Gustafson perfect from the floor in dominant win over Lady Toppers
Iowa women’s basketball easily topped Western Kentucky, thanks to big performances from Megan Gustafson and Makenzie Meyer.
Iowa forward Megan Gustafson attempts a shot during the Iowa/Penn State basketball game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018.
November 13, 2018
The No. 13 Iowa women’s basketball team hit the road and came away with a win Tuesday as it throttled Western Kentucky on its way to a 104-67 win.
Once again, it was a fast start that propelled the Hawkeyes to victory, as a flurry of early 3-pointers gave Iowa (2-0) the 17-9 lead early in the first quarter.
The lead only grew from there for Iowa as it managed to make it 50-39 by halftime.
Then Iowa came out and steamrolled the Lady Toppers (0-3); the Hawkeyes outscored them 29-10 in the third quarter.
Iowa’s strong performance in the third was a direct result from a rough second half in its season-opener against Oral Roberts.
“It was definitely an emphasis,” head coach Lisa Bluder said in a release. “Let’s learn a lesson from the last game and boy, did they ever.
“They were ready to go in the third quarter and I really liked the energy we brought to the second half versus what we did against Oral Roberts last Friday night.”
It was the usual suspects for Iowa as Megan Gustafson got her double-double with 29 points, going a perfect 13-13 from the field, along with 12 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.
Gustafson made a bit of history Tuesday night, becoming the first Hawkeye to record a perfect shooting percentage with nine or more attempts since Jamie Cavey went 9-for-9 in 2003.
She also became just the sixth Big Ten student-athlete to put up 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds; Gustafson is also just the second Hawkeye to record 1,000 rebounds.
Makenzie Meyer was second in points with 21, which tied her career-high. She was 5-of-10 from deep and contributed 7 rebounds and 8 assists as well.
Hannah Stewart and Alexis Sevillian also had a big impact, as Stewart added 14 points with 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Sevillian had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals.
In her second game since coming back from injury, Tania Davis continued to struggle to find points as she managed just 9, but she proved she can still facilitate, handing out 7 assists.
Iowa got production mainly from Amanda Ollinger and Zion Sanders off the bench. Both were playing in just their second game after missing time due to injury.
Ollinger put up 9 points in 20 minutes with 2 rebounds to go along with 3 assists, while Sanders was a perfect 3-of-3 from deep for 9 points to go with her 3 rebounds.
“We got better tonight,” Bluder said in a release. “It was really nice to see. Our first and third quarters were as good of basketball as we have played all year. What can I say about Megan [Gustafson]? It is just ridiculous.”
Next, the Hawkeyes will return to Carver-Hawkeye to play North Carolina Central on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
“We have to keep it rolling and start getting ready to get better every game,” Bluder said in a release. “That’s our focus – try to get better every single game that we’re on the floor.”
