Take points where you can get them. That seems to be the Iowa women’s basketball team’s motto this season, and that was evident in its 77–51 win against Northwestern in Evanston.

Like many other games this season, both the post and perimeter scoring excelled for the Hawkeyes, as sophomore center Monika Czinano led the team with 21 points. Her teammate in the post, senior forward Amanda Ollinger, scored 11 points and had her second double-double of the season with 12 rebounds.

On the perimeter, 3-pointers rained for the Hawkeyes, as they had nine of them. Senior guard Kathleen Doyle had 15 points. A collection of other players helped in the perimeter as well, such as freshman swing player McKenna Warnock scoring 12 points and senior guard Makenzie Meyer contributing nine points.

“I think we’re doing a great job of our in-and-out game and also we were doing a really good job on the boards” Czinano said. “Overall, we know Northwestern is a team that prides itself in making other teams’ turnover, and our game plan going in was just to stay calm, cool, and collected, and I think we did a good job at that.”

Rebounding was key for the Hawkeyes.  As a team, Iowa held the rebounding advantage over the Wildcats, 38-25. Unsurprisingly, most came from post players, but the perimeter players were effective as well in that area.

Getting points in the paint helped the Hawkeyes, as they scored 34 points in that area. This was very present in the second half, as Iowa made 24 buckets from there.

“We wouldn’t be doing what we’re been doing and being effective as we are without our guards making incredible passes and being able to find us when we’re open,” Czinano said. It’s kind of an all-around effort in order for any one individual to be good.”

The lead was in the Hawkeyes’ favor for most of the contest. They took the lead with 8:50 to go in the first quarter and never relinquished it.

Coming into the game, the Hawkeyes knew junior guard Lindsey Pulliam would give them challenges. She did, as she scored 25 points on 10–of-23 shooting from the field, but that clearly wasn’t enough for the Wildcats, as their next highest scorer had only 10 points. As a team, they were 20–of-56 from the field and made only four 3-pointers.

“I know Pulliam got a lot of points, but she had to work for them, and she had to take a lot of shots to get those points,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “So, I think it was a matter of we were aware of where shooters were all the time and [we] really moved hard on the pass.”

This game was a homecoming for Doyle, as she is from LaGrange Park, Illinois. With the Chicago area having a large Iowa alumni population, the whole team enjoyed the Hawkeye support on the road, but especially Doyle with many of her friends and family in attendance.

“It’s really fun playing in front of a big crowd of your family and friends and I’m really lucky to have such an awesome, supportive group that’s always there for me, so it definitely gives you a big boost of energy,” Doyle said. “It’s a lot of fun to play in front of [them].”

The Hawkeyes return home Thursday at 7 p.m. to face Maryland.