No. 4 Iowa women’s basketball escapes Drake in overtime, 92-86

DES MOINES — Monika Czinano sported a postgame scratch on the bridge on her nose.

The Iowa Hawkeyes almost suffered a deeper figurative gash than that.

Drake pushed No. 4 Iowa to overtime, but the Hawkeyes made the necessary plays in the extra five minutes and escaped a women’s basketball thriller, 92-86, before a sellout crowd of 6,424 Sunday afternoon at the Knapp Center.

“If people think women’s basketball in this state isn’t good, they just have to come to a game like this,” Iowa’s Caitlin Clark said. “This was really fun.”

Iowa topped Drake for the 19th time in the last 20 games in this series, but as it always seems to be in Des Moines, this was an extreme challenge.

“It was like an NCAA tournament environment,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. “To come here and win on the road, I’m extremely happy with that.”

Czinano scored 36 points, Clark added 28, and Iowa (3-0) led throughout overtime.

Clark scored on a drive on the Hawkeyes’ first overtime possession, then Gabbie Marshall swiped the inbounds pass. That led to a Czinano basket, and it was 86-82.

“I think Gabbie’s steal was the play of the game,” Clark said. “We got the first four points, and we were able to settle in.”

Drake (1-1) had a shot to tie at 89-86, but Megan Meyer’s 3-pointer was off the mark in the final 15 seconds.

Free throws were an adventure for Iowa all afternoon, but Clark knocked down a pair with 13 seconds left to ice it.

The nation’s leading free-throw shooting team last year, Iowa was 17 of 30 from the stripe Sunday.

“Free throws are super mental,” Clark said. “We shoot 85 percent in practice. We had a couple go in and out today. We knew we’re a good free-throw shooting team.”

Meyer, who played her first two seasons at Iowa before transferring to Drake, scored 11 points in her first game against her former team.

“It was a little awkward at first,” she said. “But it was good to see those familiar faces and compete against them. They love me, and I love them. The mutual respect is there.”

Katie Dinnebier led Drake with 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting, and all five starters hit double figures for the home team.

Drake led through virtually the entire first half, by as many as nine points, and took a 45-41 lead into intermission.

Marshall, who scored only seven points in Iowa’s first two games, hit a pair of 3-pointers, and McKenna Warnock added another to send Iowa to a 55-51 lead midway through the third quarter.

Grace Berg’s three-point play gave Drake its final lead, 69-68, with 6:46 left in regulation. Hannah Stuelke’s free throw put Iowa in front, 80-75 with 1:58 left, but the Bulldogs worked back and tied it at 82-82 on Diennebier’s drive with 0:23 to play.

Marshall missed in traffic, and 40 minutes wasn’t enough to determine a victor.

Czinano grabbed 11 rebounds and drew 11 fouls.

“My teammates were finding me in the best spots possible,” she said. “(All those fouls) ... I have this scratch on my face to prove it.”

Clark distributed nine assists. The Hawkeyes committed 11 turnovers, compared to 23 for Drake.

“We needed to come away with a couple more rebounds, hit a couple more free throws,” Bulldogs Coach Alison Pohlman said.

Meyer said, “This isn’t a moral victory, but we all have the confidence that this game can spring us forward.”

Iowa plays at Kansas State on Thursday. Drake hosts Nebraska on Sunday.

Iowa 92, Drake 86 (OT)

AT DES MOINES

IOWA (92): McKenna Warnock 4-7 0-0 11, Monika Czinano 14-21 8-14 36, Kate Martin 0-3 0-0 0, Caitlin Clark 9-28 6-9 28, Gabbie Marshall 2-9 0-0 6, Addison O’Grady 1-1 0-0 2, Molly Davis 1-4 2-4 4, Hannah Stuelke 2-6 1-3 5. Totals 33-79 17-30 92.

DRAKE (86): Maggie Bair 5-8 3-4 13, Grace Berg 6-12 6-7 18, Katie Dinnebier 10-13 3-5 24, Megan Meyer 4-12 1-1 11, Sarah Beth Gueldner 4-8 0-0 12, Taylor McAulay 0-3 0-0 0, Anna Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Courtney Becker 1-2 4-8 6, Taedyn Gray 0-2 0-0 0, Ashley Iiams 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 31-64 17-25 86.

Iowa 22 19 21 20 10 -- 92

Drake 23 22 14 23 4 -- 86

3-point goals: Iowa 9-27 (Warnock 3-5, Martin 0-2, Clark 4-14, Marshall 2-6), Drake 7-28 (Bair 0-1, Berg 0-3, Dinnebier 1-2, Meyer 2-9, Gueldner 4-8, McAulay 0-2, Becker 0-1, Gray 0-2). Team fouls: Iowa 19, Drake 23. Fouled out: Warnock. Rebounds: Iowa 43 (Czinano 11), Drake 48 (Berg 9). Assists: Iowa 21 (Clark 9), Drake 13 (Dinnebier 4). Steals: Iowa 11 (Warnock, Marshall, Davis 3), Drake 5 (Dinnebier 2). Turnovers: Iowa 11, Drake 23.

Attendance: 6,424.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com