The Iowa Women’s basketball team defeated Purdue Boilermakers 79-66, at Mackey Arena yesterday evening. It’s their first time winning back-to-back games since November when they started the season 4-0 and it marks back-to-back road wins in Big Ten play.

“We’ve had two road wins in a row. It’s tough to win on the road in the Big Ten,” said Lisa Bluder. “To come in here and get a double-digit win after they’ve won five in a row, it’s really something.”

The Hawkeyes were led by Monika Czinano’s 27 points and eight rebounds on 12/14 shooting from the floor. Caitlin Clark added 24 points, scoring the major of her points at the free throw line (14/16). Gabbie Marshall added nine points and McKenna Warnock led the team with 11 rebounds.

The Hawkeyes led 18-13 after the first quarter, but a Boilermakers 10-4 run gave them a 23-22 lead early in the second quarter. An Iowa 9-2 run to end the half gave them a 37-30 cushion going into the break and they would ride that lead through the entire second half.

The Hawkeyes were able to win the game despite going 0/15 as a team from behind the 3pt line and it came from a solid defensive performance. The defense held Purdue to 6/23 (26.1%) from behind the arc and 36.5% from the floor.

“We found a different way to win tonight. Our threes weren’t falling. Monika just tore it up in the paint,” said Bluder. “Obviously, when something isn’t working you must find another way to win, and we did that tonight and I’m proud of their effort because of that.”

The Hawkeyes next game up is a home contest against Nebraska. It is a rematch game, after Iowa defeated the Cornhuskers 95-86 in Lincoln last Sunday. The game is at 5:00pm and will be televised on Big Ten Network. Fans attending the game are encouraged to wear black for the annual blackout game.