Minnesota (5-8, 4-7 Big Ten) saw its three-game win streak come to an end Sunday in a 94-68 loss to NR/RV Iowa (10-4, 6-4 B1G) at Williams Arena.
Sophomore Sara Scalia led the way for the Golden Gophers with a team-high 16 points, while fellow sophomore Jasmine Powell also reached double figures with 12 points. It was Powell’s 15th straight game with at least 11 points, and she added five rebounds and five assists.
Klarke Sconiers, also a sophomore, pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to go with five points. Not only did her total surpass the eight rebounds she had against both Michigan State and Eastern Illinois, but they were the most by a Gophers player this season. Seven of her rebounds came on the offensive end, also the most by a Gopher this season, and they led to six points.
Like in the first meeting between the schools, Minnesota hung tough with the Hawkeyes in the first half only to see Iowa pull away in the third quarter.
Sunday, neither team led by more than six in a tight first quarter as Iowa led 21-17 after the first 10 minutes. The Hawkeyes’ lead grew to 14 points in the second quarter at 43-29 with 2:29 to play in the opening half. The Gophers finished the first half with momentum though as they closed out the second quarter on a 12-4 run.
Scalia scored seven of the team’s 12 points during the stretch, highlighted by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as Powell broke the Iowa press and found Scalia for one of her two 3-pointers as the horn sounded. Minnesota trailed 47-41 at intermission.
In the third quarter, the Gophers got within five at 50-45 but Iowa went on a 16-2 run to take control of the game. The Hawkeyes outscored the Gophers, 28-8, in the frame to mark the second-lowest point total in a quarter for Minnesota this year.
Leading 73-49 through three quarters, Iowa extended its run to 38-10 into the fourth. The final quarter did allow for members of the Minnesota bench to get playing time and freshman Caroline Strande responded with seven points and an assist in five minutes of playing time, while fellow freshman Katie Borowicz notched a 3-pointer and two assists in the fourth.
Iowa’s Monika Czinano led all scorers with 23 points, while Caitlin Clark and McKenna Warnock each posted double-doubles. Clark finished with 22 points and 11 assists, and Warnock had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Minnesota’s next scheduled contest was supposed to be Feb. 4 at Michigan, but that game has been postponed due to the shutdown of the Wolverines’ athletic department. The Gophers will instead take the floor again on Feb. 7 at Ohio State with tipoff coming at noon CT on BTN Plus.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)