Iowa women’s basketball downed the Peacocks, 95-41.
By Mario Williams
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder answered the season’s first question — what did she want to see out of her team Sundayafternoon — and it was transition-fundamental basketball.
There’s no doubt whether the team accomplished that in its 95-41 exhibition win against Upper Iowa. Collectively, the team tallied up 22 assists, 48 rebounds, 18 steals, 10 blocked shots, and only 9 turnovers.
Sticking to its motto of unselfishness basketball, the Hawkeyes came alive Sunday.
“We wanted to have team basketball,” Bluder said. “I thought we had a good first time out. I really loved some of the things I saw.”
Bluder started sophomore Whitney Jennings, junior Alexa Kastanek, sophomore Christina Buttenham, senior Kali Peschel, and sophomore Chase Coley.
All 13 athletes available saw action in the contest. Senior Ally Disterhoft sat the game out with a minor injury.
In the first 52 seconds of the game, Peschel got the Hawkeyes fans on their feet, scoring the first 6 points along with grabbing 3 rebounds. Immediately afterward, Upper Iowa called its first time-out.
“It was definitely a confidence-builder,” Pescehl said. “It was a nice momentum starter, and it just our team in the right track. It was fun to get the opportunity to get out on the court and play for our fans.”
Iowa didn’t stop its fast-paced offense for the remainder of the first quarter. Its defense held the Peacocks to just 8 points. When the first quarter was done, Iowa led 26-8.
Freshman Megan Gustafson was a bright spot for the Hawkeyes as well. The forward came off the bench and made her presence known, making 3 blocks in her first five minutes of play.
The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native led all scorers with 19 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the field, and collected 11 rebounds.
“It was super fun to be able to wear an Iowa jersey for the first time,” Gustafson said.
Freshman Tania Davis also came off the bench and set the tempo for the Hawkeyes.
The guard shot 6-of-11 from the field, scoring 14 points, and led in assists with 7.
Freshmen Tagyn Larson and Hannah Stewart also added some contributions. They combined for 30 minutes and added 6 points.
“You never know when a freshman steps on the floor for the first time how she’s going to react, how she’s going to react to the fans, and to the lights being on, and to wearing an Iowa uniform for the first time,” Bluder said. “I think they’re all going to be able to contribute at different times throughout this year.”
Contributions came from all over the floor, with a number of players getting time.
The Hawkeyes shot 49 percent from the field and 28 percent from behind the arc. Holding Upper Iowa to 41 points on 26.7 percent shooting and outrebounding it 48-36, Iowa looked like the offense it’s known for.
The Hawkeyes will open its regular season against North Dakota at 6 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye on Friday.
“This is our home; we went 18-0 here last year, and we feel like we can beat anybody,” Bluder said. “That’s the attitude that we’ll take on Friday night, just like it’s attitude that we took today.”
