If the Iowa women’s basketball team wanted to make a statement, it certainly made one in its 97-93 win over No. 14 Dayton on Sunday.
In a game that saw its fair share of ups and downs, the Hawkeyes thrived in the clutch and received big contributions from numerous players to move their record to 2-0 on the season.
“We beat a very, very good basketball team,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “One that’s well‑coached, great talent, great size, able to hit the 3 ball. This is a good win for our program.”
With just 23 seconds remaining in the game, the chances of Iowa winning were slim to none. The Hawks were down 5, and Dayton was in the midst of a 22-6 run in the span of the previous seven minutes.
But after two Ally Disterhoft free throws and a Dayton turnover on the inbound pass, Iowa had the ball down 3.
Coming off of a pick, senior Theairra Taylor Dayton was double-teamed. This left Logic open for easily the most important shot of the very young season. She rose up and drained it — her third 3-pointer of the game.
“Theairra, having the patience to find me there,” Logic said. “We kind of got a little muddled there, but we were trying to find each other and knew that whoever takes it, we know it can go in. I think that the focus of this team was outstanding.”
Just as the first game, Logic was all over the floor for the Hawkeyes. Of the Hawkeyes’ 34 field goals, Logic either scored or assisted on 18 of them. She finished the game with the impressive stat line of 14 points, 14 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Her 14 assists tied the team record for most assists in a game — a record she set last season.
Logic’s pass-first mentality set a tone for the Hawkeye squad. Of Iowa’s 34 field goals, 30 of them came on assists.
But Logic was far from the only contributor to the Hawkeye offense. Six players scored in double digits, including leading scorer Bethany Doolittle, who finished with 22 — a career high.
Doolittle looked like her old self Sunday after she struggled from the field in the Hawkeyes’ season début.
She opened the game with two quick buckets from about 15 feet out and was efficient from the floor all game long. She finished 10 of 13 from the field and added six blocks and five rebounds.
“I think they were pretty big,” Doolittle said of her two early makes. “My teammates were pretty great at finding me after their drives or something like that. Today, we were good at taking advantage of what they were giving us.”
The other double-double on the night came from Kali Peschel. The sophomore forward has proven early in the season that her lack of size shouldn’t affect her ability to crash the boards. She tallied 14 rebounds — six of which were offensive, reaching double-digit rebound totals for the second-straight game.
“She’s found a role. It’s a valuable role. I’m just thrilled for her,” Bluder said. “With Kali in her freshman year and coming back and working so hard, and coming in here to contribute in her sophomore campaign, I’m really happy for her.”
The Hawkeyes also received contributions from Disterhoft, Taylor, and Melissa Dixon. The trio combined for 42 points and were key for Iowa — who have now beaten a ranked team in all but two seasons in which Bluder was the coach.
And while beating ranked teams has become somewhat of a given under her tenure, that doesn’t make this win any less sweet.
“I feel like we had something special with this group early on. It’s early. We’re two games into this year, so we’ve got a lot of basketball,” Bluder said. “But I feel that way about this group. This is a special group.”
