A poor second half dooms women’s basketball against No. 18 Michigan State’

By Jake Mosbach
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It was a tale of two halves for the Iowa women’s basketball team against Michigan State on Jan. 16 in East Lansing.

Unfortunately for Hawkeyes, the second half was their Waterloo (not the frozen tundra to the north, which is where the Hawk shooting took up residence in the half).

The Hawkeyes fell to the Spartans, 80-73, at the Breslin Center, unable to hold on to a 13-point lead at halftime.

After Iowa held Michigan State to just 23 first-half points, the Spartans used a stunning 57-point second half to down the Hawks. The loss dropped the Hawkeyes to 13-5, 3-3 Big Ten.

“It’s too bad we had to have a halftime,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said in a release. “Everything was clicking for us in the first half…Michigan State definitely had the upper hand in the second half. They came out more physical, aggressive, and assertive in the second half.”

Despite the loss, the Hawkeyes led Michigan State in nearly every statistical category. Iowa shot 44.6 percent from the floor (25-of-56), 70 percent from the free-throw line (10-of-14), and 50 percent from behind the arc (9-18).

What proved costly for the Hawks were turnovers — 18 of them, 9 in each half. Michigan State had only 7 in the game.

“[The Spartans] did a great job on the offensive boards, they took care of the ball, and we didn’t take care of the ball,” Bluder said in a release. “Those result in some high-percentage shots that get their momentum gong.”

Michigan State poured in 36 points in the paint, many coming on Iowa turnovers (21 points overall).

A monster game from freshman guard Tania Davis was perhaps the highlight of the day for the Hawkeyes. The Grand Blanc, Michigan, native returned to her home state and collected 16 points (4-of-5 from 3), 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Sophomore Whitney Jennings was Iowa’s second-leading scorer, posting 15 to go along with 1 rebound and 3 assists. Junior Ally Disterhoft added 13 points and 7 rebounds.

Other scorers for the Hawkeyes included Kali Peschel (12 points on 3-of-4 3-point shooting), Megan Gustafson (7), Chase Coley (6), and Alexa Kastanek (4).

After the game, Bluder praised Gustafson and Coley for their strong performances.

“[Gustafson and Coley] are shooting the best on the team,” the coach said in a release. “Five-for-7 is better than any one person on our team, yet we don’t get them enough looks at the basketball.”

And, Bluder said, those more frequent shots in the paint could have meant the difference.

“We’ll have to figure out how to pass the ball in to the post and be able to get those high-percentage shots,” she said.

The Hawkeyes will attempt to return to their winning ways on Jan. 20, when they will play host to Penn State in Carver-Hawkeye at 7 p.m.

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