Hawkeyes surge past Michigan, 94-85, ending a 5-game Crisler losing streak

(Note: This story was written in Cedar Rapids)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Caitlin Clark’s last trip to Crisler Center resulted in 46 points, multiple “logo 3-pointers” and a slew of national attention that followed it.

This trip was even better.

Clark scored 28 points, and 16th-ranked Iowa ended a five-game Crisler hex, 94-85, in a Big Ten women’s basketball game Saturday afternoon.

The game was played in front of 10,731 fans on site — the fourth-largest home crowd in Michigan history — and a national audience on FOX television.

It was the first women’s game televised on FOX.

What they saw was a very strong final 27 minutes by the Hawkeyes (12-4 overall, 4-1 Big Ten), who stormed back after trailing 28-18 early in the second quarter.

Monika Czinano’s three-point play triggered a 13-3 Iowa run to tie the game at 31. That run included a driving basket by Molly Davis, who hurt a hip on the play. She returned shortly thereafter.

McKenna Warnock’s 3-pointer gave Iowa its first lead at 38-37 with 1:31 left in the half. Clark hit a long 3 just before the half to put the Hawkeyes up 41-39.

Iowa broke a 41-41 tie with six straight points (four from Kate Martin), and broke it open with a 10-0 run to extend the margin to 72-61.

The closest Michigan got from that point was 90-85, on Leigha Brown’s 3-pointer with 0:32 left.

Czinano added 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Warnock scored 14 points, Martin 10 (all in the third quarter).

Freshman Hannah Stuelke scored nine off the bench, Davis eight.

Brown paced Michigan with 20 points. Emily Kiser added 19. Laila Phelia scored 16, including 14 points in the first quarter.

Iowa moved into a second-place tie with Illinois and Maryland, one back behind Ohio State.

The Hawkeyes play a pair of home games next week, against Northwestern (6:30 p.m. Wednesday) and Penn State (11:30 a.m. Saturday).

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com