The Iowa women’s basketball team improved to 1-0 after its home opener.
By: Mario Williams
The Iowa women’s basketball team opened its 2015-16 campaign against North Dakota on Nov. 13 and came on top, 83-61.
The Hawkeyes were perfect at home last season, a run that rolled along. They also saw their Sweet 16 banner raised.
After the banner, it was game time.
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder started junior Ally Disterhoft, sophomore Chase Coley, senior Kali Peschel, junior Alexa Kastanek, and sophomore Whitney Jennings.
Disterhoft didn’t compete in the team’s exhibition win against Upper Iowa, but came on the court and shone. She finished in double figures with 20 points.
“It was nice to be back out there and just playing with my teammates,” Disterhoft said. “That’s what you miss when you’re out.”
It was a mixed statistical bag for the Hawkeyes in the first half. Without Peschel and Jennings, Iowa would’ve been in deep trouble.
The team tallied 9 turnovers to just 6 assists. The Hawks got good looks, but North Dakota kept knocking on the door hoping to improve its lead, with the help of North Dakota’s Stephanie Smith, Iowa had trouble defending the 6’6 athlete in the paint.
Before halftime, Peschel already logged a double-double, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Six of those came on the offensive glass.
“We were just in a hurry,” Bluder said. “We weren’t sticking to what Iowa basketball is all about.”
Hawkeyes fans in Carver saw a different mindset and team after halftime. The Hawks came out and played the Iowa brand of basketball.
Bluder said she was happier with the second half than the first.
Iowa cut its turnovers to just 3 and improved its assists to 13.
“It was a night-and-day difference between the first half and second half,” Bluder said. “That’s why we really shot the ball in the second half, because we had better looks.”
In the second half, the team shot 64.3 percent from the floor, 75.5 percent from behind the arc. In the first half, the squad shot 34.2 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from downtown.
Iowa had many players come off the bench and make some strides. Freshmen Megan Gustafson and Tania Davis showed up clutch for the Hawks, too.
Davis continued to be a quick-paced point guard on the court. She finished the night with 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists in 17 minutes. Gustafson added 12 points and 7 rebounds.
“I feel like our exhibition game really helped me get used to the atmosphere here,” Gustafson said. “Tonight’s game was super fun playing in front of the fans. I just had a really great time getting to know what its like knowing to play in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.”
Iowa also had three other players in double figures, aside from Disterhoft and Peschel.
The team will continue the Hawkeye Challenge on Nov. 15, competing against Tennessee-Martin.
“It’s not a lot of time to prepare, but it’s good experience, because when we’re in Austin, we play three games in three days, so this is great experience for us to have a quick turnaround like this,” Bluder said.
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