INDIANAPOLIS — The No. 6 seeded Iowa women’s basketball team got off to a good start in 2021 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament with a 83-72 win over No. 11 seeded Purdue at Bankers Life Fieldhouse Wednesday night.

Iowa is now 16-8 on the 2020-21 season, and this was its second win over Purdue this season. The Hawkeyes beat the Boilermakers, 87-81, on Jan. 18.

The Hawkeyes got their first points on the board with a Gabbie Marshall 3-pointer with 8:50 to go in the first quarter. But the Hawkeyes cooled off from there, as they only made three field goals by the under-five minute timeout, where the Boilermakers led, 11-7.

Fortunately for the Hawkeyes, their defense held steady as it gave up only four points until the end of the quarter, helping them to a 17-15 lead. The Hawkeyes offense picked it up and Caitlin Clark scored her first points of a game a buzzer-beater 3-pointer. Purdue called a timeout with 8:37 left in the second quarter after Iowa scored four points quickly from Monika Czinano and Clark.

The Hawkeyes did extend their lead to nine points after that timeout, but then the Boilermakers started coming back and got a 36-34 lead with under two minutes left in the half. But Clark made three free throws on two separate occasions to give Iowa a 37-36 lead at halftime.

After halftime, The Hawkeyes and Boilermakers played even for sometime, as the Hawkeyes led, 45-44, at the under-5. minute timeout. The Hawkeyes then separated from the Boilermakers, as they got a 56-52 lead at the end of the third quarter. Iowa shot 50 percent from the field in the quarter, while Purdue shot 37.5 percent.

Purdue did take a one point lead twice in the fourth quarter, but Iowa stormed back and was up, 69-61, at the 5:52 mark of the fourth quarter. Though the Boilermakers fought hard, it wasn’t enough to take over the in-sync Hawkeyes who were firing on all cylinders in the final minutes of the game.

Iowa will face No.3 seeded Rutgers Thursday at approximately 8 p.m. on FS2 in the quarterfinals. The Hawkeyes defeated the Scarlet Knights, 90-84, on Dec. 31 in the team’s only matchup of the season.

Czinano sets career-high in single-game points 

The junior center made it look easy against Purdue’s post defense as she finished the night with 38 points. She went 16-of-18 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Her previous high in for a single game was 34 points. She also had nine rebounds.

Clark struggles early but picks it up in her first collegiate postseason game 

The Big Ten Freshman of the Year started 0-for-6 from the field but then finished the first half with 11 points, five rebounds, and five assists. She proceeded to finish the night in typical Clark fashion with 27  points, nine  assists, and seven rebounds

Hawkeyes need little production from bench 

Freshman Sharon Goodman was the only Hawkeye bench player with points in the game, and she got those two points in the first half. The Hawkeyes only played eight players during the game, and the bench players combined for five rebounds and one assist.