The Iowa women’s basketball team heads home for its first game at Carver-Hawkeye in five games.
The Hawkeyes are set to face Robert Morris at 1 p.m. on Dec. 6, coming off their 85-73 victory over Virginia,
“We were gone for 17 days from Carver,” junior Alexa Kastanek said in a statement. “It’s going to nice to get home and really show each other and show Carver what we’ve been working on for the past 17 days.”
While there were ups and downs, the road trip was mostly successful for the Hawkeyes.
They went 4-1, with their only loss being against a previously ranked George Washington in double overtime, 81-77.
Rebounding and defense were two parts of the game the team struggled with during the road trip, and the Hawkeyes struggled against large-sized teams George Washington and Houston.
But after the loss to George Wahsington and the win against a physical Houston team, the Hawkeyes made adjustments going into the Virginia game, in which they played one of their best games of the season.
“Coach [Lisa] Bluder talked before the game about how we wanted to get back to Iowa basketball, and that’s unselfish play, focusing on the fundamentals, and hitting the open girl for the great shot,” junior Ally Disterhoft said in a statement. “I really think that today we came out and did that, and that’s just fun to play like that, that’s fun to watch that, and that’s what we’re all about.“
The Hawkeyes won the game, 85-73, and accumulated 17 assists for the team along with 36 rebounds, 13 offensive and 23 defensive.
The Hawks plan on bringing the same attitude that they had in the game against Virginia to their next contest.
“Keep building on this, that unselfish style,” Bluder said in a statement. “I’m excited about where we are right now; we just have to keep getting better, keep them focused.”
Robert Morris sits with a 4-3 record, 2-2 on the road.
While the Hawkeyes have had success recently, their winning comes from their confidence, a state of mind necessary for each game.
“Just keep up the confidence,” freshman Tania Davis said in a statement. “Keep up that taut, keep up the chatter, and just go into every game whether it’s at Carver, whether it’s on the road, just knowing we are the better team and playing like that from start to finish.”