Iowa reclaims Cy-Hawk women’s basketball superiority, 70-57

IOWA CITY — Gabbie Marshall lost a tooth late in the game.

Kate Martin twisted an ankle in a postgame celebration.

Before all of that, the Iowa Hawkeyes put a big hurt on Iowa State.

No. 16 Iowa assembled a third-quarter masterpiece, a 27-8 gem that flipped the game for good, and earned its seventh straight Cy-Hawk women’s basketball home victory, 70-57, over No. 10 ISU before a crowd of 13,802 Wednesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“That was probably one of the best quarters I’ve seen,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. “I am extremely happy with our defense. Such energy, such focus.”

In the Hawkeyes’ previous game at Carver, Caitlin Clark scored 45 points in a loss last week to North Carolina State.

Wednesday, she fought off a cold start in a 19-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist, five-steal performance.

“We’re a lot better when I have a game like this,” Clark said. “We’re hard to beat. If I’m getting a lot of assists, my teammates are making shots and we’re hard to guard.”

Speaking of guarding, the Hawkeyes (7-3) did it Wednesday, holding the Cyclones to 36-percent shooting (20 of 55).

“It’s fun getting stops,” Clark said. “It’s fun forcing 5-second counts. It’s fun forcing turnovers.”

Bluder said, “Mark that down. It’s fun playing defense.”

Clark answered: “It’s opposite day.”

The Hawkeyes beat Iowa State (6-2) for the sixth time in the last seven meetings, and haven’t lost to the Cyclones at Carver since 2006.

ISU led 28-23 at halftime, and held a 32-28 advantage on Stephanie Soares’ bucket with 6:40 left in the third quarter.

The rest of the quarter was all Iowa, by a 22-4 count.

“We were a little hesitant,” ISU Coach Bill Fennelly said. “We have a lot of kids that care about the team, and when the miss, they might not want to take the next shot.

“And when you miss eight free throws in a row, it gets in your head a little.”

After a 2-of-14 first half, Clark’s shooting pivoted quickly.

“The first half wasn’t my best. I was getting good shots,” Clark said. “I think it just shows the maturity I’ve gained the last two years.”

Clark started the blitz with a 3-pointer. After Soares scored on a putback to make it 34-31, Iowa scored the next nine points.

Czinano hit a shot from the top of the key. Then Clark nailed a long 3-pointer for the lead.

A baseline jumper from Addison O’Grady and a reverse layup by Martin extended it to 40-34, prompting an ISU timeout with 3:08 left in the quarter.

Clark and Martin added 3-pointers and O’Grady had two more baskets, and it was 50-36 at the end of the quarter. The Hawkeyes built the advantage as high as 18.

Czinano added 18 points. Martin added 13 (10 in the second half), hitting 3 of 4 shots from long range.

But as the Hawkeyes walked off the court in celebration, Martin mis-stepped twisted an ankle.

“She plays 36 minutes with no problem, then twists her ankle walking off the court,” Bluder said.

Clark added: “She was celebrating too hard.”

Iowa City native Ashley Joens scored 15 points in her final appearance at Carver. Emily Ryan also tallied 15.

Soares added 10 points and 11 rebounds, but was 0-for-6 at the foul line. Czinano got the better end of a highly anticipated battle in the paint.

“I’ve played a lot of good posts in the (non-conference season),” Czinano said. “I can tell I’ve gotten better at guarding the post drives. I feel more agile.”

Iowa resumes Big Ten action for a day on Saturday, 8 p.m. at home against Minnesota. Iowa State hosts Jacksonville at noon Sunday.

Iowa 70, Iowa State 57

At Iowa City

IOWA STATE (57): Stephanie Soares 4-9 0-6 10, Denae Fritz 2-7 3-5 7, Emily Ryan 5-13 1-1 15, Lexi Donarski 4-9 2-2 10, Ashley Joens 5-13 2-2 15, Morgan Kane 0-1 0-0 0, Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw 0-0 0-0 0, Nyamer Diew 0-2 0-0 0, Beatriz Jordao 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 8-16 57.

IOWA (70): McKenna Warnock 3-8 2-2 9, Monika Czinano 6-14 6-6 18, Kate Martin 5-8 0-0 13, Caitlin Clark 7-20 1-2 19, Gabbie Marshall 1-2 0-0 3, Molly Davis 1-2 0-0 2, Addison O’Grady 3-6 0-0 6, Hannah Stuelke 0-1 0-0 0, Sydney Affolter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 9-10 70.

Iowa State 11 17 8 21 — 57

Iowa 11 12 27 20 — 70

3-point goals: Iowa State 9-27 (Soares 2-5, Fritz 0-3, Ryan 4-6, Donarski 0-2, Joens 3-8, Diew 0-2, Jordao 0-1), Iowa 9-20 (Warnock 1-4, Martin 3-4, Clark 4-9, Marshall 1-2, Davis 0-1). Team fouls: Iowa State 13, Iowa 17. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Iowa State 34 (Soares 11), Iowa 40 (Czinano 10). Assists: Iowa State 9 (Donarski 4), Iowa 18 (Clark 8). Steals: Iowa State 6 (Joens 3), Iowa 7 (Clark 5). Turnovers: Iowa State 15, Iowa 10.

Attendance: 13,802.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com