The Iowa women’s basketball team seemed prime to add another impressive Big Ten road win to its résumé. But following a dominant first half performance, it all fell apart.

In a true tale of two halves, the Hawkeyes gave up a 16-point halftime lead to No. 23 Purdue, dropping their seventh game of the season, 74-73.

“I’m going to look at our lack of defensive intensity in the second half,” head coach Lisa Bluder said after the game. “And the first half was so good. In the second half, we relaxed too much.”

The Hawkeyes sprinted out of the gate, mainly because of the performance of Iowa’s lone senior, Theairra Taylor, who posted 17 of her 19 total points in the first half.

Iowa went into halftime with a 44-28 lead, but that quickly disintegrated when Purdue reeled off a 21-6 run in the first seven minutes of the second half.

“They came out with a lot more intensity in the second half,” Bluder said.

Whereas in the first half, the Hawkeyes used six 3-pointers to establish the lead, Iowa was held to just one second half 3.

Shooting in general was inconsistent from first half to second half. The Hawkeyes shot 60 percent from the floor in the first half. But in the second half, Iowa couldn’t buy a basket, shooting 27.8 percent.

The one consistent aspect for Iowa was Sam Logic’s play. The co-captain posted her third triple-double of the year and her fourth in her Hawkeye career. She posted a final stat line of 18 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds.

The Big Ten’s runner up in steals per game also finished with 6 steals.

“Sam contributes in so many ways,” Bluder said. “I think emotionally, she got a little taken out of this game, but it’s just because she’s such a competitor.” 

Following two free throws from Purdue with seven seconds remaining that gave it the 74-73 lead, Iowa’s Ally Disterhoft had an opportunity to give the Hawkeyes the victory, but her shot dipped in and out of the basket.

“We had the shot to win it at the end, by no means is it Ally’s responsibility,” Bluder said. “We missed way too many shots in the paint. It was absolutely the tale of two halves.

“Knowing that we can play with [Purdue] is definitely going to help. But anytime you lose a 16-point lead, that’s a tough one to handle.”