Clark, Czinano help No. 12 Iowa women hold off N. Iowa 88-74

Updated Dec. 18, 2022 5:05 p.m. ET

Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark made up for a tough shooting day by making 13 of 14 free throws and scoring 26 points and No. 12 Iowa used a big advantage at the foul line to defeat Northern Iowa 88-74 on Sunday.

Iowa (9-3) took the lead with an 11-0 run in the middle of the second quarter but struggled to put away the Panthers (5-4), who pushed ranked Iowa State to the buzzer a month ago before losing 88-85.

Northern Iowa was within eight points with 3 1/2 minutes to play but Clark and Monika Czinano made two baskets each the rest of the way and the Panthers missed their last five shots.

Czinano finished with 22 points, making 10 of 11 free throws. The Hawkeyes finished 28 of 41 from the line.

Clark was 1 of 7 from 3-point range and 6 of 17 overall but had eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. She is within seven points of reaching 2,000 for her career. Czinano, who shoots 64% from the field, was 6 of 14. The Hawkeyes were 6 of 22 behind the arc and shot 43.5%.

Grace Boffeli scored 16 points and Maya McDermott 15 for the Panthers, who outrebounded Iowa 42-35 but lost the turnover battle.

Northern Iowa led by five early in the second quarter. Clark hit a 3 and made a pair of free throws before Gabbie Marshall and Molly Davis hit 3s for an 11-0 run and 31-24 lead for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa is home against Dartmouth on Wednesday before resuming Big Ten play against Purdue on the 29th.

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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