By James Kay
The saying, “there’s no place like home” rings true for most sports teams.
The Hawkeyes took no exception to this after taking out Lewis 61-35 in an exhibition game Nov. 6.
Senior Ally Disterhoft had 15 points, while adding 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Sophomore Megan Gustafson picked up a double-double, recording 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“I think we got what you would expect out of an exhibition game,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “There were a lot of nerves and excitement to begin the game, but then we calmed down, and I thought we did a lot better.”
The nerves Bluder referred to were glaring as her team was sporadic on offense early on.
The Hawkeyes had more turnovers (18) in the first half than Lewis did for the entire game (17). They would clean up their game, however, as they would only commit 5 more turnovers the rest of the way.
One of the bigger storylines heading into the regular season is who will play alongside Tania Davis at the other guard position.
That question might have been answered against Lewis, as freshman Kathleen Doyle struggled on the offensive end in her first start with the team. While she was vicious on defense, Doyle finished with an 0-of-3 day from the field while picking up 3 fouls and 4 turnovers in 21 minutes of action.
Mackenzie Meyer, also vying for the final spot in the starting lineup, played a solid game, collectiing 8 points off the bench. Meyer did struggle early on with 4 turnovers in the first half while playing tentatively on both ends of the court.
She came back with a strong second half, however, and seemed to connect with Davis and Disterhoft on the court. Meyer’s standout moment came in the second half when she stole the ball before hitting Davis with a pass up court. Davis set Disterhoft up underneath the basket before finishing with a reverse lay-up.
Meyer-to-Davis-to-Disterhoft might be a combo we see often this season, but Bluder did not commit to Meyer starting in her post game statements.
“I really don’t know,” Bluder said.
Disterhoft liked what she saw from the youngsters against Lewis.
“I think they did a great job, and I’ve been impressed with them from the get-go,” Disterhoft said. “The energy they bring offensively and defensively really showed today. It’s fun to be out there with them.”
As for the rest of the game, the Hawkeyes were able to corral 20 offensive rebounds over an undersized Lewis team. Gustafson dominated inside and showed off her newly added hook shot on numerous occasions.
“I think going in that I was going to be going up against a good post player and my goal was to grab rebounds and stay in front of her,” Gustafson said. “I think it worked.”
The Hawkeyes will be back in action with a home game against Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by a contest against Hampton on Nov. 13.