Iowa women’s basketball shot the lights out, put up a program record 115 points, and allowed just 62 against Evansville in the Hawkeyes’ second win of the season on Thursday.

“You don’t score the most points ever by walking the ball down the floor,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “I mean, you’ve got to run, you got to play fast.”

The Hawkeyes set their previous record against Illinois two years ago, putting up 108 points.

Bluder said her team’s shooting also allowed them to break the 2-year-old record. The Hawkeyes shot over 60 percent from the floor and 50 percent from the arc.

The one place Iowa struggled was the free throw line, where the Hawkeyes went 21-for-32.

“We did a great job on the boards, both offensively and defensively,” Bluder said. “We owned the paint tonight. I always love to see that.”

Big Picture

Bluder emptied her bench on Monday, getting young players and backups substantial minutes.

Among them was freshman Hannah Stuelke, who put up 14 points on the night with seven rebounds. She went 6-for-7 from the floor.

“She doesn’t know how good she can be,” junior point guard Caitlin Clark said of Stuelke. “I think her potential is through the roof, and I think everybody on our team sees that. It’s just getting her to see that in herself.”

Clark went on to say Stuelke might be the most athletic player the Hawkeyes have had during her time with the program.

“She gives us something that we haven’t had, and I think we need to use it to the best of our ability,” Clark said.

Clark notches first double-double of season

Clark started the night with involvement in all of Iowa’s first 18 points before she subbed out of the game at the 3:52 mark of the first quarter. 

While Clark only played 22 minutes, she recorded her first double-double of the season with 26 points, 12 assists, two steals, and five rebounds.

“She is who she is,” Evansville head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells said of Clark. “That combination of those two [Clark and Czinano] together, it’s probably the best duo in the country.”

Aces struggle from the floor

Evansville couldn’t find the net on Thursday. The Aces shot 20-for-60 from the floor, and shot 6-for-25 from beyond the arc.

Evansville also struggled at the free throw line, shooting 16-for-25.

Hawkeyes start fast

Iowa started the game by going on an 18-4 run, shooting 10-for-15 from the floor, and finishing the first quarter with a 26-7 lead.

The start was the opposite of what happened Monday against Southern, where the Hawkeyes shot 4-for-12 from the floor and 0-for-8 beyond the arc for just 15 points.

“When you go back and watch the film against Southern, we kind of realized they weren’t crashing, which kind of slowed down our transition offense quite a bit,” Clark said. “When we get to that, that is our best offense. Every team knows that. So I think when we kind of executed that and played defense, and got the ball inside to [center Monika Czinano], it just felt a lot better.”

The onslaught continued in the second quarter, with Iowa scoring 28 more points and allowing 16, putting the score at 54-23 going into halftime.

Czinano gets more shots

Czinano scored 23 points and went 10-for-14 from the floor on Thursday night..

The abundant looks Czinano got on Thursday are a stark contrast to Monday’s game against Southern, in which the fifth-year senior had only four shot attempts and shot 4-for-5 from the line for 10 points.

Bluder said getting the ball inside to Czinano was a point of emphasis leading up to the game. The Hawkeyes ended the game with 62 points in the paint.

“We want to get the ball to Monika,” Bluder said. “I mean, we got one of the best posts in the country. We better learn how to use her.”