Passing and scoring points on turnovers were keys for Iowa on Dec. 21 in Carver-Hawkeye as the Hawkeyes defeated Drake, 79-67.

The Hawkeyes took advantage of the Bulldogs’ turnovers, scoring 31 points on them. Iowa shot 53.6 percent from the field and dished out 20 assists. It helped that the Bulldogs didn’t get to the free-throw line in the first half and knocked down only seven free throws in the game.

With the victory, the Hawkeyes close out their nonconference schedule at 9-2. The team has come a long way since its 88-66 loss to Northern Iowa on Nov. 17.

“I’m really proud of our women,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “Just their focus this week. Finals week is very trying because we have women who are very serious about their academics, and we want it that way. So they don’t take any shortcuts in studying, they work hard at it, and for them to be able to get through finals and refocus for this kind of an emotional in-state game, I really credit them for that.”

Senior guard Makenzie Meyer led the Hawkeyes with 24 points, with senior guard Kathleen Doyle chipping in 19. The second half was big for both players; they each scored 15.

The starters carried the Hawkeyes, scoring all Iowa’s points but 2. Sophomore post player Monika Czinano put up 17, junior Alexis Sevillian had 11, and senior forward Amanda Ollinger had 6.

Freshman swing player McKenna Warnock was the only bench player to score — she hit a free throw with 3:03 left in the third quarter.

“But she played some important other minutes,” Bluder said. “It wasn’t just the offense that we look at, it’s the defense and the rebounding as well.”

The second quarter put the Hawkeyes ahead. They outscored the Bulldogs 23-10 in the quarter, making the halftime lead 37-27. The Bulldogs had led 17-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Limiting the Bulldogs leading scorer was key for the Hawkeyes; senior Sara Rhine scored 17 points. Before the game, she averaged 19.1 points per game.

Perhaps more important were the 14 steals the Hawkeyes recorded. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 22 times.

“I think they’re such a good pass-and-cut team, and they really rely on that vision,” Doyle said. “So just trying to get up into them a little bit and making them uncomfortable, it makes those threading-the-needle passes a little bit harder. So I think we did a good job of trying to get up in them a little bit and trying to disrupt what they wanted to do.”

Recording 20 assists once again showed that the Hawkeyes are a passing team. The 21.1 assists per game they had before the contest was fifth in the nation

“We’re all such unselfish basketball players,” Meyer said. “It makes it so much fun offensively to know that if you’re wide open, you’re going to get a shot and your teammates going to find you. I think that just comes with how much confidence we have in each other. If we see somebody open, we’re going to give them the look.”

The Hawkeyes will next take the court against Nebraska Dec. 28 at 1 p.m. in Lincoln.