Behind 26 points from junior guard Caitlin Clark and 22 from fifth-year forward Monika Czinano, the No. 12 Iowa women’s basketball team defeated the Northern Iowa Panthers, 88-74, Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The two teams traded blows for much of the first half and Iowa went into the locker room with a 46-39 lead. 

The Hawkeyes’ advantage grew to 69-56 by the end of the third quarter, but the Panthers cut the margin to five points with 7:05 remaining. 

In those final minutes, however, Iowa outscored UNI, 22-3, and forced five of UNI’s 20 turnovers.

“I thought that our game today was OK,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “It wasn’t our best performance of the year. But some of the good things, 21 assists on 11 turnovers, we forced 20 turnovers, so that was good.”

The Hawkeyes rode 26 points off Panther turnovers and a 28-of-31 performance at the free-throw line to a win Sunday, as they did not shoot particularly well from the field. 

Iowa was held to 45.3 percent from the floor and 27.7 percent from beyond the arc. 

“We didn’t shoot the ball as well as we’re capable of, except for the free throw line, did a great job of getting to the free throw line,” Bluder said. “I mean, you know, when your shot’s not falling, it’s a great thing to do. They got into a little bit of foul trouble, and so we just wanted to keep going after them that way.”

Iowa drew 25 fouls on UNI players and UNI drew only 14 on Hawkeyes.

Hawkeyes end regular season undefeated against in-state foes

Iowa’s victory over Northern Iowa on Sunday propelled the Hawkeyes over their third and final in-state rival this season. 

Iowa previously defeated Drake, 92-86, in overtime on Nov. 13 in Des Moines, and beat then-10th-ranked Iowa State, 70-57, on Dec. 7 in Iowa City.

“I’m happy that we’re state champs,” Bluder said. “When you think of the quality of competition in this state between Iowa State, UNI, and Drake, and sweep them all, it’s a tough thing to do. So I’m very proud of the team for doing that.”

Czinano, who has swept Iowa opponents in three of her five seasons as a Hawkeye, said, coming from Minnesota, she didn’t realize the level of competition in Iowa.

“When I got here, I definitely didn’t realize kind of what Iowa had and the great teams in Iowa I get to go against,” Czinano said. “So it’s a huge accomplishment.”

Clark, a West Des Moines native, said her home state has some of the best teams of any state in the nation. 

“We’ve been tested in all three games and really been challenged,” Clark said. “And I think that’s a credit to our coaches. We don’t have to play UNI, Drake, Iowa State, but we want to. That’s what’s so great about Iowa women’s basketball, we want competition. And I think competition in our state is probably the best around the country. 

“You’re very familiar with the girls on the other side of the ball, and that’s what makes it really fun, too. I give a lot of credit to those programs. They’re very talented, very skilled, they represent basketball in the state of Iowa very well.”

With the win, the Hawkeyes move to 9-3 on the season, and the Panthers fall to 5-4.

Up next

Iowa will take on Dartmouth on Dec. 21 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes’ final nonconference matchup of the season against the Big Green will tip off at 2:01 p.m.