Dec. 21, 2013
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- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
IOWA CITY, Iowa — With the University of Iowa women’s basketball team slipping into a Finals Funk on Saturday against Drake, head coach Lisa Bluder was on the lookout for an “oh wow” moment to turn the tide.
For the Hawkeyes, “oh wow” moments usually come from junior guard Samantha Logic. She supplied plenty once again by posting a triple-double with 17 rebounds, 12 points, and 10 assists during Iowa’s 73-51 win on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa improved to 11-2 overall; Drake lost for the first time in four games and evened its record at 5-5.
The Hawkeyes shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second half when they outscored the Bulldogs 45-27.
“The second half was a nice Christmas present,” Bluder said. “I wondered what was going on for a little bit in the first half. I think we were stuck in a Finals funk or something. It wasn’t a pretty first half.”
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It was the first game in nine days for Iowa, which last took the court Dec. 12.
The first 20 minutes featured 10 lead changes and three ties. The largest advantage was five points when Drake’s Lizzy Wendell made two free throws to put the Bulldogs on top, 9-4. Freshman Ally Disterhoft led the Hawkeyes in scoring at the break with seven points; junior Bethany Doolittle and freshman Alexa Kastanek added six apiece. Logic pulled down eight rebounds with five assists.
After misfiring on 17 of their first 19 3-point field goals, the Hawkeyes grabbed their first double-digit lead when senior Theairra Taylor made a 3-pointer with 13:17 left to put them on top, 43-32. Iowa blew the game open from there…with a big assist from Logic, who did the bulk of her work in the second half with 10 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
“We were crashing and boxing out in the second half and I think that had a lot to do with it,” Logic said. “Then we could get out and push and get stops; when you get rebounds, you can push, and that’s what we wanted to do. The first half we weren’t able to do that as much because we weren’t getting stops.”
“What can I say about Sam that hasn’t already been said?” Bluder said. “Every game I get an `oh wow’ moment where I just stand up and applaud because it’s so much fun to see what she did.”
Logic was 6-of-7 from the field. It took her triple-double to overshadow the effort of Disterhoft, who scored 17 points (on 8-of-14 shooting from the field) with nine rebounds. Junior Melissa Dixon added 13 points and six steals.
Iowa scored 31 points off 21 turnovers and held an advantage of 46-16 in paint points.
The Hawkeyes made just 1-of-16 from 3-point range during the first 20 half (4-of-26 for the game) and was outrebounded 27-21 (43-42 for the game).
After averaging nearly 25 free throw attempts in the first 12 games, Iowa was just 3-of-4 from the line against Drake.
“I am concerned about that,” Bluder said. “We need to get there, we need to draw fouls. We weren’t even in the bonus in the second half, so yeah, it’s a little bit of an area of concern.”
The Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, Dec. 28, hosting North Dakota with a 2 p.m. (CT) tip. Iowa has won seven of its last eight games.
“Last year we came back and we played well after Christmas,” Bluder said. “It can actually give you a little more inspiration to get that pep back in your step.”