Iowa women's basketball duo takes aim at history again

Two years ago, when they were on the Iowa women's basketball team, Czinano realized that Clark had no fear of taking risks.

Czinano said it was hard to believe how confident she was.

It was simple math: Feed the forward/center ball anywhere near the block, and it would result in an assist.

She is reliable all the time.

Clark and Czinano are entering their third year together as the Hawkeyes try to finish atop the Big Ten again and make up for a disappointing second-round exit in the NCAA tournament last March.

When it comes to offense, Iowa is at the top of their game. Clark and Czinano put in a record-setting performance as a duo and the Hawkeyes are not just fun to watch.

Clark and Czinano both led the nation in field goal percentage. Since 1983, when assists per game began to be tracked, no other Division I college teammates have led in those three categories in the same season.

In the NBA, it has only been done three times, with the most recent being the 1962-63 San Francisco Warriors.

When asked if there was a statistically comparable duo to Clark and Czinano, she said she was not sure she could.

Czinano averaged 21.2 points and 6.2 Rebounds last season, and is back for her senior year. As a freshman, she was an understudy to Megan Gustafson. Czinano wasn't ranked in the top 100 in either of the last two years. Czinano's shot was a part of it.

It was a bad year for her. She had poor form. It's hard to change something when you're 19 years old.

Jan Jensen has been an assistant for the Hawkeyes for many years. Czinano did a lot of soft-touch shooting, in which you power the ball with your hand and wrist to get a better feel for it. Czinano watched as Gustafson won her second Big Ten Player of the Year award and was drafted into the NBA.

"Monika used her time with Megan to learn how to compete, how to practice, and how much extra it takes to be really good from watching Megan." Both of them embrace the contact and their hands are great.

As a sophomore, Czinano moved into the role of the Hawkeyes' top post player, and was well aware of the Clark kid, who the coaches had worked so hard to get.

Czinano was aware of the spark she could create. It made me want to be on her team.

The first time we played was in the summer. I remember seeing how brave she was. It was going to become something really special even if some of the things didn't work out.

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Clark hit a 3-pointer.

Clark doesn't just want to enjoy playing basketball, she also wants people to enjoy watching it. Early in her freshman year, it was obvious that they did. Even the half-court logos are fair game. She was an excellent rebounder and found teammates before they even knew they were open.

She didn't like the details of defense then. The Hawkeyes reached the championship game of the Big Ten tournament with the help of Clark and Czinano. You didn't want to watch Iowa on TV.

She had five triple-doubles and 11 games in which she scored 30 or more points. She had 18 assists in a game. She had a 19-game streak in which she had at least 15 points and five assists, second only to Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.

Czinano filled up the basket from the field and the free throw line in a single game. Iowa won both the Big Ten regular-season title and league tournament in the same year for the first time.

The Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City was sold out for the first two games of the NCAA tournament. Things didn't go well in the second round against Creighton, as the 10th seed pulled a 64-62 upset.

It was not surprising that it appeared that way. 3 seed Iowa State in the tournament as well before falling in theElite Eight to eventual national champion South Carolina

The teams that the Hawkeyes relied on the most were offensive. Clark was limited to a season-low 15 points on 4-of-19 shooting, and she was the only player in the game to score more than one point. Czinano was the leader with 27 points.

Both players credited the Bluejays after the game. They're pragmatic about what was learned and they don't want to focus on the loss going into a new season.

Clark said that having a veteran group will be important because there will be some hard times. We've been through that in the past. What you do with those times will make you who you want to be.

Clark understands how important defense is to team success. She believes the 6-footer can take advantage of more post-up opportunities against smaller guards. Keeping the ball in the hands of the nation's leader in both scoring and assists is a strong strategy, so Clark may play off the ball a little more this season.

Watching Clark shoot from the logo is a blast, as much as Clark recently recommended young players work more on Fundamentals and higher-percentage shots rather than following their idols in expanding their range to half court.

The Hawkeyes will need more than the duo of Clark and Czinano this season. They have three returning starters in forwards/guards Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall. This year's Big 12 favorite, Iowa State, could face off against NC State in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament, as well as a possible game with Connecticut. The Big Ten grind begins.

Clark and Czinano are very excited. Dynamic duos and high-octane offense are popular with fans.

The excitement about the Iowa women's basketball has been great for Iowa City. Every year more and more people come up to me and say, "This is so cool."

"I've been working my whole career for this, and so I'm just remembering to soak it in and realize we are as good as we want to be."