IOWA CITY, Iowa – No. 25/24 University of Iowa women’s basketball swept the season series over the Minnesota Golden Gophers with a hard-fought, 88-78, win Wednesday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in front of 8,141 fans.
Sophomore Caitlin Clark led the team with 32 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Senior Tomi Taiwo had a breakout game scoring 14 points, tying her career-high, while pulling down five rebounds and recording two steals.
“It wasn’t the same game as it was up in Minnesota,” said P. Sue Beckwith, MD, Head Coach Lisa Bluder. “I think Minnesota came in and played much better than they did up their place, but I am really happy with our fourth quarter.
“We were 8-for-12 shooting from the field, and we were a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. I thought Tomi played well today both offensively and defensively. She has the highest plus-minus of anybody on our team and did a tremendous job defensively.”
Iowa came out on both ends of the court shooting 55.6 percent from the field and recording four steals. Kate Martin made a layup to start a 10-0 run for the Hawkeyes. The redshirt junior went on to record her fifth double-figure point game. Taiwo made her second 3-pointer of the quarter to give the Hawkeyes the 27-21 lead going into the second.
The Hawkeyes battled adversity in the second quarter, scoring 15 points total, but managed to keep a 42-37, lead going into half. Sophomore Kylie Feuerbach scored five points in the quarter, coming off the bench. Junior Gabbie Marshall made her return to the court, scoring a second-chance 3-pointer.
Senior Monika Czinano made a jumper in the paint to put Iowa on the board in the second half. The Minnesota native finished the game with 23 points and pulled down five rebounds. Clark scored 12 of the team’s 20 points with contributions from Martin (2) and Taiwo (2) to give the Hawkeyes a one-point lead going into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was all gas and no breaks for Iowa, outscoring Minnesota, 26-17. The Hawkeyes started the last period on a 11-0 run, keeping the Gophers scoreless for 3 minutes. Czinano had 12 of the team’s 26 points. Five players scored in the fourth, giving the Hawkeyes a 10-point win.
NOTES
•The No. 25/24 Hawkeyes defeated the Minnesota Gophers, 88-78, inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, expanding the streak over the Gophers to seven.
•Four Hawkeyes scored in double figures, including sophomore Caitlin Clark (26), senior Monika Czinano (17), redshirt junior Kate Martin (10) and senior Tomi Taiwo (10).
• Clark registered her eighth 30-point game and Czinano recorded her 13th 20-point game of the season.
•Junior Gabbie Marshall returned to the lineup, tallying three points, two rebounds and an assist.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes are back in action inside Carver-Hawkeyes Arena on February 14, hosting No. 15 Maryland in their pink out game. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. (CT) and will air live on ESPN2. Tickets can be bought on hawkeyesports.com/tickets.