Big Ten women’s basketball title is out of reach for Iowa, so Sunday is about ESPN GameDay, Monika and McKenna

IOWA CITY — She came to the University of Iowa as a project.

She’ll leave, in the words of Coach Lisa Bluder, as “one of (assistant Jan Jensen’s) greatest success stories.”

Monika Czinano overhauled her shot, followed a legend and has left a legacy of her own within the University of Iowa women’s basketball program.

Sunday afternoon, Czinano — along with McKenna Warnock — will step up to the microphone. They’ll address a sellout crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, after the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes (22-6 overall, 14-3 Big Ten) wrap up the regular season against No. 2 Indiana (26-1, 16-1).

Tipoff is 1 p.m. as part of a festive day. ESPN’s College GameDay will be in attendance in the morning. Though a Big Ten regular-season championship is out of reach for the Hawkeyes, it’s still a game of high consequence.

Win, and the Hawkeyes will be the No. 2 seed for the Big Ten tournament next week in Minneapolis, and will enhance their NCAA tournament resume (currently, they are a 3 seed).

“These are the moments you dream of,” Caitlin Clark said. “Our mission, our No. 1 goal, is to beat Indiana.”

A native of Watertown, Minn., Czinano opted to come back for a fifth year. With 2,248 career points, she ranks No. 3 all-time at Iowa in scoring, behind her mentor (Megan Gustafson) and her point guard (Clark).

“When we recruited her, she was somebody that embraces physical contact, somebody that ran the floor fairly well,” Bluder said. “We thought, ‘We can work with that.’”

And they did.

But she had a shot that Bluder called “bizarre.”

The summer between her freshman and sophomore seasons, Czinano went to class. Jensen was the professor.

“My release was so slow,” Czinano said. “I was getting blocked constantly in practice (as a freshman, by Gustafson).

“It was hard to not dribble, to learn the post rules. I was still at a moldable age. I remember at first I was shooting like 20 percent and I didn’t know how it was going to work.”

Here’s how well it worked: Czinano led the nation in field-goal percentage as a sophomore, then again as a junior. She’s fourth in that category this year at 66.9 percent.

“Monika put in the work, and Jan put the belief in her,” Bluder said.

Czinano anticipates an emotional speech Sunday.

“I’m somebody that puts her heart on her sleeve, shows a lot of emotion,” she said. “I think I’m somebody that the fans can relate to my story. I think I’m a good teammate and fit into the culture here.”

Warnock, on the other hand, is somewhat stoic. On the court or off, the Madison, Wis., native doesn’t demand your attention, doesn’t beg for your affection.

“McKenna is the most composed, level-headed person we’ve got,” Czinano said. “We have a lot of fiery personalities ... Caitlin, Kate (Martin), me ... then we have Gabbie (Marshall) and McKenna.

“She’s so self-confident, and that carries to the basketball floor.”

Like Martin and Marshall, Warnock was eligible for to come back for 2023-24.

“It was definitely a hard decision, and I didn’t make it until a couple of weeks ago,” Warnock said. “I have six more years of (dental) school left, and it’s just not something I can do.”

Quietly, Warnock has crafted a memorable career, scoring 1,172 points as a three-year starter.

“I hope it’s a good legacy,” she said. “It’s been great to be a part of such an amazing team. A lot of credit to Caitlin and Monika.”

Bluder said Warnock “is not this gregarious personality. She just knows her role.

“She does her job, and she doesn’t expect a lot of fanfare for it. She has always been confident in herself, and she has never refrained from that.”

Iowa is coming off its most lopsided loss in three years, 96-68 at Maryland. The Hawkeyes dropped an 87-78 decision at Indiana on Feb. 9, and the Hoosiers are Big Ten champions for the first time since 1983.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com