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WBB Notebook: vs. Michigan StateWBB Notebook: vs. Michigan State
Women's Basketball

WBB Notebook: vs. Michigan State

OPPONENT #9/12 Iowa (4-1) vs. Michigan State (6-3)
LOCATION Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)
DATE Sunday, Dec. 5
TIP-OFF 3 p.m. (CT)
RADIO HAWKEYE RADIO NETWORK
The Setting

The Setting

  • The No. 9 University of Iowa women’s basketball team returns home to host Michigan State inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday, Dec. 5. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (CT) on B1G Network.

     

    Iowa leads the series over Michigan State, 40-30. Inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Hawkeyes have won the last three matchups and hold a 22-10 record on their home court.

     

    ON THE AIR
    Radio: Iowa games are broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network. Rob Brooks (play-by-play) and Jamie Cavey Lang (color) call the action. Brooks is in his sixth year as the play-by-play announcer for the Iowa women’s basketball team. He has been Iowa football’s sideline reporter since 2004. Brooks has called seven different Iowa sports on radio or television. Lang is in her sixth 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.

    TV: Thursday’s contest will be televised nationally on B1G Network.Chris Vosters (play-by-play) and Meghan McKeown (color) are on the call.

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PROGRAM QUICK HITS

  • The Hawkeyes finished the 2020-21 season 20-10 overall and 11-8 in Big Ten play, advancing to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game and the NCAA Sweet 16.
  • The Hawkeyes finished the season ranked in the top-11 nationally in 11 statistical categories, including first in field goal percentage (51.3) and 3-point percentage (40.8), second in scoring offense (86.1), third in free-throw percentage (80.0), and fifth in assists per game (20.1).
  • Head Coach Lisa Bluder and staff led Iowa to its 12th 20-win season over the last 14 seasons and 14th in Bluder’s tenure.
  • Freshman Caitlin Clark earned consensus first team All-America status with honors from WBCA, USBWA, and The Athletic. Associated Press named Clark to their second team.
  • Clark was named National Co-Freshman of the Year by The Athletic, USBWA, and the WBCA.She was also named the Dawn Staley Award recipient — an award that goes to the best guard in women’s basketball.
  • In the Big Ten, Clark was named Freshman of the Year, unanimous first team All-Big Ten, unanimously selected to the all-freshman team. Junior Monika Czinano earned first team all-Big Ten honors. The pair were also named to the All-Big Ten Tournament team. 
  • Clark and Czinano led the country in seven statistical categories, including Czinano leading the country in shooting percentage (66.8) and Clark leading in points per game (26.6), total assists (214),
  • Iowa has made 13 consecutive postseason appearances (11 NCAA, 2 WNIT) when a postseason tournament was held. The 2020 postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The Hawkeyes have made a postseason tournament appearance in 19 of head coach Lisa Bluder’s 21 seasons at the helm of the program, receiving 14 NCAA Tournament and four WNIT (2003, 2005, 2016, 2017) bids, including eight Sweet 16 appearances — most recently in 2021.
  • Bluder is one of six active Division I women’s head coaches to win 795 games or more in her career. She completes her 37th season as a head coach and 21st at Iowa in 2020-21.
  • Bluder owns a 443-235 (.652) record and a 221-135 (.621) conference mark at Iowa. In her 37 seasons as a head coach, Bluder is 799-377 (.679).

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE

  • The Hawkeyes lead the series over Michigan State, 40-30.
  • Inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa has won the last three matchups and hold a 22-10 record on its home court.
  • Senior guard Nia Clouden was named to the 2021-22 Preseason All-Big Ten team for the second season and earned a spot on the Nancy Lieberman Preseason Watch List, recognizing the top point guard in the league.
  • Michigan State is 6-3 on the season, falling to No. 24/25 Notre Dame, 76-71, in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Dec. 2.
  • Clouden leads the Spartans, averaging 19.6 points per game followed by junior guard Alyza Winston (13.0), and freshman guard/forward Matilda Ekh (11.1).
  • Redshirt-senior forward Tamara Farquhar averages 5.3 rebounds per game, while junior forward Taiyier Parks follows with 5.2 rebounds and junior guard Moira Joiner and Clouden each average 4.4 rebounds.
  • The Spartans lead the country in total assists (181) and rank fourth in assists per game (20.1). Clouden has registered 50 assists to rank sixth in the nation. 
  • Suzy Merchant is in her 15th season as the Michigan State head coach. The Spartans have finished third or better in the Big Ten in eight of the last 14 seasons, and her conference record of 144-93 (60.8%) is in the top-12 career winning percentage in the 36-year history of the Big Ten.
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(HAWK)EYES ON THE SEASON

  • The Hawkeyes are 4-1 on the season with wins over New Hampshire, Samford, Northern Iowa and Southern University and falling most recently to Duke.
  • Sophomore Caitlin Clark leads Iowa, averaging 21.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game.
  • Clark recorded her first double-double of the season against Northern Iowa, racking up 25 points and 11 rebounds, and followed with her second career triple-double against Southern, registering 16 points, pulling down 10 rebounds and assisting 10 buckets.
  • Senior Monika Czinano and junior McKenna Warnock average 17.4 and 11.8 points per game. The pair also average 7.2 (Warnock) and 5.4 (Czinano) rebounds per game.
  • Redshirt junior Kate Martin ranks second on the team with 16 assists in the first five games.