The No. 24 Iowa women’s basketball team fought hard through four quarters of play to triumph over Purdue on Sunday, besting the Boilermakers 84-63 in its Big Ten home opener inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

While Purdue struggled with shooting behind 41 percent field goal accuracy, the Hawkeyes showcased a much more efficient offense, shooting at a 54.8 percent clip from the field, including 33.3 percent from the arc. Fourth-year Addison O’Grady led Iowa in scoring with 12 points as well as three rebounds and two steals. Five Hawkeyes also contributed nine points each, including first-years Ava Heiden, Aaliyah Guyton, and Taylor Stremlow.

Iowa thus improved to 11-2 overall, breaking even at 1-1 in Big Ten play, while Purdue falls to 7-6 with the loss, including an 0-2 conference record.

The Hawkeyes started the game strongly, building up momentum to last them the duration of the competition. Iowa outscored the Boilermakers, 27-13, in the first quarter alone, all while shooting a high of 66.7 percent from the field, including two buckets from behind the arc. Fourth-year point guard Lucy Olsen and Stremlow were standout players, nabbing six and five points, respectively.

In an era where turnovers have proven costly to the Hawkeyes, Iowa kept its composure throughout the game as a whole with 16 turnovers to keep below Purdue’s 18. The Hawkeyes saw only two turnovers in the entirety of the first quarter, tied with the fourth quarter for the game’s lowest.

Iowa kept moving forward in the second quarter, where it was Guyton’s turn to shine; the first-year nailed two shots from inside the arc, throwing in a three for good measure. Fourth-year Sydney Affolter also put up five points of her own to end the half, along with a four-point effort from Stremlow to bring her to a career-high of nine.

The Hawkeyes ultimately outscored the Boilermakers, 23-19, in the second quarter too with a 15-3 scoring run at the end of the half, giving Iowa a 50-32 lead going into the locker room.

Pressure to the end

The Hawkeyes saw a more meager scoring performance in the third quarter, going only 38.5 percent from the field and 20 percent from the three-point line, compared to Purdue’s 37.5 and 50 percent, respectively. 

Despite more sluggish shooting overall, a total of five points from the charity stripe, courtesy of third-year Hannah Stuelke and O’Grady, gave Iowa a narrow edge, outscoring the Boilermakers, 16-15, in the third quarter to bring the game to 66-47 going into the fourth.

The Hawkeyes closed out the game on a high note with a much stronger shooting performance. While Iowa made only two threes of seven attempts in the fourth quarter, courtesy of first-year Teagan Mallegni and fourth-year Kylie Feuerbach, the Hawkeyes shot better on field goals as a whole, keeping a 53.3 percent clip.

Mallegni was a standout player in the game’s final quarter, leading Iowa’s offense with five points to her name. Heiden contributed four points of her own as well, shooting 100 percent from the field over the course of the entire game.

The Hawkeyes kept enough of a lead, while simultaneously improving their own shooting efforts, to close out their Big Ten home opener with an 84-63 win.

Up next

With the win, Iowa has now won 19-straight games played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

The Hawkeyes return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 1, in their Big Ten outing at Penn State. The contest, tipping off at noon, is set to receive coverage from both Big Ten Plus and the Hawkeye Radio Network.