Maryland runs past Iowa for Big Ten women’s basketball tournament title

INDIANAPOLIS - After four games, maybe the Iowa Hawkeyes ran out of steam.

More likely, they simply ran into a superior opponent.

The top scoring team in the country, seventh-ranked Maryland hung a hundred - and then some - on Iowa for the second time this season. The Terrapins captured the Big Ten women's basketball tournament championship, 104-84, Saturday afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

'I think the unselfishness with this team plays, the numbers speak for themselves,” said Maryland Coach Brenda Frese, a Cedar Rapids native.

Maryland (24-2) converted 18 offensive rebounds into 26 points, committed only six turnovers, led from start to finish and won their fifth tournament title in the last seven years.

'Obviously, I'm disappointed in the loss,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. 'I think we could have played better. But I'm not disappointed with the effort this whole week.”

Iowa (18-9) won its first three games of the tournament - against Purdue, Rutgers and Michigan State - by double digits. But the Terrapins were a different beast entirely.

Maryland, which romped over the Hawkeyes 111-93 in the regular season, jumped to a 15-5 lead through the first three minutes Saturday. Iowa worked its way back within 22-18, then the Terrapins' glass-crashing tendencies surged to the forefront.

Angel Reese converted a putback. Katie Benzan hit a second-chance 3-pointer. And Ashley Owusu garnered another carom into a basket.

That 7-0 flurry gave Maryland a 29-18 advantage after one period.

'Rebounds were huge,” Bluder said. 'We gave up too many offensive rebounds. Give up 26 (second-chance points) and lose by 20 ... it's just too much.”

Iowa had its best run of the day, a 7-0 surge, cutting a 15-point deficit to 38-30. But Maryland answered with eight points in a row for a 46-30 advantage, and it was 55-37 at halftime.

The margin grew as large as 94-64 in the fourth quarter.

Iowa was playing its fourth game in four days.

'We were up until midnight each night,” Bluder said. 'You have to understand the mental and physical demands of that. But I'm not making excuses. (Maryland) is a terrific basketball team.”

The Hawkeyes entered Indianapolis as the No. 6 seed, and finished as runners-up.

'Not a lot of people thought we'd be playing in the championship game,” Iowa post Monika Czinano said. 'We're a young team, and a lot of growth was made this week.”

All five starters, from both teams, reached double figures. Czinano paced Iowa with 22 points, and Caitlin Clark added 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Czinano and Clark made the all-tournament team, along with Maryland's Diamond Miller (the captain) and Owusu, and Michigan State's Nia Clouden.

Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall scored 11 points apiece for the Hawkeyes, and McKenna Warnock posted 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Chloe Bibby paced Maryland with 21 points. The Terrapins accumulated 29 assists.

Next up for the Hawkeyes is the NCAA tournament; the selection show will be televised at 6 p.m. Monday on ESPN.

All games this year will be played in Texas - San Antonio, Austin and San Marcos. The Hawkeyes' run this week should make them a 5 or 6 seed.

The first round is March 21-22.

MARYLAND 104, IOWA 84

Big Ten Tournament Championship, at Indianapolis

IOWA (84): McKenna Warnock 3-4 2-2 10, Monika Czinano 10-13 2-5 22, Kate Martin 5-9 1-2 11, Caitlin Clark 7-18 3-4 21, Gabbie Marshall 4-11 0-0 11, Tomi Taiwo 0-1 0-0 0, Megan Meyer 0-1 0-0 0, Sharon Goodman 1-1 1-1 3, Alexis Sevillian 1-1 0-0 3, Lauren Jensen 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Shateah Wetering 0-0 0-0 0, Zion Sanders 1-1 1-1 3. Totals 32-60 10-15 84.

MARYLAND (104): Mimi Collins 6-10 2-2 17, Chloe Bibby 9-13 0-0 21, Diamond Miller 6-13 3-3 15, Katie Benzan 5-9 0-0 14, Ashley Owusu 5-15 2-3 12, Angel Reese 2-8 2-6 6, Faith Masonius 4-4 0-0 8, Alaysia Styles 2-4 2-2 6, Zoe Young 2-3 0-0 5, Taisiya Kozlova 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 41-80 11-16 104.

Halftime: Maryland 55, Iowa 37. 3-point goals: Iowa 10-26 (Warnock 2-3, Martin 0-3, Clark 4-10, Marshall 3-7, Taiwo 0-1, Meyer 0-1, Sevillian 1-1), Maryland 11-25 (Collins 3-6, Bibby 3-6, Miller 0-4, Benzan 4-7, Young 1-2). Team fouls: Iowa 16, Maryland 14. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Iowa 34 (Warnock 10), Maryland 36 (Collins, Reese 6). Assists: Iowa 20 (Clark 7), Maryland 29 (Miller, Owusu 7). Steals: Iowa 2 (Marshall, Sanders), Maryland 10 (Benzan 3). Turnovers: Iowa 18, Maryland 6.

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