Dec. 12, 2013
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AMES, Iowa — The Hawkeyes still can’t solve the Hilton magic.
The No. 21 University of Iowa women’s basketball team’s six-game winning streak came to a halt with an 83-70 loss at No. 17 Iowa State in an Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup in front of 11,543 fans inside Hilton Coliseum.
“This is a game we didn’t play our best game,” said UI head coach Lisa Bluder. “Credit Iowa State, they have a really good team, a great environment and they used it tonight and played a good game.”
The Hawkeyes shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the field and limited the Cyclones to 32.1 (18-of-56) shooting, but they couldn’t make up for a 24-point swing at the free throw stripe.
“They were penetrating a lot more than we were, putting their heads down and driving,” said Bluder. “When a team shoots 49 free throws to our 20, that’s a 30-point opportunity at the free throw line. That’s disappointing.”
Iowa was whistled for 30 fouls in the contest, which led to a 37-of-49 performance for the Cyclones; the Hawkeyes were 13-of-20. Iowa State also made 10-of-27 3-point attempts, while Iowa was held to its second-lowest 3-point output of the season, making 5-of-15 attempts. The Cyclones also were plus-nine on the glass, 46-37.
The Hawkeyes had five players finish in double figures with junior Samantha Logic leading the way with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Senior Theairra Taylor and junior Bethany Doolittle scored 12 points apiece, while junior Melissa Dixon and freshman Ally Disterhoft each added 11 points.
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Iowa State had three players finish in double digits, led by Brynn Williamson’s 21 points — 15 of which came in the first half. Jadda Buckley scored 19 points, 14 from the free throw stripe, and Hallie Christofferson posted a double-double with 18 points (9-of-12 FT) and 14 rebounds. Seanna Johnson grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.
After leading by 13 points (41-28) at the break, the Cyclones broke the game open early in the second half, scoring 11-of-the-first-15 points to open up a 52-32 lead. With 10 minutes remaining, the Hawkeyes staged a comeback, using a 9-0 spurt to climb to within 10 points.
Dixon opened a 7-0 Iowa run with a 3-pointer before Taylor followed with a layup and Logic the final four points to trim the deficit to 61-51 with 6:49 remaining. The Cyclones followed with six straight points at the free throw line to make it a 16-point margin (67-51) with five minutes left.
Thirteen of Iowa State’s final 16 points came from the foul stripe.
The Hawkeyes got the type of start they were looking for when Dixon connected on a 3-pointer for the game’s first points, but that was the junior’s only field goal of the first half. The Cyclones tied the game at five before taking their first lead at 9-8 on a 3-pointer by Williamson.
With Iowa State leading 14-13, the Cyclones reeled off 13-straight points to grab a 27-13 advantage. The run began and ended with 3-point field goals. The Hawkeyes fought back to within single digits when a Taylor long ball trimmed the lead to 33-24 with 2:22 left in the first half, but Iowa State scored eight of the final 12 points to take a 41-28 lead into the locker room.
The Hawkeyes (10-2) return to action on Saturday, Dec. 21, against Drake. The game is set to begin at 4 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“I hate that our players have to sit on this for a long time,” said Bluder. “Ten days to sit on a loss is awful and to go through finals on a losing note is hard.
“We have Drake next Saturday, and it’s an instate rivalry. We need to come back and play our best against Drake.”