Caitlin Clark’s ankle is fine, and No. 4 Iowa bounces back

IOWA CITY — That ankle, which caused so much angst through the past 60 hours, was good to go.

Caitlin Clark played — and played extremely well — in fourth-ranked Iowa’s 73-62 non-conference women’s basketball win over Belmont on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“We have the best medical facility in the country,” Clark said after dropping 33 points on the Bruins. “I had the normal swelling and bruising, but not a lot of pain, so I knew I could go.”

The Hawkeyes’ All-America point guard, Clark sprained her left ankle in the season-opening win over Southern University, then aggravated it on the final play of their one-point loss at Kansas State on Thursday.

“It definitely shakes you up a little bit,” she said. “It’s going to be the same stuff, and every time you do it, it weakens the ankle.”

The only player in double-figures for the Hawkeyes (4-1), Clark connected on 10 of 18 shots from the floor (3 of 7 from 3-point range) and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line. She also registered five assists and committed only one turnover.

Monika Czinano added nine points and 10 rebounds. Molly Davis and Hannah Stuelke contributed seven points apiece off the bench.

“This was a good way to bounce back,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. “Belmont is a good team. We have nothing but respect for them.”

The Bruins (1-3) cut a 12-point deficit to 47-44 late in the third quarter, setting the stage from an electrifying 45-second sequence by Clark.

She hit an off-balance 3-pointer from the left wing, then nailed another trey from the top of the key in transition. She followed with a steal and layup to make it 55-44 as the Carver crowd of 8,227 got vocal.

“Any time we can use the crowd to the best of our ability, it’s really, really good,” Clark said. “When we go on little runs, it’s Iowa basketball at its finest.”

An NCAA tournament second-round team last year and this year’s preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference, Belmont had one more surge in it, getting within four points on two occasions in the fourth quarter.

But Czinano scored inside, then Gabbie Marshall drilled a 3-pointer, and the Hawkeyes pulled away.

The first half, simply put, was a grind. The Hawkeyes led 32-25 at intermission despite shooting 36 percent from the floor. The reason, they went to the line (making 11 of 13), and the Bruins didn’t, at all.

Iowa finished 18 of 23 from the line, Belmont 8 of 11, and Czinano staked the Hawkeyes to a 42-33 rebounding advantage.

“One through 5, we all did a good job of finding our player and boxing them out,” Czinano said.

McKenna Warnock added six points and eight boards.

Nikki Baird paced Belmont with 13 points. Madison Bartley and Sydni Harvey scored 11 apiece.

The Hawkeyes head to Portland, Ore., later this week for the Phil Knight Classic. They’ll face Oregon State in the first round at 7:30 p.m. (CT) Friday.

Iowa 73, Belmont 62

AT IOWA CITY

BELMONT (62): Madison Bartley 4-8 3-3 11, Tuti Jones 3-10 2-2 9, Sydni Harvey 4-7 0-0 11, Destinee Wells 4-17 1-2 9, Nikki Baird 5-6 0-0 13, Blair Schoenwald 0-3 0-0 0, Tessa Miller 1-3 2-4 4, Kilyn McGuff 2-3 0-0 5, Kendal Cheesman 0-4 0-0 0, Kate Hollifield 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 8-11 62.

IOWA (73): McKenna Warnock 1-5 3-4 6, Kate Martin 2-6 1-2 6, Caitlin Clark 10-18 10-11 33, Gabbie Marshall 2-5 0-0 5, Monika Czinano 4-7 1-2 9, Molly Davis 3-5 0-0 7, Taylor McCabe 0-2 0-0 0, Sydney Affolter 0-3 0-0 0, Addison O’Grady 0-1 0-0 0, Hannah Stuelke 2-5 3-4 7. Totals 24-57 18-23 73.

Belmont 18 7 21 16 — 62

Iowa 18 14 23 18 — 73

3-point goals: Belmont 8-29 (Bartley 0-1, Jones 1-5, Harvey 3-6, Wells 0-4, Baird 3-4, Schoenwald 0-3, McGuff 1-2, Cheesman 0-3, Hollifield 0-1), Iowa 7-24 (Warnock 1-4, Martin 1-3, Clark 3-7, Marshall 1-4, Davis 1-2, Affolter 0-2, McCabe 0-1, Stuelke 0-1). Team fouls: Belmont 21, Iowa 9. Fouled out: Harvey. Rebounds: Belmont 34 (Jones, Wells 6), Iowa 42 (Czinano 10). Assists: Belmont 14 (Wells 5), Iowa 11 (Clark 5). Steals: Belmont 2 (Jones, Baird), Iowa 4 (Clark 2). Turnovers: Belmont 6, Iowa 6.

Attendance: 8,227.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com