Iowa City Today

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – 2-Seed Iowa defeated 7-Seed Purdue, 69-58, inside the Target Center on Friday night to advance to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals.

Three Hawkeyes finished in double digits, with National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark having the game-high 22 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Monika Czinano finished with 14 points, going 6-for-7 from the field. Gabbie Marshall had 11 points, going 3-for-5 from the three.

Clark got things going quick for Iowa, sinking her first 3-pointer of the game in the first 20 seconds. From there, the Hawkeyes went on a, 6-0, scoring run to gain control early. An assist from Molly Davis gave Hannah Stuelke an easy layup to give Iowa a nine-point lead after one.

Marshall started out the second making back-to-back threes in the beginning of the second. The Boilmakers battled back, but Iowa was able to hold onto the lead and head into halftime with an, 29-25, advantage.

A steal by Marshall gave Czinano two easy points at the start of the second half. Purdue took a one-point lead, but Iowa went on a,7-0, scoring run to regain a five-point lead going into the final quarter.

Kate Martin swished the basket from behind the arc, and Clark followed up with a basket of her own at the start of the fourth. Clark had 12 of her 22 points and four rebounds in the final 10 minutes to seal the deal and give Iowa its second win over Purdue of the season.

Individual Notes
• Gabbie Marshall has hit 17 of her last 28 3-point attempts over the last eight games.
• Iowa had three scorers in double figures.
• It was 27th time this season Clark has scored 20 or more points, on 8-for-18 shooting. Clark moved over 800 points on the season for the second straight year.
• Kate Martin registered seven points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
• Clark broke the junior single season record at Iowa for the most made 3-pointers. (98)
• Clark extended her streak of scoring in double figures an astounding 83 games, which is a NCAA Division I best.
• Clark has now had at least 25 combined points/rebounds/assists in 82 consecutive games. Only one other Division I player (male or female) in the last 20 years has even had a streak reach 50 games (Courtney Paris, 63).
• Clark has netted a 3-point basket in 49 straight games. She has hit at least one 3-pointer in 90 career games.
• Clark is the only player in the nation with more than 765 points, 210 rebounds, 220 assists, and 40 steals this season.
• Iowa is 21-2 when leading at halftime.
• Monika Czinano becomes the second Hawkeye to collect more than 500 points on the season.
• The Hawkeyes have defeated 19 opponents by double figures this season.
• Iowa is 7-0 this season when allowing 59 or fewer points.
• Iowa was able to win the game despite its second-lowest offense performance of the year with 69 points. 

QUOTING P. SUE BECKWITH, MD, HEAD COACH LISA BLUDER

“What I want to do is thank our fans. I mean, they were amazing. It was Hawkeye Carver Arena North up here. It was amazing to go out there and see all the Hawkeye fans, and we’re so grateful for all that support. Obviously, we needed it today. Purdue came out, gave us a great battle. We shot the ball much better in the second half. I thought Gabbie worked really, really hard on defense. I thought she did a great job for us. We got the ball better in the paint the second half, and I thought that was good. We move on to tomorrow.”

FOLLOW US

Make sure to follow Iowa women’s basketball on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@IowaWBB) for news and updates all season long.

Up Next

The Hawkeyes will await the winner of 3-Seed Maryland/6-Seed Illinois the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament inside the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tipoff for Iowa’s semifinal matchup is set for 4 p.m. (CT) and will broadcast on BTN.

Original source can be found here.