Hawkeyes certainly resemble a 2-seed in NCAA women’s basketball first-round rout

IOWA CITY — The Iowa Hawkeyes behaved as a 2-seed should.

Caitlin Clark registered 27 points and 10 assists, three others reached double figures and eighth-ranked Iowa posted its most lopsided NCAA tournament victory in program history, 98-58, in a first-round women’s basketball game in front of a sellout crowd of 14,382 Friday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“Obviously, I’m very excited about this game,” Hawkeyes Coach Lisa Bluder said. “We shot well from 2, from 3, from the free-throw line.

“The more weapons you have, the harder you are to defend. It makes us an offensive juggernaut, and I love it.”

There was a lot to love Friday as the Hawkeyes (24-7) won their eighth consecutive game and advance to Sunday’s second-round contest against Creighton (21-9), an 84-74 victor over Colorado.

A tip time has not yet been determined.

“Coming off that break (it has been 12 days since Iowa’s last appearance, its victory over Indiana in the Big Ten tournament final), we got our legs back under us,” said Monika Czinano, who didn’t miss a shot and added 18 points. “As the game goes on, it’s hard to double me, because my teammates are deadly.”

The Hawkeyes converted 60 percent of their shots (33 of 55), including a healthy 12 of 26 from 3-point range. They were 20 of 21 from the free-throw line, for 95 percent.

An offensive juggernaut, indeed.

“Our transition is our best offense, and we got a lot of great contributions,” Clark said. “Tomi (Taiwo) shot the ball well. Addi (O’Grady) came in and was great.”

Playing in her second-to-last game at Carver, Taiwo added 13 points, hitting 3 of 4 shots from long range. Gabbie Marshall added three triples of her own, compiling 13 points and five assists.

“Tomi is a senior, and she’s playing some of the best basketball of her career,” Bluder said. “That’s good, but it’s sad too.”

Twenty-five of Iowa’s 33 baskets were assisted, and “I love that style,” Bluder added.

The Hawkeyes were a 2-seed in 2019 and had all sorts of trouble with Mercer in the first round before escaping.

This one was stress-free after the first few minutes.

Czinano, who said Thursday she “definitely (was) going to have to take a Melatonin” to sleep that night, instead “stared at the ceiling for a while” before dozing off.

Illinois State (19-14) was making its first NCAA appearance since 2008, and the Redbirds were strong out of the gate, leading by five points on three occasions in the first quarter, the last at 12-7.

But Clark orchestrated a 14-1 run for a 21-13 Iowa advantage, and the Hawkeyes led the rest of the way.

Marshall hit a pair of 3-pointers in the run, the second of which gave the Hawkeyes a 15-13 lead. Then Clark scored six in a row — four on free throws, two on a swipe and score.

Clark, who was named an Associated Press first-team All-American earlier in the week, had three steals that led to layups in the first half alone. At intermission, she had 15 points, four rebounds and six steals.

Czinano was scoreless in the first quarter, then went on a flurry late in the second.

After her basket made it 36-27, Marshall stole the inbounds pass, and that led to a Czinano three-point play to extend the margin to 12.

The Hawkeyes led 43-29 at halftime.

Any potential for drama seeped away immediately in the second half. Czinano converted a three-point play. Kate Martin hit a 3-pointer, Marshall followed with another and the lead was 23.

Then it was 30. Then, 40.

Iowa’s biggest NCAA margin had been 26 in a second-round win over Old Dominion in 1993. For what it’s worth, that team was Iowa’s only Final Four team.

The Carver crowd held its collective breath for a brief time in the second half when Clark went down hard, and stayed down.

“I was kind of out of control and took a tumble,” she said. “I hit my knee wrong on the floor. I'm all good. It's part of basketball; it's just how it goes.”

Clark’s time on the bench was brief, and so was the concern.

Juliunn Redmond led Illinois State with 25 points. Iowa City native Mary Crompton had 11 points in the first 10 1/2 minutes, but was scoreless the rest of the way.

Iowa 98, Illinois State 58

NCAA Tournament First Round, at Iowa City

ILLINOIS STATE (58): DeAnna Wilson 3-7 0-2 6, Kate Bullman 2-10 0-0 5, Mary Crompton 4-12 0-0 11, Maya Wong 1-10 4-4 6, Juliunn Redmond 10-21 4-5 25, Jasmine McGinnis-Taylor 0-0 2-2 2, Kayel Newland 1-6 0-0 3, Kenzie Bowers 0-2 0-0 0, Chloe Van Zeeland 0-0 0-0 0, Lexy Koudelka 0-0 0-0 0, Lexi Boles 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Kelle 0-1 0-0 0, Lauren Cohen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-71 10-13 58.

IOWA (98): McKenna Warnock 3-8 0-0 7, Monika Czinano 6-6 6-6 18, Kate Martin 2-4 0-0 5, Caitlin Clark 9-15 7-7 27, Gabbie Marshall 4-7 2-2 13, Tomi Taiwo 4-5 2-2 13, Kylie Feuerbach 1-2 0-0 3, Addison O’Grady 3-5 1-2 7, Sydney Affolter 1-2 2-2 5, Logan Cook 0-0 0-0 0, A.J. Ediger 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-55 20-21 98.

Illinois State 15 14 18 11 — 58

Iowa 21 22 31 24 — 98

3-point goals: Illinois State 6-36 (Bullman 1-7, Crompton 3-11, Wong 0-7, Redmond 1-3, Newland 1-4, Bowers 0-2, Cohen 0-2), Iowa 12-26 (Warnock 1-5, Martin 1-2, Clark 2-6, Marshall 3-6, Taiwo 3-4, Feuerbach 1-2, Affolter 1-1). Team fouls: Illinois State 18, Iowa 18. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Illinois State 37 (Wilson 8), Iowa 38 (Czinano, Martin 7). Assists: Illinois State 10 (Redmond 3), Iowa 25 (Clark 10). Steals: Illinois State 5 (Bullman 2), Iowa 10 (Clark, Marshall 3). Turnovers: Illinois State 13, Iowa 11.

Attendance: 14,382.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com