No. 4 Iowa beats Wisconsin for the 28th straight time, 87-65

MADISON, Wis. — Still like clockwork.

Caitlin Clark continued her climb up the all-time women’s basketball scoring chart, and No. 4 Iowa extended its mastery of Wisconsin. It was 87-65 this time in a Big Ten contest before a crowd of 14,252 Sunday afternoon at the Kohl Center.

And it was the Hawkeyes’ 28th consecutive win over the Badgers.

“I’m really happy with the way we shot the ball in the second half,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said, referring to the Hawkeyes’ 61-percent shooting after halftime.

Clark scored 28 points, sending her career total to 3,041. She passed four legends — Cheryl Miller, Chamique Holdsclaw, Maya Moore and Elena Delle Donne — Sunday, and moved to 10th all-time at the NCAA Division-I level.

Hannah Stuelke added 21 points in her second game back in the rotation. Stuelke had missed three games with an injury.

“It’s really good to be back to my (normal) self,” Stuelke said. “I’m glad to be out there, jumping high.”

Sydney Affolter was another major contributor off the bench. The junior posted seven points and 12 rebounds.

In Affolter’s 23 minutes on the floor, the Hawkeyes (10-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) were plus-38.

“I think I can do a little bit of everything,” Affolter said. “It’s been crucial for me to get on the floor, get loose balls, get rebounds. It shifts the energy of the game.”

“She does a lot of things that don’t show up in the stat line,” Bluder said. “I love her energy on the floor. She’s not going to back down from anybody.”

Wisconsin was playing in front of its first home sellout crowd in 21 years, and the Badgers (5-4, 0-1) hung with the Hawkeyes for the better part of 17 minutes.

Back-to-back buckets by Serah Williams had the Badgers in front 26-23 early in the second quarter, and UW still was within 33-31 on Ronnie Porter’s drive at the 2:55 mark.

But Kate Martin converted on an offensive rebound, and Clark scored on a drive. Then it was 3-pointers by Gabbie Marshall and Clark (just ahead of the shot clock), and Iowa led 43-33 at halftime.

“To get up 10 helped so much,” Bluder said. “Our clock management was so good.”

The final separation came in the third quarter, a steady pull-away from 45-39 to 70-49.

Iowa has dominated this series since 2007, and the Hawkeyes have been successful in grabbing high school talent from America’s Dairyland.

Think Sam Logic. And Megan Gustafson. And McKenna Warnock. Two of Wisconsin’s best seniors (Teagan Mallegni and Taylor Stremlow) are Iowa City-bound in 2024.

“I have a lot of respect for Coach Bluder,” Wisconsin Coach Marisa Moseley said. “We see a team right down the road that is successful. They have great post players, great guards.

“But I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

Ronnie Porter led the Badgers with 17 points.

The Hawkeyes will face Cleveland State at 6 p.m. Saturday, at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines.

Iowa 87, Wisconsin 65

At Madison, Wis.

IOWA (87): Sharon Goodman 2-3 0-0 4, Molly Davis 0-1 2-2 2, Kate Martin 2-9 1-2 6, Caitlin Clark 11-19 2-2 28, Gabbie Marshall 1-4 0-0 3, Hannah Stuelke 8-16 5-8 21, Sydney Affolter 3-5 1-2 7, Taylor McCabe 2-2 0-0 6, Kylie Feuerback 3-4 1-1 8, Addison O’Grady 1-2 0-0 2, Jada Gyamfi 0-0 0-0 0, A.J. Ediger 0-1 0-0 0, Kennise Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-66 12-17 87.

WISCONSIN (65): Serah Williams 6-9 3-4 15, Brooke Schramek 3-11 0-0 7, Ronnie Porter 7-12 2-2 17, Sania Copeland 4-10 4-5 13, Natalie Leuzinger 1-4 0-0 2, Halle Douglass 1-5 1-2 3, D’Yanis Jimenez 2-8 3-5 8, Leena Patibandla 0-0 0-0 0, Ana Gillen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 13-18 65.

Iowa 21 22 27 17 — 87

Wisconsin 21 12 18 14 — 65

3-point goals: Iowa 9-22 (Davis 0-1, Martin 1-5, Clark 4-8, Marshall 1-3, Affolter 0-1, McCabe 2-2, Feuerbach 1-2), Wisconsin 4-20 (Williams 0-1, Schramek 1-4, Porter 1-3, Copeland 1-6, Leuzinger 0-1, Douglass 0-1, Jimenez 1-3, Guillen 0-1). Team fouls: Iowa 15, Wisconsin 20. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Iowa 40 (Affolter 12), Wisconsin 36 (Williams 8). Assists: Iowa 21 (Clark 5), Wisconsin 13 (Porter 3). Steals: Iowa 11 (Marshall 4), Wisconsin 11 (Copeland 4). Turnovers: Iowa 15, Wisconsin 18.

Attendance: 14,252.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com