Maryland’s quick start spelled doom for the Iowa women’s basketball team’s seven-game winning streak, and the Hawkeyes fell, 80-64, in College Park on Jan. 4.
The Hawkeyes suffered their second loss, the other also coming against a top-15 team, Florida State.
The loss almost seemed destined to hit Iowa after the squad lost two starters in a little more than a week.
The Hawkeyes managed to win their first two games without Tania Davis and Makenzie Meyer, but the Terrapins proved too much for the depleted squad.
Yet, the missing players didn’t commit any of the 23 turnovers that plagued Iowa, nor did they allow 31 points in the first quarter, which buried the Hawkeyes in a 14-point hole.
“That first quarter we allowed 31 points, and a lot of them were off turnovers,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “We turned the ball over way too many times — 23 times — giving them 29 points off our turnovers. That’s the story of the game, that and second-chance points. They scored 18 second-chance points.”
The turnover bug wasn’t limited to one player — it was a full team effort.
Three of the starters handed out 5 turnovers, and every Hawkeye who played at least 10 minutes registered at least 2.
While the loss was as collective an effort as all their victories this season, three Hawkeyes in particular had solid nights to try to keep them in the game.
Megan Gustafson recorded her 42nd career double-double, netting 15 points, hauling in 15 boards, and swatting away four Terrapin shots. Kathleen Doyle also registered a double-double with 13 points and 11 assists.
Chase Coley provided her ever-consistent mid-range jumper to the tune of 9 points, and she added 6 boards.
Bluder believed part of the Hawkeyes’ problem stemmed from too much shooting, especially 3-pointer attempts that went awry.
“Our posts aren’t getting enough touches, and we need to find a way to get them the ball,” she said. “It’s hard because we aren’t shooting the ball well from outside.”
Iowa was just 7-of-24 from 3-point land (29.2 percent). Amanda Ollinger and the usually sharp shooting Alexis Sevillian combined to go 4-of-19 from deep (21.1 percent).
These numbers might be helped by Meyer’s return; the Hawkeyes expect her to come back sometime this season — the only question is when.
Her broken left hand will be re-evaluated within the week, with the best-case scenario being she plays with a cast “for quite some time,” Bluder said.
The Hawkeyes will push on. They will make a stop in Champaign, Illinois, on Jan. 7 to take on the Illini at 1 p.m. before heading back to Carver to face Purdue on Jan. 13.
The game against Illinois will be aired on the Big Ten Network.
Even after tripping over the Terps, optimism still reigns among the Hawkeyes.
“We will go back to the film, and try to figure out how we can get better, and go to Illinois, and get a victory on Sunday,” Bluder said.
