By Jake Mosbach
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When the Hawkeye women’s basketball team takes on Penn State tonight in Happy Valley, they’ll do so with revenge on their mind.
In the teams’ first meeting of the season, an 82-69 Penn State victory in Carver-Hawkeye on Jan. 20, the Nittany Lions bested Iowa in almost every statistical category.
Since that game, things have become slightly rocky for the Hawks. While they’re currently on a two-game winning streak, Iowa has a 4-4 record in its last eight games. As they sit firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, every game is crucial at this point in the season.
There were quite a few factors that played in to the Jan. 20 defeat at the hands of Penn State. Here’s a quick look at the most important ones that burned the Hawks when these two teams last met.
Penn State rebounds — 48
This season, the Hawks have prided themselves on out-rebounding their opponents. After all, they possess a plus-1.6 margin. But on Jan. 20, that wasn’t the case at all. Penn State outrebounded Iowa by 14, bullying the Hawks on the offensive and defensive glass.
That, however, was before the monstrous play of freshman forward Megan Gustafson began. Earning a starting spot nine games ago, the Port Wing, Wisconsin, native is fresh off winning the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after averaging 14 points and 10.7 rebounds last week.
With Gustafson being such a force in the paint right now, it’s tough to see the rebounding battle going the Nittany Lions’ way on Wednesday night.
Iowa 3-point percentage — 16 percent (4-for-25)
The 3-point shooting couldn’t have been much worse for the Hawks when these two teams met earlier in the year. Shooting just 16 percent, the outside game wasn’t even an option.
Overall, the Hawks have struggled mightily from 3-point range. They’re shooting just 31.8 percent on the year, and two games ago against Purdue they earned the victory despite not hitting a single 3-pointer (0-for-5).
It’s not necessarily crucial that the 3-point shooting improves for Iowa, but the first meeting against Penn State is evidence that cold outside shooting can be a dagger.
Iowa free throw percentage —17 65.4 percent (17-for-26)
The 65.4 shooting percent isn’t too far below the Hawkeyes’ season average of 73.3 percent, but the nine misses in the first meeting had a significant effect on the game. In a 13-point loss, even a few more made free throws could have added more pressure on the Nittany Lions near the end of the game.
In the last few games, however, the Hawks have been nearly automatic from the line. On Feb. 15 against Minnesota, the team shot 16-for-16 from the charity stripe, and despite the heartbreaking 78-76 loss, the free-throw shooting no doubt kept Iowa in the game.
On Sunday in a revenge victory against Indiana, the Hawkeyes cashed in on 80 percent of their free throws, going 12-for-15. Again, free throws were a determining factor in the 76-73 victory. If the Hawks want revenge against Penn State this evening, they’ll need to be solid once again.
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