Clark, Czinano Lift No. 25 Hawkeye Women Past Gophers 88-78
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark scored 32 points and No. 25 Iowa scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to pull out an 88-78 win over Minnesota on Wednesday night.
Monika Czinano scored six of her 23 points in that run, which included a three-point play by Clark, to help the Hawkeyes open a 73-61 lead after entering the final quarter with a 62-61 advantage. Czinano had 12 in the quarter.
Tomi Taiwo matched her career hig h with 14 points for Iowa (16-6, 10-3 Big Ten Conference), which won the first meeting this season 105-49, the fewest points the Gophers ever scored in a league game and the Hawkeyes' largest margin of victory in league. Kate Martin added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Clark, coming off a 46-point outing in a loss to Michigan that earned her player of the week honors and a shoutout from Kevin Durant on a podcast, had eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block.
Deja Winters, a graduate transfer from North Carolina A&T who played her first two years at Seton Hall, had a career-high 30 points with five 3-pointers for the Golden Gophers (11-14, 4-9), who have lost six straight in the series. Sara Scalia added 23 points and seven rebounds.
Iowa opened a 13-point lead on a Kylie Feuerbach 3-pointer in the middle of the second quarter but Scalia scored eight straight, including consecutive 3-pointers, to help Minnesota get within 42-37 at the half.
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