For the second time this season, the Iowa women’s basketball team trounced Wisconsin, 91-61, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday.

The Hawkeyes, who dropped from fifth to seventh in the AP Poll on Monday, came off a 111-57 win over Rutgers on Sunday. They last met the Badgers in Madison, Wisconsin, on Dec. 4 and came out with a win, 102-71.

This time, they outscored Wisconsin, 48-14, in the paint and shot 77 percent from inside the three.

Junior guard Caitlin Clark was strong all game, finishing with 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field and 4-for-7 from deep, including six rebounds and eight assists. She again boasted her passing abilities, finding senior forward McKenna Warnock in transition with a one-arm cross-court pass through the Wisconsin defense for a layup.

During the game, Clark became the first player in Big Ten Conference history to rank in the top 10 in both points and assists.

“I think I just took what they gave me tonight,” Clark said. “I think that’s been a focus for me the last two games … because we’re going to need everybody down the stretch if we want to go where we want to go.”

The Hawkeyes’ win puts them at 21-5 overall and 13-2 in the conference — 1.5 games behind Big Ten-leading Indiana.

Warnock stays strong after injury

Warnock finished with 16 points, her best effort since being sidelined with a rib injury Jan. 18.

“McKenna had a really good game,” Bluder said. “We really need her. She’s just tough … she does whatever we need her to do [and guards] whoever we need her to guard.”

Hawkeye posts reign supreme

Fifth-year senior center Monika Czinano had 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field, as well as six rebounds and three assists.

Freshman center Hannah Stuelke continued her strong freshman campaign, reigning supreme in the paint with seven rebounds and nine points — including a smooth spin move into a step-through layup. She shot 3-for-4 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.

“Monika is truly one of the best posts in the country … and Hannah’s on her way to becoming that,” Bluder said. “I think she’s going to be a tremendous player. It’s nice to have her coming off the bench. What a spark coming off the bench.”

Iowa overcomes slow start

The Badgers took a 12-5 lead early, shooting confidently from beyond the arc, but the Hawkeyes quickly shut them out on a 21-4 run to close the quarter. The Badgers shot 24-for-59 in the game as the Hawkeyes outrebounded them, 33-24, and forced 16 turnovers.

“Maybe we need to be a little more tuned defensively early to begin with,” Bluder said. “We had a couple of turnovers early … Nobody panicked; nobody got worried or anything like that. It’s just like, ‘Okay, let’s go to work.’”

Iowa strengthened its lead throughout the rest of the game, outscoring Wisconsin in every quarter. Bluder sat the starters halfway through the fourth quarter, and the bench rode the lead out to the win.

Up next

The Hawkeyes travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to battle the Cornhuskers on Saturday. Nebraska currently sits at 14-12 overall and 6-9 in the Big Ten.

The teams last squared off in Iowa City on Jan. 28. The Hawkeyes escaped with a win, 80-76, behind Clark’s 33-point performance.