Northwestern really should’ve seen it coming.

In the last three games, Melissa Dixon had made only 1, 2, and 1 3-pointers, respectively. When you’re the secondmost prolific 3-point shooter in Division I women’s basketball, that’s what they call being “due.”

With the Hawkeyes on the road, the game actually began with freshman Whitney Jennings nailing her first two attempts from 3-point land. Shortly after, however, Dixon began doing downright incredible things from beyond the arc en route to a 102-99 Iowa victory.

Dixon followed Jennings with consecutive 3s of her own, which put Iowa up, 12-4, and led to Northwestern scrambling for a time-out at home in Evanston. Dixon missed only one shot from beyond the arc and sat at 7-of-8 at halftime.

The hosting Wildcats kept it close for much of the first half — and ultimately kept it close down to the wire — but Dixon and Company had blown it open by the time the horn blew for halftime, 58-41.

The Hawks are a giving bunch, however, and the Wildcats ended up getting a chance to steal the win away in the second half.

Dixon made two 3s early in the half but was relatively silent for the final 15 minutes. Northwestern outscored Iowa 58-44 — but the No. 17 team in the country had enough additional help from Ally Disterhoft, Bethany Doolittle, and Jennings , orchestrated by Sam Logic, to finish the victory.

Dixon ended up with 29 points and was a near-flawless 9-of-10 from beyond the arc, while Doolittle had 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Disterhoft contributed 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, with Jennings chipping in 16. Logic had 12 assists.

The win moves the Hawkeyes to 17-3 overall, 8-1 in the Big Ten. Standing alone in second place, the Hawks will travel this weekend for their only matchup with the first-place Maryland (18-2, 9-0) on Feb. 1.

Led in scoring this season by Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, the Terrapins defeated Illinois, 74-54, on Jan. 18. The Illini delivered Iowa its only conference loss, 73-61, on Jan. 8.

Walker-Kimbrough scores 16.7 points per game on 55-percent shooting, and there is plenty of firepower behind the 5-11 guard. Four players score in double figures for the only higher-scoring offense in the Big Ten than Iowa, including Brionna Jones, who also grabs 11.1 rebounds per contest.

It will be the biggest matchup in the Big Ten thus far, but coming off the road win at Northwestern, Dixon and the Hawkeyes will be feeling good.

Follow @KyleFMann for news, updates, and analysis about the Iowa women’s basketball team.