Feb. 1, 2015
By DARREN MILLER
hawkeyesports.com
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — No. 5 Maryland escaped No. 17 University of Iowa, 93-88, in a Super Sunday women’s basketball matchup that lived up to its hype in front of 5,373 at the XFINITY Center.
The Hawkeyes (17-4 overall, 8-2 Big Ten), who lost for just the second time since Dec. 7, saw their six-game winning streak come to an end. With its 13th straight victory, Maryland improved to 19-2, 10-0.
Iowa opened the game on an 8-0 run and extended its lead to 10 points (19-9) with 14:07 left in the first half.
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Maryland made 28-of-35 free throws, compared to 18-of-22 by the Hawkeyes. The Terrapins also won the rebounding battle, 41-29, with an 18-8 edge in offensive boards.
“I think we shocked them a little bit to begin this game, but unfortunately they get 10 more points than us off the free throw line and they killed us on the boards. They got 28 second-chance points,” UI head coach Lisa Bluder said. “We came in here and handled this situation really well. We came in as the underdog and we showed confidence and we shot the ball well from every area. We also took care of the ball pretty well.”
The Hawkeyes shot 52.5 percent from the field, 53.3 percent from 3-point (8-of-15) and 81.8 percent from the line. They committed 13 turnovers, compared to 12 by Maryland.
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Four Hawkeyes scored in double figures, led by junior Ally Disterhoft with 22. Senior Melissa Dixon scored eight of Iowa’s first 11 points, had 13 at halftime and finished with 18. Senior Samantha Logic added 17 points, seven assists, and six rebounds, and senior Bethany Doolittle scored 16 points with six rebounds. Sophomore Alexa Kastanek came off the bench to score eight points (4-of-5 field goals) in eight minutes.
“Our team kept good composure and battled out there,” Bluder said. “We had four people in double figures and our kids played well together.”
With 1:03 to play, Disterhoft made two free throws to pull the Hawkeyes within two at 86-84.
“We came into their house and we battled all the way,” Bluder said. “It was anybody’s game with a minute to go. I’m extremely proud of them and we need to use that moving forward. We know we can play with anyone in the country, anywhere in the country.”
The Terrapins were led by Lexie Brown with 26 points and Brionna Jones with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Jones corralled nine offensive rebounds, one more than the Hawkeyes.
Iowa made 15-of-26 field goals in the second half (57.7 percent). Disterhoft, Doolittle, and Logic all had 11 points during the final 20 minutes for the Hawkeyes.
“We have nothing to hang our heads about,” Disterhoft said. “We played with the No. 5 team in the nation, we had a lead on them at halftime, and it was a one possession game with a minute to play. This should show us we can hang with anybody in the country.”
Iowa returns to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday to play Ohio State (14-7, 6-3) with a 7 p.m. (CT) start. The Buckeyes have won three games in a row and host Michigan State on Monday.
“We could use everybody’s help because Ohio State is a tremendous basketball team,” Bluder said. “It would be great to have a great crowd to help us get back on a win streak.”
