Coming off of an impressive 102-99 win at Northwestern last week, the No. 17 Iowa women’s basketball team dropped its first game in a month, losing to conference powerhouse Maryland.

In a matchup of opposing styles, a typically dominant post team in Maryland went head to head with the perimeter powerhouse Hawkeyes, resulting in a fast-paced slugfest that typically benefits the Black and Gold.

Offensively, Iowa was dialed in from the opening tip. One of the country’s best perimeter-shooting teams, the Hawks went to work early and often against the high-flying Terrapins.

Melissa Dixon did what Melissa Dixon does, namely, drill big 3s to help catalyze the Hawkeye attack in the early going.  

The senior and NCAA leader in 3s per game knocked down a pair in the game’s opening minutes to help build an 8-0 Iowa lead in the first half.

She finished with 18 points.

After getting caught a bit flat-footed in the early going, Maryland slowly started to find its game throughout the first half, chasing the Hawkeyes for 16 minutes before finally tying the game at 35.

Never a team to be showed up, Iowa came right back with a 6-point run of its own to maintain a 1-point lead at the half.

While Sunday saw both teams play to their strengths, it seems Iowa and Maryland were set on taking a page out of the other’s playbook.

For Iowa, that meant finding ways to score inside the paint. Sophomore Alexa Kastanek and freshman Christina Buttenham provided valuable minutes for the Hawks down low, working in the post to find open space and finish when needed to.

They ended up with a combined 10 points.

And for Maryland, that meant taking advantage of the space and time afforded to them by the Iowa zone. 

The Terps did just that. Capitalizing on every inch of space, Maryland absolutely took control of the floor in the game’s final 7 minutes, putting together a gutsy second half to secure the W.

The Hawks will return to action Thursday against Ohio State in Carver-Hawkeye.

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