Prior to Wednesday night’s contest, the Penn State women’s basketball team was on a five-game losing streak. However, that came to an end when they downed Iowa, 82-69 in Carver-Hawkeye.
From the moment the first quarter began, it was clear which was the more aggressive team, and it was clear which team desperately needed a win.
The Lions scored an easy 25 points in the first quarter. Penn State was 12-of-16 from the field on 75 percent shooting. The Hawkeyes shot 37 percent from the field, 6-of-16 attempts.
The score was tied for only 55 seconds in the contest, and while Iowa attempted to cut into Penn State’s lead, it wasn’t enough. Outside of the early tie, Penn State led for the entire contest.
“I just want to congratulate Penn State,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “They came out inspired, they came out with a little bit of a chip on their shoulders, and they took it at us. I thought they did a great job.”
A vast majority of teams in the Big Ten are tough and physical, and Penn State stayed true to that. The Lions outrebounded Iowa 48-34, and 34 of those rebounds came from defensive rebounds.
With Penn State playing tough, Bluder turned to freshman Tania Davis and sophomore Christina Buttenham off the bench to press and play jersey-to-jersey defense. But it was all a mix of sloppy defense and countless missed shots.
Davis was 4-of-12 on the floor and totaled 5 points, all in the fourth quarter.
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“We just came out and played lackluster defense,” Bluder said. “That concerns me, but obviously, we just have to go back to the drawing board and keep working on it.”
Iowa also shot 16 percent from behind the arc. Its best 3-point shooter, Alexa Kastanek, who was 38 percent from the downtown prior to the matchup, was 1-of-8 against Penn State. Those missed opportunities and a few air balls led to easy Penn State rebounds and fast-break points.
“All of us can get down on ourselves sometimes,” sophomore Chase Coley said. “I feel like we have to make sure we keep up our energy, and we have to take these losses to heart now.”
Penn State pushed its lead up to 22 just three minutes into the fourth quarter. Iowa kept pushing, scoring 20 points in the fourth and even cutting the lead to 6. Junior Ally Disterhoft, Coley, and Davis totaled 17 points in the fourth quarter.
“Collectively, we need to be better on defense,” Disterhoft said. “We have to be able to stop a drive. It’s not just one area; collectively; we need to improve on that.”
Fans in Carver-Hawkeye wanted a comeback, but Iowa came up short. The Hawks held Penn State to only 14 points in the fourth, and the Lions shot 18 percent from the field.