Lorik blog

No. 22 Iowa beats Central Michigan 90-79

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Morgan Johnson scored 21 points while Kachine Alexander added 20 points and 18 rebounds to help No. 22 Iowa beat Central Michigan 90-79 Sunday to improve to 5-0.

Jaime Printy added 18 for the Hawkeyes, who pulled away late to send the Chippewas (4-1) to their first loss of the year.

Central Michigan pulled within 69-63 midway through the second half. But Alexander buried a 3 to put the Hawkeyes ahead 82-72 with 4:34 left, and she followed a Johnson jumper with a layup to give Iowa a 12-point lead a minute later.

Shonda Long had 22 points and Kaihla Szunko had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Chippewas, who hung around with the Big Ten's Hawkeyes despite shooting just 32.5 percent from the floor.

Iowa's road gets much tougher from here, as it plays James Madison, Virginia Tech and North Carolina before returning home to face Kansas State.