Clark, Czinano lead No. 16 Iowa women past No. 10 Iowa State
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP
Associated Press
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark scored 19 points after a slow start and Monika Czinano added 18 points and 10 rebounds as No. 16 Iowa defeated No. 10 Iowa State 70-57 on Wednesday.
Kate Martin added 13 points for the Hawkeyes (7-3). They have won six of the last seven games in the rivalry against the Cyclones (6-2).
Clark, who came into the game as the nation’s leading scorer at 28.7 points per game, missed her first nine shots and was 2 of 14 from the field in the first half. But she was 3 of 4 in the third quarter, all of them 3-pointers, as the Hawkeyes outscored the Cyclones 27-8.
“The first half wasn’t my best,” Clark said. “And I don’t think it was anything I was doing. I felt like I got some good shots.”
“I think it shows how I’ve matured over the past two years. In the past, that would have completely taken me out of my game. In the third quarter, the shots have to go down. You just have to trust in yourself,” she said.
Clark was animated with every make, firing up the crowd of 13,802. And when teammate Addison O’Grady scored as the buzzer sounded, Clark slapped the mid-court logo several times in celebration.
“I’ve always played the game that way — a lot of passion, a lot of energy,” Clark said.
Clark, coming off a triple-double in Sunday’s 102-71 win over Wisconsin, added eight rebounds and eight assists.
“To have 10 assists (against Wisconsin), to have eight assists, that means your team is making buckets,” Clark said.
Iowa shot 61.5% in the second half, outscoring the Cyclones 47-29. The Hawkeyes held Iowa State to 33.3% shooting in the third quarter, 40% for the half.
“I’m extremely happy with our defense,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “That third quarter was probably one of the best I’ve seen.”
“Our inability to shoot the ball continues to haunt us,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “We were a little hesitant — we had some looks and we passed them up. I thought they defended well. And when we passed up shots, it played right into their defense.”
The Hawkeyes came into the game seventh in the nation in scoring at 87.2 points per game, but their pace on offense pleased Bluder.
“We’re not usually patient on offense,” Bluder said. “We felt like would have to work a little more against their defense.”
The game was expected to be a showcase for Clark and Iowa State’s Ashley Joens, both Associated Press preseason All-Americans, but both had problems making shots.
Clark was 7 of 20 overall. Joens had 15 points, but had just nine points through the first three quarters and shot 5 of 13 for the game.
Emily Ryan also had 15 points for Iowa State. Stephanie Soares had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half. The Cyclones missed 13 of their first 14 shots, and the Hawkeyes had a stretch midway through the half in which they missed 10 consecutive shots.
“The game got a little ugly early,” said Fennelly, whose team led 28-23 at halftime.
“I think we were pleased we held them to 28 points,” Bluder said. “We just said, hey, the shots are going to fall for us.”
BIG PICTURE
Iowa State: The Cyclones needed a big game from Joens, who grew up in Iowa City, but she was consistently shadowed by Martin and McKenna Warnock all game. Soares was effective, but was 0 for 6 on free throws, missing at key times early in the game. Iowa State got zero points off the bench.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes, who have struggled on defense at times throughout the start of the season, held the Cyclones to just 36.4% shooting. Iowa got Czinano, who led the nation in field-goal percentage the last two seasons, involved in the offense early, something the Hawkeyes didn’t do in a home loss to North Carolina State last week.
UP NEXT
Iowa State: Hosts Jacksonville on Sunday
Iowa: Hosts Minnesota on Saturday.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
