By Susan Harman

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa’s 94-85 victory at Michigan Saturday was one for the time capsule.

Given Iowa’s uneven (and unfavorable) Big Ten schedule, its early season results with just one victory over a ranked team (Iowa State), and the historic difficulty of winning league games on the road, this victory keeps Iowa (12-4, 4-1) in the Big Ten race and in contention for a top-16 seed in the NCAA tournament.

All of that is important in a big picture sense, but the other reason the game should be preserved in memory is the way it was played and what it showed in terms of Iowa’s capabilities.

The Hawkeyes played with intelligence, poise, patience and confidence. They did commit some silly turnovers, particularly in the first quarter, but none of them came from pushing the pace to frenetic levels where passes sail into the photographers’ row and quick 3-pointers sometimes fail to draw iron.

Michigan didn’t want a racehorse game, and Iowa didn’t try to force its style. Instead the Hawkeyes took the time to find the kinds of shots that result in a 60 percent field-goal average.

Iowa went to the offensive boards in a big way. While the official stat sheet shows Iowa scored 18 second-half points, a review of the game shows 20 points off offensive rebounds, far and away the most Iowa has put up this season.

In the first quarter guard Molly Davis was at the top of the key when a shot went up, and she raced down the lane untouched to grab the ball and put it back in.

Several offensive rebounds came from being aggressive when players converged into a scrum in the lane. During the 10-0 third-quarter run where Iowa put some distance between the teams Kate Martin rebounded a Caitlin Clark shot and then hit her own 3-pointer for a 62-51 lead.

All this was done while playing most of the game in a zone defense, which many times makes it harder to block out an offensive rebounder. And credit Iowa for executing its zone defense after Michigan guard Laila Phelia forced the issue with 14 first-quarter points. Often Michigan settled for perimeter shots rather than attacking the basket.

Iowa showed poise when it fell behind early, particularly after Michigan’s 10-0 run in the second quarter. Iowa scored on 10 of its last 12 possessions of the first half and led 41-39. The Hawkeyes then took control in the second half of the third quarter. Martin scored 10 points in that quarter.

Every time Michigan got the lead down to seven points, Iowa responded. Gabbie Marshall hit a three from the corner with just over a minute to play. Marshall, who has been struggling with her 3-point shot, was unafraid to take it at a big point in the waning minutes of the game. Iowa also made 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to sew up the victory, including two from Davis with 32 seconds left after the Wolverines cut the lead to 90-85.

Unlike at Illinois Iowa spread the shots around and the scoring followed. Clark had 28 but never looked like she thought she had to win the game by herself. Czinano had 19, Warnock 14, Martin 10, Hannah Stuelke nine, and Davis eight. Everyone contributed in multiple ways. It was an important win and it more than met the eye test.