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Warnock, Hawks retire Gustafson’s number in style

No. 19 Iowa surges past Michigan St

AP PHOTO - Iowa’s McKenna Warnock (14) is embraced by teammates Amanda Ollinger (43) and Makenzie Meyer, right, after drawing a foul during a Big Ten Conference women’s basketball game Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

IOWA CITY — Freshman McKenna Warnock scored 15 of her career-high 22 points in the fourth quarter when the No. 19 Iowa women’s basketball team broke open a close game and beat Michigan State 74-57 on Sunday for the Hawkeyes’ eighth straight victory.

Warnock came off the bench to shoot 8-of-11 to better her previous high of 14 points and also matched her personal best of 10 rebounds for her second career double-double. Kathleen Doyle made seven steals and added 20 points. Makenzie Meyer had 13 points. Monika Czinano, the Hawkeyes’ second-leading scorer at 15.7 per game, finished with four after leaving with an apparent ankle injury with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter.

“It was my teammates and coaching staff trusting in me,” Warnock said. “I had a couple play calls for me and everyone on the court told me to take it at them.”

The Hawkeyes (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten) extended their home winning streak to 32 games, the second-longest active streak behind Baylor’s 50, in front of the fourth-largest crowd in Iowa women’s basketball history.

Taryn McCutcheon scored 12 points and Nia Clouden scored 10 to lead the Spartans but combined for only three points in the second half.

AP PHOTO - Former Iowa women’s basketball standout Megan Gustafson has her No. 10 jersey retired after Sunday’s game between the Hawkeyes and Michigan State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

The Spartans went into the final quarter with a 48-46 lead before being outscored 28-9. In one stretch, Warnock scored 13 points in a 15-5 run for a 10-point lead that grew from there.

“The fourth quarter was important, obviously,” said Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder. “I think we wore them out. We kept chasing. [Michigan State] was very physical at the beginning of the game and that took us out of our rhythm a little bit. Then we adjusted well to it and McKenna came in and played a marvelous game.”

After the game, a season-best crowd of 13,420 watched as Iowa retired the No. 10 jersey of Megan Gustafson, just the second Hawkeye to receive such an honor following Michelle Edwards in 1990. Gustafson won AP Player of the Year and the Naismith Trophy among several awards as the national player of the year last season after leading the country in scoring and topping several national and conference statistical categories. She is the all-time scoring leader in school history, women or men, with 2,804 points. She is currently playing in Hungary.

“That feeling of coming back is pretty surreal, being in front of that crowd and listening to them,” Gustafson said. “They brought the energy today and I think they really pushed this team to win today, which was really cool to be a part of.

“During the ceremony, obviously I was crying a lot. It got emotional just because this university means so much to me, and this program and these girls and these coaches and everything. They mean so much to me and they really shaped me into the person I am today, for sure.”

No. 19 Iowa 74, Michigan St. 57

At Iowa City

MICHIGAN ST. (11-9) — Belles 1-6 0-2 2, Hollie 4-8 1-2 9, Clouden 3-10 3-4 10, Joiner 2-9 0-0 5, McCutcheon 5-10 1-2 12, Cook 3-5 0-0 6, Parks 3-6 0-0 6, Ayrault 1-6 0-0 2, Ozment 2-5 0-0 5, Winston 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 24-65 5-10 57

IOWA (17-3) — Ollinger 4-6 2-6 10, Czinano 2-4 0-0 4, Doyle 7-21 6-7 20, Meyer 4-6 4-4 13, Sevillian 0-4 3-4 3, Marshall 1-2 0-0 2, Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Taiwo 0-1 0-0 0, Warnock 8-11 4-5 22. TOTALS 26-55 19-26 74

Michigan St. 13 18 17 9 — 57

Iowa 14 19 13 28 — 74

3-Point Goals–Michigan St. 4-21 (Hollie 0-1, Clouden 1-3, Joiner 1-5, McCutcheon 1-5, Cook 0-1, Ayrault 0-2, Ozment 1-4), Iowa 3-13 (Doyle 0-5, Meyer 1-3, Sevillian 0-2, Warnock 2-3). Assists–Michigan St. 11 (McCutcheon 5), Iowa 14 (Doyle 5). Fouled Out–Michigan St. Belles, Hollie. Rebounds–Michigan St. 37 (Belles 3-7), Iowa 39 (Warnock 3-10). Total Fouls–Michigan St. 25, Iowa 14. Technical Fouls–None. A–13,420.

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