The Iowa women’s basketball team ventured across the state to Des Moines on Sunday to take on in-state rival Drake. In the toughest competition of the season so far, the Hawkeyes managed to outlast the Bulldogs’ three-point shooting and finished the afternoon with an 86-73 win.
Fourth-year Addison O’Grady led the way in scoring with a double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds, followed by fourth-year Lucy Olsen with 18 points. Third-year Hannah Stuelke and first-year Teagan Mallegni followed with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
First Half
The first quarter established an intense contest between both teams. While Drake won the opening tipoff, a steal by Olsen and a layup by O’Grady put the first points on the board for the Hawkeyes. But it was the Bulldogs who jumped out to an early lead on a trio of three-points shots to establish a 9-4 gap.
Iowa tied the score at numerous intervals, locking Drake down defensively while shooting 64 percent from the floor. But the Bulldogs continued to let it fly from three, and led 25-21 at the end of the first quarter.
The Hawkeyes struck back in the second quarter, holding the Bulldogs to 10 points while scoring 24 of their own. Several players created opportunities for Iowa, including Olsen with eight points, O’Grady with four, and Stuelke and Feuerbach with two each.
Tied 35-35 as the half came to a close, Iowa powered their way through a 10-point run, starting with scores from Mallegni and Olsen before Mallegni knocked in a pair of threes to give the Black and Gold a 45-35 edge.
“I think the team really stepped up and played really well,” Mallegni said. “I think we were grittier in that stretch, which led to those baskets. I think overall, the team really stepped it up.”
Second Half
Iowa began to pull away in the second half due to an improved shooting clip from distance. Initially shooting 20 percent from the three-point line in the first half, the Hawkeyes upped this number to 42 percent in the third quarter.
Iowa outscored Drake by only one point in the third quarter, but several Hawkeyes shined in the frame.
McCabe knocked in two threes, and Mallegni contributed one of her own. The period ended with both teams going one-for-two from the free throw line, and the Hawkeyes held a comfortable 71-60 lead with one quarter to go.
Three-point shots continued to be a dealbreaker in the fourth quarter, this time for Drake. Iowa shot only two threes, one of them a basket by McCabe, to net a game-high 50 percent in accuracy.
On the flip side, the Bulldogs struggled from distance, going only 2-of-14 from beyond the arc, and the Hawkeyes cruised to victory.
“I feel like it all starts in practice,” O’Grady said of the team’s increased consistency. “We’re playing against our gray squad guys and they’re mimicking what the other team is doing, so when we get to the actual game, we’re ready for it.”
O’Grady also noted the team’s focal point on more than just deep shooting.
“I think it’s really good that early in the season, we’re looking inside and getting our inside game going,” O’Grady said. “If our three-pointers aren’t falling, we can fall back on that.”
The game was emotional for Iowa head coach Jan Jensen, who played for Drake from 1987-1991 and served as an assistant coach there for seven seasons under Lisa Bluder before following Bluder to the Hawkeyes in 2000 as an assistant. Jensen was named Iowa’s head coach after Bluder retired in the offseason.
“I just am so proud and so thankful that I get this role,” Iowa head coach Jan Jensen said. “I’m grateful.”
Up next
Iowa returns to action on Nov. 20, traveling to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take on the Kansas Jayhawks, who are 4-0 on the season. The game is set to receive coverage from both the Big Ten and Hawkeye Radio Networks.