By Michael McCurdy | [email protected]
Emotions ran high in Carver-Hawkeye on Sunday, when the Iowa women’s basketball team welcomed Wisconsin for Senior Day.
In what was a back and forth battle, the Hawkeyes pulled away late in the fourth quarter thanks to an and-1 lay-up from senior Ally Disterhoft. The 3-point play ignited a 13-2 run, giving Iowa a comfortable cushion to close out the contest, 71-60.
“What a great way to end our regular season here with a nice crowd today and an opportunity to recognize our three seniors,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “They all have done such a great job for us the last four years, so it’s nice that they went out on a win on their home court.”
Early on, Wisconsin dominated the paint offensively. The Badgers frontcourt kept them in the game for the first half, especially the play of senior Avyanna Young, who muscled her way to 22 points.
Iowa replicated Wisconsin’s game strategy and pounded the ball inside to sophomore Megan Gustafson but wasn’t able to distance itself from the Badgers.
That was until Iowa’s Disterhoft and freshman Makenzie Meyer nailed a couple of 3-pointers to give Iowa a 7-point cushion at the half.
Then, the third quarter happened. Iowa scored a grand total of 8 points in those 10 minutes; the offense looked stagnant, and the turnovers accumulated, letting Wisconsin get back in the game.
“We had 7 turnovers in 10 minutes of play, and so you’re just not giving yourself an opportunity to score,” Bluder said. “And then we weren’t boxing out, either, so I think it was a combination of giving up too many offensive rebounds and just not valuing the ball.”
Because of Iowa’s poor third-quarter performance, Wisconsin was able to retake the lead with 9:09 left in the game, forcing Bluder to call a time-out.
Iowa senior Alexa Kastanek said the huddle was all about letting the seniors know the end was near to try to rally the troops late in the game, and boy, did Bluder’s message pay off.
Down the stretch, Iowa was able to retake the lead thanks to a 3-point play from Disterhoft, but what really put the Hawkeyes in the driver’s seat was Kastanek’s back-to-back 3-pointers to put Iowa up, 65-58.
“The first one that I hit came when the shot clock was winding down,” Kastanek said. “It was a little farther out than a normal shot and little more contested than something I’m used to. But its going down made me want to have a heat check for the next trip, and that’s what happened.”
It only seemed fitting for the last home game to end with a senior-led comeback.
Gustafson led the Hawkeyes in points with 22, going an efficient 10-of-13 in field goals, while Disterhoft came in second with 19 points, the consistent one-two punch for Iowa.
After the victory, the fans stayed in their bleachers ad kept their gaze out to center court where the three seniors, Disterhoft, Kastanek, and Hailey Schneden, were recognized.
“It’s hard not to get emotional when you’re reflecting on the past four years,” Disterhoft said. “You’re talking about people like your family, coaches, and your teammates, people you love so much. Those are the people mean the most to me in the entire world, so I wasn’t expecting to get emotional, but things happen, I guess.”