Dec. 2, 2007
IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team shook off a slow start – perhaps a hangover from the first winter storm of the season that ripped through the UI campus on Saturday – to register a 65-42 victory over Detroit Sunday afternoon in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Hawkeyes and the Titans played to five ties before Wendy Ausdemore sank a three-point bucket to give Iowa a 16-13 lead with 4:50 left to play in the opening stanza. Iowa stretched its margin to five three times before intermission, the last coming on a lay-up with 32 second to play by Stacy Schlapkohl that pushed the UI’s lead to 25-20.
Bluder’s Bunch outscored its guests 13-2 in the opening minutes of the second half and never looked back as they slowly but surely shook off the cold that might have come with the one-inch of ice that fell on Iowa City Saturday. The Hawkeyes led by more than 20 for all of the game’s final seven minutes.
All 12 Hawkeyes who saw game action put points on the board. Senior guard Kristi Smith paced Iowa in scoring with 10 points. Seven different UI players scored six points. Nicole VanderPol paced Iowa with six rebounds.
Iowa dominated the game statistically. The Hawkeye defense forced 21 turnovers and limited Detroit to just 26 percent shooting from the field. Only three of the Titans’ 17 three-point field goal attempts were successful. Iowa also claimed a 44-31 edge on the boards.
The Hawkeyes were guilty of 20 turnovers, however, and they were also less than stellar from the charity stripe, knocking down just 20 of 30 attempts.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Hawkeyes, who improved to 5-2. Iowa’s next contest is Wednesday against Iowa State. The Hawkeyes will be seeking a sweep in games against its intrastate rivals – the UI already has wins over Drake and Northern Iowa – and two points in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawkeye Series competition. Game time in Ames is set for shortly after 7 p.m.
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