Iowa’s Monika Czinano: “I’ll be back again next year”

IOWA CITY — The biggest roster news surrounding the University of Iowa women’s basketball program isn’t about who’s leaving after this season, or who’s joining.

It’s about who’s returning.

Senior Monika Czinano announced on social media Sunday afternoon that she will return for a fifth year in 2022-23.

“Being a Hawkeye has been one of the greatest privileges of my life, not only because of basketball but also because of the people that have surrounded me with love and support,” she said in a Twitter post.

“I’m really excited to see where the remainder of the season takes us because we’ve still got a lot to prove. With Senior Day approaching (next Sunday), people have been asking me a lot of questions and I wanted to clear the air.

“These have been the best four years of my life, so why switch things up now? I’ll be back again next year.”

An all-Big Ten performer last year, Czinano first indicated that she might be coming back in an interview with The Gazette, in a story posted Jan. 28.

A native of Watertown, Minn., Czinano ranks third nationally in field-goal percentage (.649), 16th in points per game (20.2) and 36th in free-throw percentage (.859). She ranks 12th on Iowa’s all-time scoring list with 1,572 career points.

Czinano’s decision means that all five starters most likely will return for next season. McKenna Warnock, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall are juniors; Caitlin Clark is a sophomore.

Seniors Tomi Taiwo and Logan Cook also are eligible for a fifth season, if they so choose, due to an NCAA exemption stemming from the loss of the 2020 national tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neither have said publicly whether or not they will exercise that option.

Hannah Stuelke, Jada Gyamfi and Taylor McCabe comprise Iowa’s incoming freshman class of 2022-23.

No. 22 Iowa (17-7 overall, 11-4 Big Ten) hosts No. 5 Indiana (19-5, 11-3) at 7 p.m. Monday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes defeated the Hoosiers, 96-91, Saturday at Bloomington.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com