Hawkeye women’s hoops blows past Illini
Iowa women’s basketball had it working in the paint against Illinois, out-rebounding and outworking the Illini down low.
Iowa forward Megan Gustafson drives the ball in a women’s basketball game against the University of Northern Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018. The Hawkeyes beat the Panthers, 83-57.
January 20, 2019
The No. 22 Iowa women’s basketball team blew through Illinois in a matchup on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Illini by a score of 94-75.
Senior Megan Gustafson had exactly 0 attempts from 3-point land in her career at Iowa before tip. As time expired in the first quarter, Gustafson drained her first career attempt from beyond the arc at the buzzer.
The team went on to shoot 11-for-22 from the 3-point line.
Gustafson came away with her 17th double-double of her season, tallying 27 points and 12 boards. She went 12-for-14 from the field in the win.
The Hawkeyes shared the ball very effectively against the Illini, committing only 11 turnovers to 24 assists. Guards Makenzie Meyer and Kathleen Doyle were a big part of this, adding 5 assists to the team’s total.
The Hawkeyes simply outworked the Illini in the paint. Iowa outrebounded Illinois by a 38-21 margin, and outscored Illinois in the paint, 46-28.
Because of the strong work inside, the Hawkeyes led for all but the opening 29 seconds of the meeting.
The only area where the Hawkeyes struggled was from the free-throw line. Iowa shot only 55 percent from the stripe, despite shooting 62 percent from the field. As the season goes on, the team will surely focus on cashing in on easy point opportunities from the line.
Regardless, Iowa clicked on all cylinders in the victory over Illinois. With a top-25 date with Rutgers looming this week, the win serves as a great momentum booster for the squad.
