It was another tough game in the Big Ten for the Iowa women’s basketball team, this time against Ohio State. But once again Iowa prevailed, 77-68, and a big part of that was due to senior guard Kathleen Doyle.

Doyle, who scored a game-high 26 points, started the game off strong and never let up.

In the first quarter, she had seven points, two rebounds, and two assists. That only continued in the second quarter when she added four points, two assists, one rebound, and stole a pass.

In the second half, Doyle’s work became even more important. Down 39-35 to the Buckeyes at halftime, the Hawkeyes worked their way back and took the lead with 5:22 to go. Late in the game, Doyle started making key shots and free throws that lengthened the Hawkeye’s lead, even when the Buckeyes were fighting back.  She hit the nail in the coffin with an and-one layup with 45.8 seconds to go.

In total, Doyle led Iowa with 7 assists and tied for the team lead with 8 rebounds.

“I think it’s really important in a zone for guards, the top guards, to get involved in the rebounding,” Doyle said. “A lot of times, it’s easy to ball watch when you’re up there, contesting the shot but just making a focused effort to go get that ball and go help out our backline.”

Doyle’s scoring came all over the court. She made five layups, two jumpers, one 3-pointer, and nine free throws. On the night, she was 66.7 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free throw line.

“My teammates do a great job of keeping me energized and motivated,” Doyle said. “It’s such a fun group of players to play with. You just play hard for 40 minutes.”

During the game, Doyle scanned the court and found sophomore center Monika Czinano and fellow senior guard Makenzie Meyer multiple times for buckets. Doyle started the game off with a pass to Czinano, who then hit a mid-range jumper.

Meyer has had success playing with Doyle all year.

“She always finds me,” Meyer said. “She does a really good job penetrating, and she knows if my defender comes over to help, that’s when she pitches to me to get a good look, so, yeah, nothing new.”

Doyle had a nice stretch in Iowa’s three previous comeback victories coming into this game. She scored 31 points against Indiana on Jan. 12, 17 points at Minnesota Jan. 16, and 21 points at Wisconsin Jan. 19. She had a double-double against Indiana with 10 assists.

She had a career high in the Hawkeyes’ blowout win over Illinois on Dec. 31 with 33 points.

As of this game, she is averaging 18.6 points per game and 6.2 assists per game this season, the most on the team.

Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder was proud of how Doyle led her team against the Buckeyes.

“She just wills our team to win,” Bluder said. “When she goes to the hoop with the ball, I have complete faith and trust in her.”

Doyle’s next chance to impress will be on Sunday at home against Michigan State in front of Hawkeye great Megan Gustafson, whose number will be retired in a ceremony after the game.