Hawkeye women add to Big Ten win column with victory over Wisconsin

Megan Gustafson and Kathleen Doyle led the way for Iowa in its second win in conference play.

Shivansh Ahuja

Iowa guard Kathleen Doyle dribbles during a women’s basketball matchup between Wisconsin and Iowa on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019. The Hawkeyes defeated the Badgers, 71-53.

Pete Mills, Sports Reporter

Megan Gustafson put up her 13th double-double of the season in Iowa’s second conference victory over Wisconsin on Monday at Carver-Hawkeye.

The No. 17 Hawkeyes moved to 2-1 in Big Ten competition and 11-3 overall in the 71-53 win over the Badgers.

Guard Kathleen Doyle is regaining her dominance in the passing game from last season, leading Iowa with 7 assists on the night. Among those assists was a no-looker, much akin to the style of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Four familiar Hawkeyes managed to score in double figures: Gustafson, Doyle, Makenzie Meyer, and Hannah Stewart. Gustafson led the Hawkeyes with 21 on the night.

The Hawkeyes played a very clean game against the Badgers. Iowa only committed 10 turnovers and met those errors with 23 assists. Wisconsin, on the other hand, committed 17 turnovers with only 11 assists. This is big news for head coach Lisa Bluder’s team because cutting down on turnovers has been a point of focus for the squad.

Even though it was a convincing Iowa win, Wisconsin showed some grit in the paint. The Badgers surprised Iowa down low, even outpacing the Hawkeyes in rebounding in the matchup. This was largely due to forward Imani Lewis, who grabbed 11 boards on the night.

Still, the game ended up being a second-straight victory for Iowa. The Hawkeyes look to stretch the streak to three with an away bout against Purdue coming up on Jan. 10.