IOWA CITY, Iowa – For the second time in just over 48 hours, the No. 21 Iowa women’s basketball team upset No. 10 Indiana, 88-82. The Hawkeyes’ win on Monday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena took place in front of a loud 7,510-person crowd. The Hawkeyes shot 54.5 percent from the field, with three players scoring in double digits.
Senior Monika Czinano recorded her second season and third career double-double, tying her season-high 31 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. Sophomore Caitlin Clark was just shy of another triple-double with 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Junior McKenna Warnock recorded 16 points and seven rebounds.
“We had a really good second half,” said P. Sue Beckwith, MD, Head Coach Lisa Bluder.
“Our first half, we struggled with valuing the ball. We gave them 23 points off turnovers in the first half, and it’s hard to hard to win game when you’re doing that. We did a much better job in the second half — our defense was good.”
“This crowd, it was it was loud. It got so loud in there I could hardly talk to my assistant coaches. They were amazing, so thank you to our Hawk fans came out. They were they were terrific tonight.”
Warnock got the ball rolling in the first quarter, making a 3-pointer to put Iowa on the board. Indiana went on a 12-0 scoring run, but the Hawkeyes clapped back, creating their own 9-0 scoring run in the final minutes to take a 26-23 lead going into the second. Five players scored in the first, with Czinano leading the team with eight points.
Iowa struggled to find its rhythm in the second quarter, with Indiana shooting 64.7 percent from the field. The Hawkeyes went on a four-minute scoring drought, but Clark made four free throws, heading into halftime down by 11. The Naismith Player of the Year candidate had 10 of Iowa’s 15 points in the second.
The Hawkeyes came out of half in full vengeance. Czinano started the third, capitalizing off a Hoosier turnover with an and-one. Iowa would slowly chip away Indiana’s lead, with points from Clark, Warnock, and freshman Addison O’Grady. The Hawkeyes headed into the final 10 minutes down by four, with momentum on their side.
Iowa didn’t look back in the fourth quarter, going on a 11-0 scoring run, with Czinano scoring nine of the team’s points. The senior, who just announced her return for the next season, was the recipient of six assists, making 6-of-6 from the field. Redshirt junior Kate Martin recorded four assists in the fourth quarter, all of which were to Czinano. In hopes to stay in the game, Indiana put Iowa on the line. Junior Gabbie Marshall would sink two free throws to go up by seven with seconds remaining. Warnock would seal the deal, making two free throws to give Iowa an 88-82 victory over Indiana.
NOTES
•The No. 21/25 Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the No. 10/6 Indiana Hoosiers, 88-82, inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, sweeping the Hoosiers in the regular season.
•Senior Monika Czinano notched her second season and third career double-double, tying her season-high points (31) and pulled down 10 rebounds.
•Three Hawkeyes scored in double figures, including senior Monika Czinano (31), sophomore Caitlin Clark (29), and junior McKenna Warnock (14).
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes are back on the road, traveling to Piscataway, New Jersey, on Thursday, Feb. 24 to face Rutgers. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (CT) and will air on B1G Network.