The Iowa women’s basketball team beat Indiana, 76-73.
By Mario Williams
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This season, large leads and the Iowa women’s basketball team haven’t always mixed well, especially in Big Ten play.
On Sunday in Carver-Hawkeye against Indiana, however, Iowa led for the final three quarters and saw its lead balloon to as much as 19. Despite that, the Hoosiers didn’t go away during Iowa’s 76-73 win and down the stretch, it seemed as if the same old story was about to go into replays.
Earlier this month Indiana beat the Hawkeyes, 79-74 and scored 32 points in the fourth quarter to give Iowa a heartbreaking loss. A similar situation played out in an 82-75 loss to Michigan on Jan. 7.
“It feels good to redeem ourselves, after losing at their place,” Hawkeye head coach Lisa Bluder said. “It was a good win for us.”
Iowa got off to a sloppy start in the first quarter when Indiana went on a 9-0 run in just two minutes. Sophomore Chase Coley finally got things going for the Hawks, giving the team its first field goal of the contest. It started a run for Iowa that tied things up when freshman Tania Davis found junior Ally Disterhoft open downtown, and the junior knocked down a 3.
Iowa shot 50 percent from the field, and Indiana shot 47.4 percent in the first quarter. The Hoosiers were also 33.3 percent from the 3-point line.
While Iowa was down a point when the first quarter ended, the Hawks played their best quarter of the season when the second came around.
“I thought our second quarter was outstanding,” Bluder said. “We needed every bit of that, because obviously Indiana fought back in that game.”
Everything clicked for the Hawkeyes. Davis made a 3 from the top of the key, to give Iowa its first lead of the game. After that lead, Indiana tried to fight its way back in the game but never led again. Davis was perfect from the field, 4-of-4, and scored 11 of her 17 points in the second quarter as well. Iowa also shot 50 percent from the field and from downtown.
The Hoosiers only scored 8 points in the second quarter.
“I feel like the first quarter I wasn’t as aggressive as I should’ve been,” Davis said. “In the second quarter, I just tried to look for my shots, get Ally open touches, and get the post touches.”
Iowa led by 15 points at the half, but the Hoosiers did all they could to diminish Iowa’s lead in the third quarter. The Hoosiers outscored the Hawkeyes 25-16 in the third and finally found some rhythm on the court. They shot 50 percent from downtown, 57.9 percent from the field.
An Indiana free throw cut Iowa’s lead to 1 point during the last 50 seconds of the fourth quarter, and Indiana began fouling. Ally Disterhoft put Iowa up by 3 points with two free throws, and while the Hoosiers had two opportunities to knock down a 3 to tie the game, they were not able to convert.
Iowa is now 17-11, 7-9 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes will head to Penn State on Wednesdayfor a rematch with a team that beat them 82-69 in Carver-Hawkeye.
“I have complete confidence in our team,” Disterhoft said. “We’re a young team, but I think that we’re taking steps to improve and we’re really starting to put it together.”