The Iowa women’s basketball team pulls through in the Hawkeye Challenge.
By Rod Engblom
The Hawkeye women’s basketball team finished the Hawkeye Challenge with a win over Tennessee-Martin, 62-56.
While the Hawkeyes finished the game winning by 6, the team had to fight for the lead after overcoming a slow start.
“I don’t like starting out in that hole, and we had two slow starts both nights,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “We had two slow start, so we have to fix that. We have to be ready to go right off the bat.”
Martin started the game with 10 unanswered points, and Iowa finished the first quarter down 12-10.
Although Iowa didn’t shoot well to begin the game, the Hawks believe they kept their cool.
“I thought we had some good looks,” Bluder said. “The nice thing is I don’t think we panicked. Sometimes when you get that deficit, you can panic and start throwing up really bad shots, and we just didn’t do that.”
The Hawkeyes battled through the second quarter, going back and fourth with Martin and were able to tie the game at 26 at halftime.
Freshman Tania Davis played a key role in getting the team back in the game.
“I thought Tania Davis just gave us a great spark in the first quarter of the game, especially when we were struggling to get something to happen,” Bluder said. “She came in and provided offense and defense for us, and I admire that spark off the bench and she did a great job.”
Davis shot two 3-pointers in a row in the first quarter and scored 4 more points in the second quarter.
Her confidence has played a role in her increased offensive production in her first two college games.
“I feel much more confidant,” Davis said. “The first shot I took the other day was a little shaky, but the first shot today, I was comfortable.”
She was able to shake off the jitters and settle in with the offense.
In with the comeback victory, junior Ally Disterhoft broke the 1,000-point mark.
“It’s an honor, but I wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything without my teammates,” she said. “I’ve played with some incredible girls over the past two years who have been able to put me in that position to score.”
Only 34 other people in school history have broken the 1,000-point mark for the women’s basketball team, but Disterhoft remains humble.
Despite the slow starts for the Hawkeyes in both games, Bluder is confidant that the team will continue improve with everyone contributing.
“I have so much faith in all of them [the team] it doesn’t matter if somebody’s having an off night, we’ll go to the next weapon, and I like that about our team,” Bluder said. “I feel like we’ve strived to have a balanced team, and I think we will have that this year.”
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