Jan. 4, 2015
By DARREN MILLER
hawkeyesports.com
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The No. 20 University of Iowa women’s basketball team won its fifth game in a row — and second straight on the road — Sunday, 79-72, against No. 16 Rutgers in front of 2,542 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
University of Iowa senior guard Melissa Dixon scored 21 points and made 6-of-10 from 3-point range. She is now Iowa’s all-time record holder for most 3-point field goals in a career (263) — two more than Lindsey Meder made from 1998-2002.
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“It always goes back to my teammates,” Dixon said. “They are always looking for that extra pass and they are so unselfish. We just play together as a team.”
UI head coach Lisa Bluder calls Dixon “instant life.” With 17 minutes to play, the Hawkeyes trailed, 40-38. Dixon sank back-to-back 3-point field goals and they led the rest of the game.
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“She is unbelievable. We’ll take an open 3 from Melissa any day,” Bluder said. “Congratulations goes out to her.”
The Hawkeyes led more than 33 minutes of the game and were on top, 69-56, with 6:23 remaining.
Iowa improved to 11-2 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten Conference; Rutgers is 10-4, 1-2.
The Hawkeyes shot 51.8 percent from the field (29-of-56) and 45.5 percent from the 3-point range (10-of-22), but an uncharacteristically low 45.8 percent from the free throw line (11-of-24). Rutgers shot 41.5 percent from the field and made just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Scarlet Knights made 16-of-18 free throws.
UI senior Samantha Logic shot 7-of-10 from the field and scored 17 points. She added six assists. Senior Bethany Doolittle was 6-of-10 from the field, scoring 14 points, with eight rebounds. Sophomore Ally Disterhoft added 14 points and made 5-of-6 free throws.
The six assists give Logic 702 for her career, surpassing Nebraska’s Lindsey Moore for sixth in Big Ten history.
“It’s a great win for us for a number of reasons,” Bluder said. “It’s our first road game in the Big Ten and it’s always nice to get that start in the right direction. Last year we had a pretty good road win percentage in the Big Ten (6-2), so hopefully we’re keeping that up with this veteran group of players.
“Also, it’s a top 20 win and any time you can get a top 20 road win, that’s big. We have a lot of respect for Rutgers, they are a great basketball team.”
Kahleah Copper of Rutgers led all players in scoring with 22 points. Tyler Scaife added 20.
Iowa returns to the road Thursday, Jan. 8, against Illinois (9-4, 0-1) with a 7 p.m. (CT) tip from the State Farm Center.
“We go on the road again, so two road games in the Big Ten in a row,” Bluder said. “But when you’re on break, I would rather be traveling. We aren’t missing school, so bring on the road games during the break.”
