No. 25 Iowa women’s basketball took down Minnesota, 88-78, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday.

Sophomore point guard Caitlin Clark followed her 46-point performance against Michigan on Sunday with another solid game against the Golden Gophers. Clark finished with 32 points while shooting 50 percent from the field and 3-point range.

She also racked up a block and three steals while helping the Hawkeyes force 12 Golden Gopher turnovers.

Senior center Monika Czinano recorded her 13th 20-point game of the season, dropping 23 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Overall, the Hawkeyes struggled on the offensive glass. They were outrebounded by the Gophers, 15-9, offensively.

Gopher guard Deja Winters also helped Minnesota keep the game close, dropping a season-high 30 points on the Hawkeyes. Winters also finished with five steals.

“I mean, she averages 11, she has 30 today. She just had a really great game,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “She did a really good job, and she made some hard shots. I thought she made some really difficult shots, some hard floaters, and some threes with people in her face. So, give her credit.”

Big Picture 

Compared to the Hawkeyes’ first game against the Golden Gophers this season, Iowa struggled. Iowa blew out Minnesota, 105-49, at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Jan. 20. 

The Gophers kept the game close on Wednesday, as the Hawkeyes brought just a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.

“It wasn’t the same game as it was up in Minnesota,” Bluder said. “I think Minnesota came in and played much better than they did up there at their place.”

But the Hawkeyes scraped out a win, and now sit at 16-6 overall on the season with a Big Ten record of 10-3. Iowa is tied for third in the Big Ten with Maryland behind Michigan and Indiana.

Marshall returns

Junior guard Gabbie Marshall returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday after missing two straight games with a shoulder injury.

In 26 minutes, Marshall hit one 3-pointer while also grabbing two rebounds and dishing out one assist.

“It was good,” Bluder said of Marshall’s performance. “I mean, she didn’t get as many minutes as she normally does, but we didn’t want her to play 35 minutes in this game. We wanted to kind of bring her in a little bit slower. It was good just to have her back and to have the depth.”

Up next

Iowa will host No. 15 Maryland on Monday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Maryland has a record of 17-6 on the 2021-22 campaign.

Both teams have Big Ten records of 10-3 on the season, and whoever comes out victorious will be in sole possession of third place in the Big Ten Conference.

The Terrapins are led by guard Angel Reese, who is averaging 17.5 points per game on the season.

The game will tip off at Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 8 p.m on Monday. It will also be aired on ESPN2.