By michael mccurdy
It could be chess, hopscotch, or Jenga. If it’s Iowa against Iowa State, people across state care — a lot.
The Iowa women’s basketball team tipped off rivalry week versus Iowa State Wednesday night with many expecting a close contest.
In a game of runs, Iowa defeated Iowa State, 88-76. The Hawkeyes led by as many as 20 at times.
“You know, we were just the better team,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “We had five players in double figures, two women out here who had career highs today, Tania [Davis] and Kathleen [Doyle]. We shot the ball extremely well, and that second quarter was good, and the third quarter we had a perfect shooting performance. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that before.”
Coming into the game, Iowa had the challenge of slowing down the Cyclone State offensive juggernaut Jadda Buckley. After she got settled in with some quick baskets, the Hawkeyes were able to limit her number of open looks.
Defensively in the first half, Iowa played with a level head — not allowing any driving lanes and closing out hard on Cyclone 3 pointers.
Even with Iowa’s first-half defensive efforts, its offense did not surge until mid-second quarter, when Iowa freshman Doyle took charge.
Doyle’s aggressive play and fiery energy sparked the Iowa offense, and as a result, the Hawkeyes went on 16-1 run with 4:09 left in the quarter to put them up 31-18.
During the barrage of Hawkeye points, Iowa sophomore Davis got into the mix nailing three 3-point baskets.
Davis talked about how when it comes to shooting, a lot of it comes down to confidence, and right now she is soaking in it.
“It’s confidence, but at the same time I think that the surgery helped me out a lot by not having my guide hand,” Davis said. “The surgery helped me out a lot, and my confidence is through the roof right now.”
As the second half carried on, it became clear which team was better. The Hawkeyes stretched the lead and never look back, reclaiming the Hawkeye State title.
Defensively, Iowa was able to force the Cyclones into shooting 38 percent from the field and 21 percent from 3-point line. The Hawkeyes consistently had hands in the faces of Cyclone shooters, making it difficult for them to get any open looks.
As for the offense, the production continues to grow seemingly every game. Early on in the season, the core of Iowa’s offense had been the consistent play of senior Ally Disterhoft and sophomore Megan Gustafson. This game sent Iowa into uncharted territory with other players stepping up offensively, such as Davis and Doyle.
Davis ended the contest 5-of-6 on 3-point shots and accumulated 23 points as Iowa’s leading scorer. Doyle was Iowa’s second leading scorer with 17 points.
It was Doyle’s first taste of the rivalry.
“It was the middle of the game, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is really fun,’ ” she said. “The crowd is so into it, and you can tell that the atmosphere is super intense. It is certainly fun to be in the Hawkeye State now.”
