Iowa women’s hoops team shot 60 percent from the field in a drubbing of Northern Illinois.
By Sean Bock
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They say the mid-range game is a lost art in today’s era of basketball.
Chase Coley is starting a petition to bring it back.
The senior forward scored 14 of her 20 points in the first half and was 8-of-12 from the field to go along with 7 rebounds as the Iowa women’s basketball team took down Northern Illinois in a 105-80 rout in Carver-Hawkeye on Wednesday night.
“I just kind of try to give what the defense gives me,” Coley said. “They were giving me a few open looks. It’s what we work on in practice. They left me open a few times today, and I took those shots.”
After being honored for her 1,000th college point before the game, junior forward Megan Gustafson wanted to join in on the fun.
Gustafson had 22 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double in three games to start the season. It was the 30th of her career.
Hannah Stewart came off the bench and provided a much-needed spark. The junior forward had 13 points and 11 rebounds and shot 6-of-7 from the field in 11 minutes
The Hawkeyes were dominant down low as they outscored Huskies, 52-22 in the paint.
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With the loss of starting sophomore guard Kathleen Doyle on Nov. 11, redshirt freshman Alexis Sevillian stepped up and excelled in the starting role.
Sevillian finished with 15 points and shot 3-of-9 from behind the arc in 30 minutes.
Doyle’s status remains uncertain, but if Sevillian can contribute as she did in this one, the backcourt will be in good hands until Doyle returns.
“Alexis came in and did really well,” Bluder said. “Offensively, she got us going early. We don’t have very many pieces, but we have the right pieces. Doyle going down, this team is confident — next man up.”
Sevillian’s play was only a small fraction of the backcourt’s exceptional performance.
Junior Tania Davis had herself an orthodox double-double, pouring in 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while dishing out 7 assists.
Sophomore Makenzie Meyer also did an excellent job of finding her teammates as she had 8 assists and chipped in 11 points.
“It felt good,” Sevillian said. “I treated it as if I was coming off the bench. [I had] the same intensity, the same energy, to help my teammates get going.”
Senior Courtney Woods led the way with 22 points for the Huskies, while Janae Poisson followed suit with 18 points.
Northern Illinois let it fly often from deep, attempting 38 3-pointers on the night and converting 14. The 3-ball is what kept the Huskies close at the start, but as the saying goes: You live by the 3, you die by the 3.
Iowa (3-0) will conclude its four-game home stand on Nov. 19 against Western Michigan at 2 p.m.
“I’m happy with the way we pushed the ball,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “I think we got some great looks inside. I thought our post play was stellar. I thought Chase [Coley] played a great game — her best game of the season.”