January 6th

Iowa was 7-4 on the season, after a loss to Northwestern at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Disappointed fans quietly streamed out of the arena following the loss and the Hawkeyes subsequently fell out of the AP Poll after a preseason #9 ranking.

“This is a tough loss. You’re on your home court in the Big Ten and going against a younger team and just don’t perform well in the second half,” said Lisa Bluder after the loss.

59 days later, that same Iowa team is celebrating in confetti and cutting down the nets at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, after sweeping the Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Titles.

“We went on the road to Nebraska right after that and our season could have really gone one of two ways,” said Caitlin Clark. “We could have gone in there and hung our heads, but I think the biggest thing was, we continued to battle no matter what.”

On a day where Indiana was able to hold Caitlin Clark below 20 points, the Hawkeyes got huge performances form Monika Czinano and Kate Martin to help lift them to victory. The 74-67 win allowed the Hawkeyes to claim their second Big Ten trophy in a week span and they become the first team in Iowa history to win the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in the same season.

“It feels phenomenal, I can’t even describe it,” said Czinano. “Ever since I got here and even beyond that, you’ve been training for games like this…This team really deserves it and I’m just so happy for everyone involved.”

The Hawkeyes will take a 23-7 record and a seven-game win streak into the NCAA Tournament, where they are expected to be a #3 seed and host a regional at a packed Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Monika Czinano got off to a hot start, scoring ten of the Hawkeyes first 14 points and it would be a sign of things to come for the senior from Watertown, MN. Iowa had to weather a Hoosiers 10-2 run, but ended the opening quarter with an 18-16 lead. From a turnover standpoint, it was a much cleaner start than they had in the previous games leading up to today.

“They got off to the first lead in this game and we battled back and took a two-point lead going into the quarter break,” said Coach Lisa Bluder. “We valued the ball today. I think we had 21 assists to 11 turnovers and the last time we played them we gave them 30 points off of turnovers…Lesson learned; we took it forward to today. Really glad that we valued the ball today.”

Iowa held their lead into halftime, despite just ten points from their star player Caitlin Clark, who had to deal with the Hoosiers in your face defense all afternoon. She was held to just 18 points on 6/17 shooting, but that allowed other players on the court to carry the load.

“Certainly, she is great defender,” said Clark on being guarded by Cardano-Hillary. “I didn’t bring the ball up much, just because she does pick up basically the full length of the court…That’s why she is on the All-Big Ten Defensive Team.”

The Hawkeyes entered the fourth quarter with a 51-48 lead, as the Hoosiers kept things close with 16 points from Grace Berger, while Nicole Cardano-Hillary had 12.

In the final quarter, it was Monika Czinano and Kate Martin who scored all of the big baskets for the Hawkeyes. Caitlin Clark made two free throws to open the scoring, but that was all she was able to muster. Czinano and Martin combined for 15 of the Hawkeyes next 17 points, including a basket by Monika to put them up 70-63 with just 2:40 to play.

“Our team does a great job of feeding whoever is successful in that moment,” said Czinano. “From the beginning, I got some good looks, and our team did a great job of just feeding it and feeding it.”

The Hawkeyes were able to hold on from there to secure the victory and confetti rained down from the ceiling, igniting a second celebration in seven days. Monika Czinano was incredible, logging a double-double, scoring 30 points on 13/18 shooting, while also grabbing ten rebounds. During the Hawkeyes seven game win streak, Monika has scored 168 points (24.0 ppg) on 72/93 (77.4%) shooting from the floor, while also grabbing 42 rebounds.

“We didn’t shoot the three well today, so we had to go inside,” said Bluder. “Whether that was getting the ball inside on the drive or getting in to Monika. She’s just an amazing player and she just goes so hard all the time and I love her growth from her freshman year to now…I’m thankful I have one of the best field goal percentage shooters in the country wearing a Hawkeye jersey.”

Kate Martin had another double-digit scoring night with 14 points, four rebounds and eight assists. Her contributions all weekend were huge with Gabbie Marshall and McKenna Warnock staying quiet for the most part.

Now eyes turn to the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes are expected to be a #3 seed, which would mean a matchup against a #14 seed in the first round, but more importantly, it means more games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa will be a regional host and will potentially have home court advantage for two games in the tournament.

“Hawkeye fans have always been amazing,” said Bluder. “We broke the NCAA record for attendance for the first and second rounds, three years ago when we hosted…I think we are going to beat that this time. I think we’re going to break another record.”

The selection show will be next Sunday at 7:00pm on ESPN. The Hawkeyes will find out what three teams will join them at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the first two rounds of the tournament, but there is a slight concern going forward. While Iowa is playing their best basketball of the season right now, it will almost be two weeks before they play their first game of the tournament, and it is important to stay as fresh as possible leading up to the opener.

“That’s always a little bit of a battle, a double-edged sword, you love having this break because you’re exhausted right now. Our team needs a break desperately,” said Bluder. “We have to worry about being rusty because you don’t play for two weeks.”

Bluder says they will do a lot of scrimmaging, including bringing in officials and running the scoreboard, just to keep that game mindset going. The Hawkeyes are 3-3 in the first two games after a break of 10+ days this season.

Even with the NCAA Tournament ahead, Coach Lisa Bluder will have to take the next couple of days to decide where to put the two new Big Ten trophies in her office.