Caitlin Clark leads No. 4 Iowa past Gophers

Star guard scores 35 in Saturday's victory over Minnesota.

The Gophers women’s basketball team has certainly improved under first-year coach Dawn Plitzuweit. But the Gophers can’t quite hang with the nation’s best teams yet.

Behind 35 points from phenom guard Caitlin Clark, fourth-ranked Iowa beat Minnesota 94-71 Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out crowd in Iowa City, Iowa.

The Hawkeyes (13-1, 2-0 Big Ten) jumped out in front early, holding the Gophers (11-2, 1-1) to just 12 points in the opening quarter. Clark, who also had 10 assists and five rebounds, got plenty of help from forward Hannah Stuelke, who had 19 points and eight rebounds, and guard Kate Martin, who tallied 13 points and six rebounds.

Amaya Battle led the Gophers with 16 points, five assists, five steals and three rebounds. Mara Braun had 15 points, five assists and five boards, and Sophie Hart had 13 points and six boards.

The Gophers had 12 steals Saturday and scored 20 points off turnovers but didn’t generate enough offense to keep up with the Hawkeyes. They had just 14 assists in the game.

The Gophers return to action when they take on Maryland on Wednesday at Williams Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.