IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Caitlin Clark had 22 points and 12 assists, while Monika Czinano added 20 points to help Iowa beat Georgia 74-66 in a women’s NCAA Tournament second-round game Sunday.
The Hawkeyes (28-6), the No. 2 seed in the Seattle Regional 4, advance to the ninth Sweet Sixteen in program history.
Gabbie Marshall added 15 points and McKenna Warnock had 14 for Iowa, which erased the memory of last season’s second-round home loss to No. 10 Creighton.
Clark, a first-team Associated Press All-American, was held scoreless for 13 minutes in the first half but scored 14 points in the second half as the Hawkeyes finally shook off the 10th-seeded Lady Bulldogs (22-12). She made just 6 of 17 shots, but either scored or assisted on nearly every point by the Hawkeyes in the second half.
Georgia, a No. 10 seed, got within 68-66 on an Audrey Warren 3-pointer with 2:17 left in the game, but the Lady Bulldogs would not score again, committing three straight turnovers and missing a layup.
Iowa led by as many as 10 points in the first half behind Marshall and Warnock, who combined for five 3-pointers to open the second quarter. But a 14-3 run by the Lady Bulldogs gave them a 35-34 lead, and it took a late surge to give the Hawkeyes a 41-40 halftime lead.
Diamond Battles led Georgia with 21 points. Brittney Smith and Javyn Nicholson each had 12 points.
STUELKE OUT
Iowa was without freshman forward Hannah Stuelke. Stuelke, the Big Ten’s sixth player of the year, suffered an injured ankle in practice Saturday.
Stuelke scored 14 points, making all five of her shots, in Friday’s 93-45 first-round win over Southeast Louisiana. She averages 7 points and 4.2 rebounds.
BIG PICTURE
Georgia: The Lady Bulldogs fell short of their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2013, but they finished strong in Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s first season as head coach. Georgia had won nine of their 12 games entering Sunday’s game.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes were held 13 points below their national-best average of 87.8 points, but came up with enough offense Georgia’s zone defense, which forced 17 Iowa turnovers.
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