No. 16 Iowa women’s basketball recovered well from its first conference loss with a 94-85 win  at No. 14 Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday.

The Hawkeyes shot lights out, going 59.4 percent from the field. The Hawkeyes’ 94 points is the most any opponent has laid on the Wolverines this season.

Iowa trailed at the end of the first quarter, but the Hawkeyes went on to outscore or equal the Wolverines in every quarter that followed.

“In the first five minutes, it was just unbelievable how we were turning the ball over,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “But again, once we settled down, once we got used to their defense, then we went in and shot the ball extremely well.”

Junior guard Caitlin Clark put up her usual numbers with 28 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and four turnovers. What the junior lacked in assist-to-turnover ratio, however, she made up for with a high field goal percentage. Clark went 10-for-17 from the floor on the night and made 6-of-7 free throws.

Fifth-year senior center Monika Czinano also got her fair share of touches, scoring 19 points and getting a team-leading and career-high eight assists. She shot 7-of-9 from the field and made all five of her free throws.

The Wolverines came close to the Hawkeyes with 30 seconds to go, cutting Iowa’s lead to five. The Hawkeyes had the game well in hand, though, and closed the game with a pair of free throws from senior Molly Davis and a layup from Czinano. 

Big Picture

Sunday’s win is the Hawkeyes’ second against a ranked opponent and their first Big Ten road win.

Now 4-1 in the conference, Iowa is back in the Big Ten’s top five. Ohio State is the only remaining Big Ten team with an undefeated conference record.

Martin has explosive third quarter

Fifth-year senior Kate Martin scored 10 points with two rebounds and one assist on the day — and all of it came in the third quarter. 

In the quarter, she shot 4-of-6. Her most impressive sequence came with about three minutes left in the third, when she completed a 3-point play with a layup and a free throw and followed it up with a 3-pointer.

In the other quarters, Martin shot 0-for-2 with three turnovers.

Laila Phelia starts strong, then disappears

Michigan’s Laila Phelia scored 14 points in the first quarter. She shot 5-of-8, made both of her 3-point attempts, and both of her free throws.

Phelia went on to miss all six of her field goal attempts in the last three quarters and only scored two more points from free throws.

Bluder said the Hawkeyes got their zone defense to work in the second quarter, which proved to be a difference maker.

“She’s just a tremendous player and she gets downhill so quickly, but I thought we did a good job of making her work for her points today,” Bluder said.

Warnock continues good shooting form

Senior forward McKenna Warnock shot 4-of-6 from the 3-point line on Saturday, putting her at 13-for-18 from beyond the arc in the last three games.

Warnock said after missing last year’s game against Michigan with an injury, it felt good to put up the performance she did on Saturday.

“It was a really good way to come back,” Warnock said.

What’s Next?

Iowa will be back at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday to host Northwestern. The Wildcats have yet to win a conference game and will face Indiana on Sunday before arriving in Iowa City.