Iowa women reverse a trend in victory over Iowa State
By Ryan Murken
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Over the past two decades Iowa State has won a lot of basketball games by virtue of the 3-pointer.
On Wednesday, Iowa beat the Cyclones at their own game.
Iowa went 13-of-21 from 3-point range and shot 57 percent from the floor in an 88-76 win over Iowa State (6-2) in front of more than 4,500 fans at Carver Hawkeye Arena.
The Hawkeyes made 9-of-10 3-pointers in the second and third quarters combined while outscoring the Cyclones 52-39 during that stretch.
"They move around a lot, they have a lot of motion, they have a lot of players that can do different things but I don't think anyone would say that they expected to go 13-of-21 from the 3-point line," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "When someone makes a shot, it is one of those things where I have seen a lot of games where its contagious both ways."
Tania Davis hit five 3-pointers while pouring in a career-high 23 points and freshman Kathlee Doyle had a pair of triples among her career-high 17 points as the home team won for the 10th straight time in the series.
Ally Disterhoft had 14 points, Megan Gustafson had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds and Christina Buttenham added 10 points as Iowa (7-3) avenged a 69-66 loss to Iowa State last season in Ames.
"It's just awesome to go out as a senior with a W against the biggest in-state rival that there is," Disterhoft said. "Everyone wants to say that its a Cyclone state, it's a Hawkeye state but to be able to say its a Hawkeye state after we beat them on our home floor definitively is awesome."
Davis hit all three of her first-half 3-point attempts, including a buzzer-beating triple from the top of the key that gave Iowa a 42-28 halftime lead.
The 5-foot-4 sophomore finished 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range as Iowa State focused its defensive attention on Disterhoft and Gustafson.
"During shoot around today Ally said 'If they aren't going to play you make them pay go off for 30 and I literally took that to heart," Davis said. "I brought my best game today."
Iowa was 8-of-14 from 3-point range in the first half, including 5-of-6 in a 28-point second quarter.
Iowa State led 17-15 after Seanna Johnson 3-pointer but Iowa answered with a 16-1 run that featured 3-pointers by freshman Doyle and Makenzie Meyer and Buttenham.
The 16-1 spurt spanned nearly three minutes and gave Iowa a 31-18 lead when Alexa Kastanek converted a layup with 4:13 left in the first half.
Iowa State entered shooting better than 43 percent from 3-point range on the season but finished 6-of-28 from beyond the arc on Wednesday and was just 1-of-14 from 3-point range in the first half.
"At halftime they were 8-of-14 from 3 and we were 1-for-14 and there are a couple of them that there wasn't anyone near them and we missed them but that's the game," Fennelly said. "That is the beauty of the game and the frustration of the game."
Iowa continued its torrid shooting after halftime.
The Hawkeyes didn't miss a field goal attempt in the third quarter, going a perfect 8-of-8 from the field including 4-of-4 from 3-point range.
Davis hit a pair of 3s in the third quarter and Doyle and Disterhoft each had one as Iowa pushed its lead to 67-51.
"We shot the ball extremely well but that second quarter was good," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "The third quarter, almost a perfect shooting performance in the third quarter I don't know that I've ever seen that before."
Iowa State never got closer than nine points the rest of the game.
Jadda Buckley led Iowa State with 21 points while Johnson and Bridget Carleton each had 18 for the Cyclones which shot 33 percent for the game.