IOWA CITY – Iowa defeated UNI 96-81 Wednesday evening in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the season opener for both teams.
The Hawkeyes won their 21st home opener under head coach Lisa Bluder and 37th consecutive home contest, ranking second in the country behind Baylor (56).
In her Hawkeye debut, freshman Caitlin Clark scored 27 points, pulled in eight rebounds, tallied four assists and three steals.
Sophomore McKenna Warnock tallied her third double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Five Hawkeyes scored in double figures, including Clark (27), junior Monika Czinano (19), Warnock (14), and sophomore Gabbie Marshall (11).
Former Mason City Mohawk Megan Meyer went 0-4 from the field for Iowa in 18 minutes of action. She did snare two rebounds and two assists.
Kam Finley led the Panthers with 22 points. Four UNI players scored in double figures, and 10 Panthers scored in the game. Bre Gunnels led the Panthers with eight rebounds.
Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark was stellar in her career debut, leading all scorers with 27 points. Four other Iowa players scored in double figures.
The Hawkeyes jumped out to a strong start using a 13-0 run to build a 19-4 lead with 4:16 to play in the first quarter. The Panthers battled back to cut the deficit to 24-14 at the quarter break.
In the second quarter, UNI went 4-8 from the three-point line and rallied to take a 36-35 lead with 4:19 in the quarter. The Hawkeyes closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 43-36 advantage into the break.
Finley scored 12 of her 22 points in the first half to lead UNI. She also added four rebounds before the break.
Iowa continued its scoring run in the third quarter with a 13-5 run to extend the lead to 56-40. The Hawkeyes did a lot of damage from the free-throw line in the third quarter, going 12-14 from the stripe. Iowa led 81-58 after three.
UNI outscored Iowa 23-16 in the fourth, but it would not be enough as the Hawkeyes earned the 15-point win.
The Panthers are now 3-23 all-time against Iowa, but, the Panther’s 81 points are the most points scored against Iowa in a loss. In the three wins against Iowa, UNI scored 83 (1975), 83 (2006) and 88 (2019).
Up next, Iowa heads to Des Moines, Iowa to take on Drake in the Hawkeyes first road matchup on Wednesday in Knapp Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. (CT), and the game will air on Mediacom MC22. The Panthers will be back in action Saturday in the home opener against Creighton at the McLeod Center. The game will be closed to general fans but will be streamed live on ESPN+ with a radio call from Chris Kleinhans-Schulz on 1540 KXEL.
