Hawkeyes Have A Laugher, And They Needed It
It was one long comedy monologue that started when the lights went off in the press room.
“We’ve never had that happen before,” Iowa women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder said as her players started laughing.
Sunday’s 97-71 win over Wisconsin at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was fun and worth a lot of chuckles, and the Hawkeyes needed that.
They were coming off a 34-point loss at Maryland in a game where they lost shared possession of the Big Ten lead with the Terrapins.
The Hawkeyes (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten) still have a chance to win the conference title, but it wasn’t going to happen if they would stumble again, this time at home.
Instead, they dominated the Badgers (11-15, 3-12), leading all but 14 seconds of the game.
“Definitely a good bounce-back game,” said guard Kathleen Doyle, who led the Hawkeyes with 22 points.
The Hawkeyes also got 20 points from freshman McKenna Warnock, who grew up in Marshall, Wis., not that far from the Wisconsin campus in Madison.
Warnock noted the irony, how she was playing for one of the Badgers’ rivals.
“It’s really exciting to play them,” she said. “They’re always fun to play.”
“And we’re glad she chose us,” Bluder said.
Warnock, who was 6-of-8 shooting, had a career-high four 3-pointers.
“It was the passes from my teammates,” Warnock said. “You can’t hit four open threes if you don’t get the ball.”
“I think she’s a vital link on our team,” said center Monika Czinano, who had 19 points. “Especially coming off the bench, it’s not easy. I think everybody knows that. She’s a great rebounder, great scorer. Just a great all-around teammate.
“And again, we’re really happy she chose us.”
More laughs.
Doyle, Iowa’s leading scorer, was the catalyst again for this offense. She was 7-of-14 from the field, and added five assists and five rebounds.
Which is why the arena got silent for just a minute when she was injured in front of the Wisconsin bench.
“I just ran into a screen,” Doyle said, adding with a smile, “Hard.”
Czinano, who leads the nation in field-goal percentage at .701, was 8-of-11 shooting.
Like Warnock, Czinano credited the Hawkeyes’ passing.
“There’s a couple that I couldn’t have passed it to myself as good as they passed it,” Czinano said.
Doyle giggled at that remark.
“We hope she doesn’t try to pass it to herself,” Bluder said, the final punch line on a fun day.
