By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – A game that couldn’t have started much worse for the 10th-ranked Iowa women’s basketball team ended in spectacular fashion as the Hawkeyes defeated a nationally ranked Big Ten opponent for the second time this week.

Iowa overcame an injury to starting guard Taylor McCabe just 23 seconds into the first quarter and would go on to crush No. 12 Ohio State 91-70 on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Freshman guard Addie Deal, a former five-star recruit from Irvine, California, helped to fill the void caused by McCabe’s injury by scoring a career-high 20 points, including 13 in the first half, which ended with Iowa holding a commanding 48-32 lead.

Deal also had five assists while playing a season-high 32 minutes.

“I’m confident in my abilities,” Deal said. “I think teammates do a great job of just finding each other. I love the way we play, super unselfsh. Soi I think just playing in this offense with these people really helps me do what I need to do.”

Senior forward Hannah Stuelke continued her standout play by scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, while sophomore center Ava Heiden finished with 18 points and eight rebounds and sophomore point guard Chit-Chat Wright scored 14 points.

Iowa senior guard Kylie Feuerbach had mixed emotions as she and Deal met with the media after Sunday’s game.

“I think something about our team is always being ready when you’re called whatever it is,” said Feuerbach, who led Iowa with nine assists. “It’s very difficult, obviously, right from the bat. So obviously praying for her and hoping everything is okay.

“But obviously we had just about 40 more minutes left in the game, so staying locked in and ready to go. I think all of us collectively just made sure we stayed together and focused on the next possession. But she was in the back of all of our minds.”

McCabe, who is arguably Iowa’s best 3-point shooter, returned to the bench in the first half with her left knee wrapped in ice.

Iowa head coach Jan Jensen said McCabe was scheduled to have an MRI Sunday night.

“Any time that situation happens like it happens, you’re probably hoping against hope in certain situations,” Jensen said. “But we don’t know for sure. So I have a strong face and we’re definitely going to be uplifting her. But I think it’s a tough one.

“But it was a tough situation so early. And I think a team can handle that in a lot of ways. You can sort of get ruffled and Taylor McCabe has been an extreme great leader. She’s one of best our defenders. Everybody give her a lot of credit because she’s a great shooter.”

Even without McCabe, Iowa led by double figures for the entire second half, including 71-51 after three quarters.

The Hawkeyes improved to 18-2 overall and 9-0 in the Big Ten for the first since the 1995-96 Hawkeye squad started 12-0 in conference play, while Ohio State fell to 18-3 and 7-2.

Iowa also has for the first time in program history recorded three straight wins over top-25 opponents.

Sunday’s win came just three days after Iowa defeated No. 15 Maryland 85-78 in overtime in College Park, Maryland, and a week after Iowa defeated then-No. 15 Michigan State 75-68 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Against the Buckeyes, Iowa had a 42-14 advantage in points in the paint, a 33-3 advantage in bench points and 48-30 rebounding advantage.

The Buckeyes had just made the game’s first basket when McCabe started limping noticeably. She was then carried off the court with what appeared to be a lower-leg injury with 9 minutes, 35 seconds left in the 10-minute quarter, causing the arena to become silent.

In addition to losing McCabe to an injury just seconds into the game, Iowa also fell behind 8-2 in the first quarter.

But the Hawkeyes answered with six straight points, including Addie Deal’s first basket of the game that evened the score at 8-8 with 6:28 left in the quarter.

Deal would go on to score eight points in the first quarter, which ended with Iowa leading 24-14, and with the sellout crowed highly energized after watching Iowa go on an 18-3 scoring run.

Stuelke led Iowa with 10 points and five rebounds in the first quarter.

The Hawkeyes then built a double-digit lead in the second quarter and would sustain it for the rest of the game.

The 6-foot Deal is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week after she combined to score 26 points in wins over Oregon and Michigan State last week, including 18 in a 74-66 win over the Ducks on Jan. 15 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. She has scored at lest eight points in three of the last four games.

Jensen has spoke confidently about Iowa’s depth throughout the season, and it was certainly on display in Sunday’s victory, thanks largely to Deal rising to the occasion under bittersweet circumstances.

“As soon as my number is called, I’m going to go out there and give it my all,” Deal said. “Obviously, praying for (Taylor). Hope for the best.”

The Hawkeyes now hit the road again for back-to-back games in Los Angeles against USC on Thursday and against No. 3 UCLA next Sunday.

“On to the next game knowing the scout we’ll get right into it tomorrow knowing personnel,” Feuerbach said. “It’s obviously going to be two very big games.”