Dec. 5, 2007
AMES, Iowa — It took the University of Iowa women’s basketball team a half to warm up, but by the time the Hawkeyes got in a groove, it was too little, too late during a 58-44 loss to Iowa State in front of 12,931 inside Hilton Coliseum.
Iowa “won” the final 20 minutes, 31-30, but it was little consolation after digging a 15-point hole in the first half. It is the sixth consecutive win in the series for the Cyclones in Ames. Iowa State improved to 5-1, Iowa is 5-3.
“We had a lot better second half, so that’s a small glimmer of hope,” UI Head Coach Lisa Bluder said. “Credit the Iowa State defense. They did a tremendous job holding us to five field goals in the first half.”
Wendy Ausdemore led the Hawkeyes with 16 points and she also contributed five rebounds. Kristi Smith scored all of her points — 14 — in the second half. Megan Skouby was also in double figures with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Iowa State scored 19 points off 17 Hawkeye turnovers and scored 40 points in the paint, compared to 16 paint-points by Iowa
“Part of that was their 19 offensive rebounds,” Bluder said. “That elevated their paint total. I’m happy with our defense. We held them to 32 percent shooting (from the field), but we gave up too many offensive rebounds.”
Iowa heated up in the second half, making 12 of 29 field goals (41.4 percent) and 4 of 6 three-point field goals. Krista VandeVenter and Kachine Alexander both chipped in with two points. VandeVenter also added seven rebounds with Alexander pulling down six (five offensive).
Iowa State’s Alison Lacey led all scorers with 17; Toccara Ross compiled 10 rebounds.
The Cyclones led 28-13 at halftime with 20 of those points coming in the paint. Two Iowa players — Skouby and Ausdemore — scored points during the first 25-minutes, 49-seconds. Skouby had eight points and four rebounds at the break and Ausdemore added five points and four boards. Iowa State’s bench contributed 10 points compared to none by the Hawkeyes.
Iowa made 5 of 29 field goals in the first half (17.2 percent) and Iowa State made 13 of 38 (34.2 percent).
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