Central Michigan women's basketball loses to Iowa in NCAA tournament, 87-72
Michaela Kelly scored 23 points but Central Michigan lost to Iowa, 87-72, in the first round of the NCAA women's tournament on Sunday in San Antonio.
CMU, the No. 12 seed in the River Walk Region, ends the season 18-9. Iowa, the fifth seed, moves on to play Tuesday against the winner of No. 4-seed Kentucky and No. 13-seed Idaho State.
Kelly was 7-for-14 from the field (4-for-7 from the 3-point line) and 5-for-7 from the free-throw line. Molly Davis added 18 points.
Caitlin Clark, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, led Iowa (19-9) with 23 points. Monika Czinano also scored 23 and McKenna Warnock had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
CMU shot just 39% (25-for-65) from the field while Iowa was 46% (31-for-66) from the floor. The Hawkeyes also made 16 of 18 free throws while the Chippewas were just 11 of 17.
Trailing by 11 to begin the second half, the Chippewas tried to mount a comeback. A pair of Kelly 3-pointers helped trim the deficit to six midway through the third. But Iowa closed the quarter with a 9-2 spurt to take a 13-point lead into the final period.
Kelly, CMU's best player, picked up her third foul with under a minute to play in the first quarter and the Chippewas trailing by four. Iowa then went on a 19-9 run with Kelly on the bench.
The Hawkeyes led, 48-37, at the half by shooting 50% from the field and 54% (7-for-13) from the 3-point line.
Contact Kirkland Crawford: kcrawford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @HiKirkHere.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Central Michigan women's basketball loses to Iowa in NCAA tournament
