Clark, Czinano lead No. 7 Iowa over Wisconsin, 91-61

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark scored 24 points and Monika Czinano had 19 as No. 7 Iowa defeated Wisconsin 91-61 on Wednesday night.

McKenna Warnock added 16 points for the Hawkeyes (21-5, 13-2 Big Ten), who beat the Badgers (8-19, 3-12) for the 27th consecutive time. Iowa, which is in second place in the Big Ten, won for the 10th time in 11 games and moved within one game of conference leader Indiana.

The Hawkeyes, who lead the nation in scoring at 88.5 points per game, shot 64.3% from the field, taking advantage of the Badgers shadowing Clark on the perimeter. Iowa had 48 points in the paint.


Wisconsin guard Maty Wilke, right, looks to pass as Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke defends during an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)

Julie Pospisilova led Wisconsin with 16 points. Maty Wilke had 10.

Clark was 9 of 12 from the field, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers. She had eight assists and five rebounds while playing just 29 minutes as the Hawkeyes went deep into their bench in the fourth quarter.

Czinano, who was the nation’s leader in field-goal percentage the last two seasons and ranks third this season, was 8 of 11 from the field. She added six rebounds.

Iowa had a 14-0 run in the first quarter to erase an early Wisconsin lead. The Hawkeyes led 48-28 at halftime, and their biggest lead was 86-53 in the fourth quarter.

BIG PICTURE

Wisconsin: The Badgers stretched their defense to keep Clark from shooting deep 3-pointers, but that opened up the inside and the Hawkeyes took advantage. The Badgers have their youngest roster in 16 seasons, and it showed.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes kept pace with Indiana, which plays Thursday at home against Michigan. In its two games since losing to the Hoosiers on Feb. 9, Iowa outscored Rutgers and Wisconsin by 84 points. The Hawkeyes, who played two of their last three games on the road, topped the 90-point mark for the fourth time in their last five games.

UP NEXT:

Wisconsin: Hosts Rutgers on Monday.

Iowa: At Nebraska on Saturday.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25