No. 5 Iowa women’s basketball couldn’t silence the 13,046 fans at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, on Thursday night, falling to No. 2 Indiana, 87-78.

The Hawkeyes and Hoosiers stayed knotted throughout the first three quarters of the game, exchanging the lead 14 times. Indiana pulled away in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 11 in the nine-point victory.

“Coming in here, what a great environment to start out,” assistant coach Raina Harmon said postgame on the Hawkeye Radio Network. “… But to be able to come into a place like this and play the No. 2 team on their home court to a nine-point game in front of 13,000 fans, this is the moment you live for. Fortunately, we get another shot at them.”

Both the Hawkeyes and the Hoosiers had to work through foul trouble in the fourth quarter. Indiana starters Yarden Garzon, who scored eight points, and Sydney Parrish, who totaled nine points, both foiled out with less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Iowa fifth-year senior Monika Czinano also fouled out in the final minutes of the game, finishing with just just six points on 3-of-6 shooting. Guards Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin and forward McKenna Warnock all finished the game with four fouls.

“Monika fouling out did not help us, I think it took a lot of wind out of our sails,” head coach Lisa Bluder said on the Hawkeye Radio Network.

Clark led all scorers on Thursday night, registering 35 points, four rebounds, and 10 assists. The All-American struggled from the 3-point line, however, going just 3-of-11.

“We did not shoot the 3-ball well at all today,” Bluder said. “They’re 50 percent, we’re 26 percent, that’s really just kind of the story of the game.”

Big Picture

Indiana snapped a three-game losing streak to Iowa on Thursday night. The Hawkeyes took down the Hoosiers twice in the 2021-22 regular season to help clinch a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship and again in the conference championship game to win the Big Ten Tournament.

“We’re both trying to establish dominance, No. 2 vs. No. 5,” Harmon said. “They really had it out for us considering how it played out last season. We knew that coming in to the game.”

Iowa’s loss cements Indiana at the top of the Big Ten women’s basketball standings. The Hoosiers are 23-1 overall and 13-1 in conference, while the Hawkeyes are firmly in second place with a 19-5 overall and 11-2 Big Ten record.

The Hawkeyes will have a chance to avenge their loss when the Hoosiers travel to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the final game of the regular season on Feb. 26.

Hawkeyes struggle with turnovers, free-throw shooting

Iowa’s free-throw shooting left something to be desired on Thursday night, as the Hawkeyes went just 12-of-23 from the free-throw line against the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall.

Clark led the Hawkeyes with an 8-of-11 mark from the charity stripe, but freshman Hannah Stuelke didn’t make any of her eight shots from the line.

“Hannah, she’s going to sleep on this one for a while, missing those free throws,” Harmon said. “… She goes 100 percent from the floor though, you can’t really ask for more than that.”

Clark also turned the ball over eight times on Thursday, contributing to the Hawkeyes 18-turnover total. Indiana scored 14 points off Iowa’s turnovers.

“We started out the game with just way too many turnovers, and ended with 18 turnovers to their 12,” Bluder said. “That gives them more possessions to shoot the basketball.”

Up next

Iowa will return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday to take on Rutgers. The Hawkeyes and Terrapins will tip off at 2 p.m and the game will air on FS1.