Feb. 9, 2006
IOWA CITY, IA – – Iowa won its 11th-straight game over Northwestern with a 76-61 triumph tonight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa’s frontcourt of Megan Skouby, Krista VandeVenter and Morgan Kasperek sparked the Hawkeyes in victory. The trio combined for 37 points on 16-26 shooting from the field (61.5%) and 5-6 from the foul line (83.3%) and also pulled down 24 rebounds. VandeVenter posted her third double-double of the season and sixth of her career, collecting 13 points and 13 rebounds. She also dished out four assists. Skouby netted a game-high 16 points, while Kasperek contributed eight points.
Iowa (14-8, 7-4) jumped out to a quick 9-0 advantage in the first 4:30. Northwestern missed its first nine field goal attempts during the scoring drought. The Hawkeyes had an eight-point cushion (34-28) at the half.
Northwestern opened the second half on a 12-7 run to close the Iowa advantage to three (41-38) with 15:30 remaining. The Hawkeyes answered the Wildcats’ surge and re-established a double digit lead by the eight-minute mark. Iowa’s lead swelled to as many as 23 points in the closing minutes.
For the second-straight game, Iowa shot a blistering percent from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes converted 21-23 from the charity stripe for a 91.3% shooting percentage. The Wildcats only managed to get to the foul line 12 times, converting nine. Iowa has missed only six free throws (50-56) in its last three games, shooting at a 89.2% clip.
Northwestern (6-17, 2-10) had two players post double-doubles tonight. Ifeoma Okonkwo tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Kristin Cartwright registered 13 points and 11 rebounds in defeat.
Iowa’s leading scorer, Crystal Smith, struggled from the field again, scoring only six points (1-10, FG, 4-4 FT) against Northwestern. The native of Haughton, LA, has only made 10 of her last 50 field goal attempts (20%) the last four contests. Her defensive skills shined tonight as she collected a game-high four steals.
Iowa out-rebounded Northwestern 39-37 tonight, improving to 9-0 when collecting more rebounds than its opponent.
The Hawkeyes return to action when they travel to Columbus, OH, to face seventh-ranked Ohio State Sunday. Tip-off is slated for 4:05 p.m. (CST) at Value City Arena.