Hawkeye women get revenge on Hoosiers in Big Ten Tournament
Iowa women’s basketball survived its first action in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament, taking down Indiana, 70-61.
From left: Indiana forward Brenna Wise, Iowa center Megan Gustafson, and Indiana guard Grace Berger wait to attempt a rebound during the women’s Big Ten tournament basketball game vs. Indiana at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday, March 8, 2019. The Hawkeyes defeated the Hoosiers 70-61.
March 8, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS — No. 10 Iowa women’s basketball took down Indiana, 70-61, on Day 3 of the Big Ten Tournament.
It was a game that started off with a 6-0 Hawkeye run. The team held onto that lead all the way into the locker room at halftime, as it led 33-27.
Iowa may have held the lead through most of the first three quarters, but it never led by more than 9 points over that stretch.
Indiana went on a run in the third, eventually taking the lead, 43-42, with just over a minute left in the quarter.
Instead of panicking, Iowa did what it has all season long: get the ball to their best player, Megan Gustafson.
She immediately erased the Hoosiers slim lead with back-to-back buckets to make it 46-43 Iowa heading into the fourth.
Iowa fended off Indiana for a large part of the quarter before the Hoosiers took a 54-53 lead with 4:30 left in the game.
Enter Kathleen Doyle and Tania Davis. Davis hit a 3-pointer and Doyle knocked down a 15-foot jumper to give Iowa a 58-54 advantage with 3:10 left in the game. It was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Unsurprisingly, Megan Gustafson led the way for the Hawkeyes with 30 points and 17 rebounds along with an impressive 4 blocks. That wasn’t all, she also handed out 4 assists in an all-around stellar night for the Naismith Player of the Year candidate.
Gustafson also broke yet another record in the win. This time, she took down was her old single-season point record of 823. She now has 832 points.
Also making some significant contributions for Iowa was Makenzie Meyer – who finished with 12 points and 3 assists – and Hannah Stewart, who dropped 9 points with 13 rebounds and 2 assists.
Doyle struggled from the field for much of the game, shooting just 2-for-9, but kept the ball moving on offense and picked up 6 assists.
While statistics could show a decent night on offense – Iowa shot 45.6 percent from the field – it sometimes struggled to get off shots, turning the ball over 9 times in the first half.
Up next for Iowa will be the winner of Friday’s final game between Rutgers and Purdue. The winner will play Iowa tomorrow at approximately 6:30 p.m.