A strong second half from Ohio State proved insurmountable for the Iowa women’s basketball team, which dropped its second game in a row, 100-82, on Feb. 21.

The loss moves the Black and Gold 21-6 on the season, 12-4 in the Big Ten. 

After securing a 73-65 victory against the Buckeyes in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 5, the Hawks dropped the second match in Columbus, Ohio, losing in back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Head coach Lisa Bluder blamed the loss on a lack of defensive intensity. 

“We just did not defend. That is the biggest difference: We held them playing them in Iowa City, and we didn’t tonight,” Bluder said. “I though their transition offense was really good, especially in the second half.”

The Black and Gold were able to stifle the dynamic Ohio State attack the first go-round, shutting down the Buckeye perimeter attack and limiting the team to just 29 percent from beyond the arc.

In the recent contest, however, the Hawkeyes had no answer on how to shut down Ohio State. The Bucks shot 55 percent from 3-point range, including 5 from junior Ameryst Alston.

“You have to score with Ohio State because they are so explosive offensively, and we just didn’t the second half,” Bluder said. “They are a talented offensive group. They picked up their defensive intensity certainly in the second half. I think they got a lot of momentum when their offense was hitting in the second half.”

The Hawks managed to keep things tight for most of the game, with senior Sam Logic once again putting the Black and Gold on her back. 

The Wisconsin native finished with 23 points, 6 assists, and 7 boards, and she moved into third on the Big Ten all-time assist list.

Her performance bolstered the Hawkeyes all night, which had several leads throughput but couldn’t shut down Ohio State late in the game. 

Ohio State meanwhile, had five players score in double figures, with Alston finishing with 29 points and adding 11 assists, while Alexa Hart (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Shayla Cooper (14 points, 12 rebounds) added double-doubles.

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