Video: Iowa holds on late for second straight win 85-80 over Northwestern.
By Dallas Jones
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Tuesday night offered another opportunity for the Hawkeye women as they hosted the Northwestern Wildcats, who came in a league worst 0-7 in conference play. Hannah Stuelke returned to the starting lineup after missing the last two games with a concussion.
Another up and down performance from the Hawks, but a win is a win. See how it happened and hear from the Hawkeyes postgame here.
First Quarter: Slow starts have unfortunately become common this year for the Hawkeyes and tonight was no different. The Hawkeyes made just two of their first nine shots, also tallying two turnovers in the first five minutes of the game.
The opposite was true for the Wildcats as they shot 11-19 in the quarter, 4-5 from three. Taylor Stremlow provided a spark for the Hawkeyes once again off the bench. She scored five points and notched two assists in the quarter, she was also a team high +5 while on the court in the first.
Even with their struggles, the Hawkeye trailed by only three at the end of the quarter thanks to a late three by Aaliyah Guyton.
Second Quarter: Hannah Stuelke made her presence felt early in the second quarter as she put up seven points in the first three minutes.
At the 7:07 mark in the quarter, a Stuelke layup gave the Hawkeyes the lead for the first time since 1-0.
That was in the middle of a 12-1 Hawkeye run that lasted over four minutes of gameplay. Northwestern was held without a field goal for 4:04 until a three ended the drought.
Iowa struggled to take control of the game during the quarter mostly due to the high turnover numbers. The Hawkeyes tallied six turnovers through eight minutes of the quarter as they led 36-33. Hannah Stuelke continued to be the difference for the Hawkeyes in the quarter as she converted an and-one to give the Hawkeyes a 41-38 lead at the half. She led all scorers with 18 points at the break.
Third Quarter: Iowa came out of the half shooting the ball great as they doubled their three point makes, knocking down each of their first three attempts from behind the line through the first five minutes of the quarter.
That helped the Hawkeyes grow their lead to eight 56-48, their largest of the game at the time. Northwestern would answer quickly as they cut the lead back to one possession 56-53 after consecutive layups.
A couple late baskets gave the Hawkeyes a six point lead at the end of the quarter. They took care of the ball much better to start the second half, just two turnovers in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter: The game stayed within six to eight points for the first few minutes of the final quaretr as Iowa struggled to score, but made up for it on defense. Kylie Feuerbach drew two offensive fouls within the same minute as they held Northwestern scoreless for almost three minutes.
The Hawkeye lead grew to 12 with 3:16 left, but Northwestern answered once again on consecutive possessions cutting the lead down 77-70 with 2:21 to play.
Thanks to a multiple clutch playsfrom Hannah Stuelke and a couple free throws from Iowa down the stretch, the Hawkeyes were able to hold on to the lead and take home their fourth conference win of the season.
Iowa now gets a few days off until they host Juju Watkins and USC, Sunday at 12:30.
Here from Coach Jensen and the Hawkeye players postgame here: