March 18, 2024

Iowa women bury Cyclones at home

IOWA CITY — Iowa State head women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly described Wednesday’s Cy-Hawk game perfectly.

“One team made a lot of shots, and the other team didn’t make very many,” Fennelly said after his Cyclones were defeated by Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “​They made everything they looked at. We couldn’t guard them enough and couldn’t make enough shots to have a chance to win.”

Iowa got career-high performances from sophomore Tania Davis and freshman Kathleen Baldwin, the Hawkeyes buried 13-of-21 from long range and a huge second quarter ended up being the difference in an 88-76 win over the instate rival Cyclones.

Iowa State, which was playing away from Hilton Coliseum for the first time this season, connected on 1-of-14 from 3-point range in the first half and was 6-of-28 in all in the game. The first half was the issue.

The Hawkeyes (7-3) connected on 8-of-14 from outside in the first half, and a 28-16 advantage in the second quarter held up in the second half. Iowa led by as many as 22 points in the second half, and the Hawkeyes bench outscored the Cyclones reserves 22-10.

“Our locker room was a pretty happy locker room and it should have been,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “Our team prepared well for this game, mentally and physically, and I thought we kept our composure the entire game. We get up big, and they make a little run at us. For the most part we really kept our composure. I thought we were just the better team.”

Iowa led 15-12 after the first quarter. The 28-16 second quarter proved to be the difference. Iowa State outscored Iowa by three in the final two quarters.

Davis finished with a career-high 23 points. She connected on 7-of-11 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Doyle added a career-high 17 points and also dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds.

Five Hawkeyes reached double-figures in all. Senior Ally Disterhoft put in 14 points and delivered four assists and sophomore Megan Gustafson chipped in a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double, her third straight and sixth this season.

Christina Buttenham scored 10 points off the bench.

Disterhoft scored in double-figures for the 88th time in her 94 career starts at Iowa. She has reached double-digits in 43 straight games.

“They moved around a lot. They have a lot of different players that can do a lot of things,” Fennelly said. “I don’t think they expected to make 13-of-21 from 3-point range.”

There were a couple of those where there wasn’t anyone near them. Others were contested and you just have to give them credit.

Iowa State redshirt junior Jadda Buckley scored a team-high 21 points and four boards for the Cyclones, who were coming off a 100-point performance on Sunday.

Senior Seanna Johnson added 18 points, six rebounds and three assists, and sophomore Bridget Carleton scored 18 points and pulled down six rebounds. The rest of the team combined for 19 points.

It was the second straight dominating win over an instate school for the Hawkeyes, who blasted Northern Iowa, 88-39, on Sunday. Iowa will try to complete the season sweep of instate Division I schools when it travels to Drake on Dec. 18. The Bulldogs are coached by former Hawkeye Jennie Baranczyk.

“You know, we started out the season not shooting the ball well, and it was just kind of a mystery, honestly,” said Bluder, who spent several seasons on the bench at Drake. “We track our every shot in practice. We know how well that we shoot the ball, so it was just a matter of time. Luckily, you know, sometimes it just takes confidence too. Some start falling and then it’s kind of like an avalanche. So I’m just glad they kept the faith.”

Before taking on her former team, Bluder will get her team ready to face Robert Morris at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday.

Iowa State returns home for three straight home games. First up during that stretch is Northern Illinois on Dec. 11.