Clark, defense lead Iowa to halftime lead over Kentucky
Iowa is up 27 points at halftime, 49-22, against Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
March 23, 2021
SAN ANTONIO – Sharon Goodman’s rally towel is being put to good use.
The freshman center waves the towel on the sidelines whenever the Hawkeyes make a basket, and Iowa made 20 field goals to take a 49-22 lead at halftime in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa held Kentucky to just 11 points in the first quarter, and the Hawkeyes’ stout defense forced the Wildcats to miss their first eight shot attempts.
At halftime, Kentucky is shooting 8-of-37 from the field for a 21.6 percent shooting percentage. Iowa is shooting 20-of-33, good for 60 percent from the field.
Freshman Caitlin Clark is leading all scorers, and matched Kentucky’s first quarter point total, scoring 11 points in 10 minutes. She eclipsed Kentucky’s total by halftime, with 24 points. She also tacked on five rebounds and four assists.
She came to play! @CaitlinClark22 making an early statement @IowaWBB#ncaaW pic.twitter.com/kAq9AtaqtE
— NCAA Women’s Basketball (@ncaawbb) March 23, 2021
Junior center Monika Czinano also hit double figures in the first half, with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
The winner of this game will advance to the Sweet 16 to play the winner of No. 1 UConn/No. 8 Syracuse.
The game is being aired on ESPNU.