Caitlin Clark, Monika Czinano and Monika Czinano donned championship hats, lowered the nets, and danced with their teammates at midcourt. Again.
Only this Sunday, No. Iowa was the only state to celebrate with confetti flying in the air. It was worth it.
Czinano had 30 points and 10 rebounds. Clark scored 18 points, and the Hawkeyes won their second Big Ten Tournament title. They defeated No. 14 Indiana, 74-67 in Indianapolis. This is the only reason to make it a weekly habit.
After being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Clark stated that “we want to reduce more nets.” “That’s what I said last weekend. So, coming here and moving forward — we’re just hungry to get more.”
The Hawkeyes (23-7), certainly seem to be expecting more victory celebrations.
They have won seven consecutive titles — the first four teams to win a share in the Big Ten regular-season championship since 2008 and the last three to claim the tourney crown. They have won both titles for the first time in school history. Now they will host home games in the first and second rounds.
Coach Lisa Bluder won her third tournament title Sunday and also became the 26th winner in conference tourney play. They did it by relying upon Czinano’s dominant post play in Iowa’s third matchup with the Hoosiers within 16 days.
Czinano is the Indiana coach Terimoren’s favorite player. We tried doubling her and blitzing her but Czinano shoots so fast, that even if you are late for a double, it will make you play.
Czinano won time after time against tired Indiana. It was playing for its fourth straight day, and had played its 13th game in 31 games.
Grace Berger was the winner with 20 points, while Nicole Cardano–Hillary scored 19 for Indiana (22-8). But the Hoosiers prevailed in the conference championship game — the first to not feature Maryland since 2014.
Despite being within 51-48 at the end of three, the Hoosiers fought on after surrendering four points in succession to open the fourth.
With 6:37 remaining, they were at 60-57 after Cardano-Hillary’s 3 pointer. But the Hawkeyes responded with four straight points and didn’t allow the Hoosiers get any closer than four throughout the game.
Czinano stated, “I just processed my last one and now I have another one.” “This team is deserving of it because we have worked so hard.
BIG PICTURE
Indiana: The Hoosiers should have three wins in the first three days to be guaranteed a spot at the NCAA Tournament. Even though they did not win any conference, they will gain momentum for postseason play.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes have been rolling, even though Clark was not scoring as high as he should. Clark was 6-17 from the field, and only had two assists. Iowa won despite Clark’s 6th place finish and only two assists. This is largely due to Czinano’s dominating post play.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Indiana: Indiana wasn’t in danger of losing the Top 25 at the tournament. Their case was strengthened by a run to title and back-toback wins over No. 11 Maryland and No. They may be able to make a case for regaining the Top 10 by using 13 Ohio State.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes moved up nine places last week with a strong regular season finish. They won the league title, which should help them climb into the Top 10 this week. It is unclear how high they can climb.
ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
Clark may have won the tourney’s top prize, but Czinano also received her vote and was elected to the all-tournament roster. Jacy Sheldon also selected Berger and Cardano–Hillary to the team.
STAT PACK
Indiana: Mackenzie Holmes, Aleksa Gulbe and Aleksa Cardano-Hillary each scored 11 points. Gulbe, Cardano–Hillary, and Berger each had seven rebounds, while Holmes had six. Berger also had four assists. .. The Hoosiers were back in the title game for the second time since 2002, when they won it.
Iowa: Clark had seven rebounds. Kate Martin scored 14 points and had a career-high of eight assists. … The Hawkeyes were 2 out of 14 when it came to 3-pointers. Iowa was seeded No. In all three of its championship runs, it was seeded No.
UP NEXT
Indiana: We are awaiting the release of next Sunday’s NCAA Tournament pairings.
Iowa: They’ll find out who their host will be when the NCAA Tournament announces its brackets next Sunday.
