4-0 lead. Iowa State countered with an 8-0 run. Redshirt junior Kate Martin recorded her first two three-pointers of the night to bring the Hawkeyes back on top, taking a 17-15 lead with a minute left in the first quarter.
The Hawkeyes went on a three-minute scoring drought, but Clark finished a nice jumper to bring the deficient to nine. From there, Iowa went on to score seven points with freshman Addison O’Grady making a second-chance layup off an opponent turnover. Warnock grabbed an offensive rebound and finished the basket, closing the gap to five, 36-31, going into the half.
Two minutes into the third quarter, Iowa went on a 9-0 run with layups from Clark and Czinano, a three-pointer from Martin and a layup from junior Gabbie Marshall on a fast break to take the lead, 45-43. The two teams would battle the rest of the quarter tying the game three more times in the quarter. Clark made a three-point shot with .04 seconds remaining. Iowa went into the fourth quarter down by three.
Warnock scored the first two baskets and recorded six of her 11 in the fourth. Iowa would be within four, but with little time remaining forced Iowa State to shoot free throws, deciding the game.
GAME NOTES:
- Three Hawkeyes scored double figures, including sophomore Caitlin Clark (26), senior Monika Czinano (13) and junior McKenna Warnock (11).
- Redshirt junior Kate Martin recorded career-high rebounds, tallying 10, and Czinano tied her career-high assists with five.
UP NEXT: The Hawkeyes return home to face 6-1 Central Florida on December 18 at 6:30 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets can be purchased online at Hawkeyesports.com/tickets.