Bethany Doolittle had the first 4 points out of the gate for the Hawks. Disterhoft drained a three about 5 minutes into the game to put us ahead 11-8. They never gave the lead up. After a made layup by OSU, Sam Logic pushed the ball up the court, dribbled behind her back near mid-court crossing up her defender and making the layup, which accounted for two of her six points on the night.

After the Hawks went on a 19-2 run, Ohio State head coach drew a technical after barking at the official. At halftime Iowa was leading 41-29, Iowa was doing a good job of pushing it up court after made baskets and on OSU 14 turnovers.

The second half didn’t go as well as the first and I had just placed my bets in https://www.bettingnews.com/legal/nj/, as OSU had made some adjustments to getting back on defense which resulted in careless passes, dribbling turnovers, and some forced shots. The refs were lenient in the post-play which caused anger from both teams and the fans.

Ohio State made a second half surge leading heavily on their star players Kelsey Mitchell, the Big Ten’s leading scorer had 15 total and Alexa Hart who had 14. Ohio State was able to cut their once 20 point deficit down to 1 but were never able to get over the hump and take the lead.

Bethany Dolittle had a double-double with points(19) and rebounds(13), and Logic had 12 assists, 9 rebounds, 6 points and 7 turnovers. Dixon and Disterhoft had 6 rebounds apiece.  Ally Disterhoft scored the final 7 points to ice the game.   Final score: Iowa 73, OSU 65. Iowa Moves to 18-4 on the season and 9-2 in conference play.

Kali Peschel accounted for all of Iowa’s bench points(2).

Coach Bluder was asked about the turnover’s in the second half: “When you’ve been successful at it and been able to push(First half), it’s hard to pull back the reins a little bit… I never like turnovers, no matter when they are.

The Hawks play at Wisconsin on Sunday @ 2 P.M. on Big Ten Plus.

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Peschel was the leading scorer in the first half with 15 going 5 for 6 from the floor. Dixon hit four three’s in the first twenty minutes, joining the 1,000 point club.

Iowa controlled the boards in the first half only allowing four offensive rebounds to Robert Morris.

Peschel and Logic had six rebounds apiece in the first twenty. They held Robert Morris to 34% shooting in the first half while shooting 43%. At the half Iowa lead 42-31.

Christina Buttenham used her length to drive to the hop in the second half scoring with some tough layups over defenders, she ended up with 10 points.

Sam Logic led the team in rebounds with 14 along with 11 assists and 7 points just missing a triple-double.

Ally Disterhoft struggled from the floor shooting 3 for 10 but still contributed 8 points.

Bethany Doolittle had 12 points and 5 rebounds recording two blocks as well.

Whitney Jennings provided persistent   defense on the perimeter and pushed the ball extremely well up the court.

Robert Morris was led by crafty Anna Niki Stamolamprou but Robert Morris never got within 3 possessions in the second half.

Coach Bluder was very pleased with Peschel performance because she worked very hard in the summer to get where she was at today. Bluder gave Robert Morris a lot of credit with the great defensive effort they played against us.

Be sure to join us at Carver this Friday and Saturday for the Hawkeye Challenge, both games tip off at 7:30 P.M.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa.- The University of Iowa Women’s Basketball team opened its season Friday night with a 107-56 stomping of University of South Carolina Upstate.

Five players scored in double figures for the Lady Hawkeye’s lead by sophomore, Ally Disterhoft who totaled 19 points on seven of eight shooting.

Disterhoft lead the first half charge with 16 of her 19 coming in the first twenty minutes. The Lady Hawkeye’s played stifling defense holding the Lady Spartans to 23.3% shooting from the field and just 22 first half points.

Iowa was able to extend their lead by securing defensive rebounds and pushing the tempo up and down the floor: earning easy transition baskets time after time.

Bethany Doolittle was able to collect eight first half rebounds, and find Freshman guard Whitney Jennings with her outlet passes: Jennings lead break after break, facilitating the transition offense and forcing fouls leading to many easy scores.

Jennings, who played in her first ever regular season game for the Lady Hawkeye’s, wowed with her sound ball handling and array of passes. Jennings finished with just seven points (1-7 shooting) with five assists and four turnovers in her regular season debut, but her potential appears to be through the roof.

The Freshman was able to dribble out of any type of extended defensive pressure USC Upstate showed, and showed her ability to beat her defender off the dribble and get into the lane and create for her teammates. She also showed her impressive passing ability with a variety of sound post entries and kick outs to set up her teammates with good looks.

Perhaps Jennings played a little bit too sped-up in her first game, but her natural ability at point guard will allow her to impress for the next four years.

In addition to Doolittle’s rebounding prowess, she was able to run the floor on the break, with her teammates, and get good looks in the transition game as well.

It certainly appears as if The Senior’s back to the basket as well as mid range game has improved over the off season as she was able to score on face-up jump shots from ten feet as well as harass defenders on the low block earning easy looks: she finished with 15 points.

Reliable youth in Ally Disterhoft and Whitney Jennings coupled with the senior leadership of Bethany Doolittle and Samantha Logic will lead The Lady Hawkeye’s this season in which they should contend for the Big Ten Championship.

The Lady Hawk’s are on display again on Sunday, 2 p.m., at Carver against a Robert Morris University team that returns four starters from a team that made the tournament last year.

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Coach Bluder’s squad has been picked to finish 3^rd in their conference by the coaches’ preseason poll behind Final Four finalist Maryland and Michigan State.

Iowa has been a host for the first round of the NCAA tournament for the last two years.  Coach Bluder pointed out during her press conference that the rules have changed and the top 16 teams host the first round of the NCAA tournament.

One of the season goals for the Iowa women’s basketball team is to prove to the country that they are one of the best sixteen teams in the nation. To host one of the tournament games gives the fans an opportunity to come out to Carver and watch their performance in the NCAA tournament.

RETURNING PLAYERS

The Hawkeyes have four returning starters from last year, three of whom are seniors.

The first returner being senior Sam Logic, who has become one of the most talented players in the nation at guard.

Secondly, Bethany Doolittle a senior will occupy center, and be one of the premiere shot blockers in the conference.

Thirdly, Melissa Dixon also a senior, known as a three point specialist, will be back playing shooting guard.

Finally, Ally Disterhoft, the sophomore and Iowa City native, worked her way into the starting line-up half-way through the season at guard.

Sam Logic, a four year starter, looks to lead the Hawks to its 8^th straight tournament appearance. She has already shattered the assist record, but will continue to add to that this season.

Bethany Doolittle is 109 blocked shots away from tying the Iowa record held by Morgan Johnson. It will be a tough task but is attainable. It will be a great senior season from the center of Iowa.

The accolades does not change their style of play because of one common goal, winning as a team at the end of the day.

Ally Disterhoft will be expected to fill bigger shoes this season. She will take that challenge with great pride while doing anything to help the team win. Whether that’s getting an old fashion three point play or shooting from beyond the arc.

The other key players returning are Kathryn Reynolds (senior), Kali Peschel (junior), Nicole Smith (junior), Claire Till (junior), Alexa Kastanek (sophomore), and Hailey Schneden (sophomore) who will hold important roles this season.

Kathryn Reynolds is a great leader on and off the court and has graduated in three years and is starting her first year at Law school. Even though Reynolds stats are not significant as a guard, Bluder said, “When she talks, everybody listens.”

Nicole Smith a center did not play much last year with a right knee injury.  You should expect to see her healthy and more involved this year.

Claire Till the forward has not been able to practice much with her current knee problems she has been having. Coach Bluder mentioned, “Just being able to guard a five is a lot easier for Till than having to go out on the perimeter and having to close out on a driver.”

Alexa Kastanek played in 34 games last year as a freshman, and is expected to fill the same type of role as guard similar to last year.

Hailey Schneden a forward, who is a non-scholarship athlete played in 11 games last year.

INCOMING PLAYERS

The new incoming freshman are: Christina Buttenham, Chase Coley, Whitney Jennings, and Carly Mohns.

Christina Buttenham was named to the 2014 Canadian Junior Women’s National Team. She missed summer workouts because of that but is catching up quickly and will play a wing position.

Whitney Jennings was named Indiana Miss Basketball. As a guard she is a very fast ball handler with an excellent jumper and three point shot. Coach Bluder said, “I don’t know how you keep Whitney Jennings off the floor, and that’s a great problem to have, isn’t it?”

Chase Coley was the Gatorade player of the year in Minnesota. She gives more depth at the Center position and reminds Coach Bluder of a Freshman Bethany Doolittle.

Carly Mohns a forward, was a first team All-State honoree in Wisconsin. “She’s a great rebounder and that’s something Iowa really needed,” coach Bluder said.

Bluder talked about how other Big Ten teams take the non-conference schedule lightly. Under her leadership Iowa has never taken that route. This gives the Hawks a leg up on competition, because of the stiffer competition from non-conference opponents allows the team to be ready for the Big Ten schedule.

She feels the biggest improvements need to be made on defense and rebounding, because when you are playing an up tempo game, the defense will get a lot of chances to be scored on.

Lisa Bluder also gave her staff, which has been together for a long time, a great deal of appreciation since they bring multiple abilities that mesh well with each other to bring out the best in the players on and off the court.

Iowa plays St. Ambrose in an exhibition game on Sunday November 9^th at 3 p.m.

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Iowa gave Bethany Doolittle 16 shots, more than double the next most attempts for the Hawkeyes. If Iowa is going to succeed this year they’re going to have to get the ball inside early and often, something they did very well against the undersized Concordia Bears. Doolittle shot the ball 16 times without getting fouled, which downgrades it from an A, if she can get to the line as well as get good looks, Iowa should have a much easier time shooting outside as well.

Melissa Dixon was 4-of-5 from three-point range, including two within the first minute of the game to give Iowa a 6-0 lead. Dixon is going to be relied on heavily as well, she obviously isn’t going to shoot 80 percent from three all year, but taking five good shots is something she should aim for.

Defense: C+

Early Iowa struggled in rotating to the weak side consistently. This left Concordia only down by two when Iowa headed to the first media timeout. Struggling early against lesser competition is a recipe for disaster, especially against some of the teams Iowa will play in the non-conference. Concordia finished with 1 point per possession, an average number.

After Nicole Smith went out with an injury, there was a clear struggle with defensive rebounding. Box outs weren’t that great and Concordia ended the day with 15 offensive rebounds, far too many.

The zone was the bright spot for the day, in non-center lineups the zone was used consistently and brought pressure and good rotations. Concordia struggled heavily with the zone defense. The zone will have to become a staple if Smith is out for an extended period of time.

Coaching: A-

Lisa Bluder only has 11 players on her roster this year and with Smith going down, she crafted some great lineups that forced Concordia to play small ball alongside of them, something that Iowa will have a great time doing this year.

Bluder kept her four’s in a good rotation and comfortable enough. Kali Peschel and Claire Till were subbed at great times and Bluder did a good job keeping players out of foul trouble.

Overall: B

There was definitely some rust in their opener, but overall the Hawkeyes played well and showed some real promise. If Till can be consistent in the non-center lineups, the Hawkeyes can force some real mis-matches. We’ll get to see more of it in a real game situation on Friday against UC-Riverside.

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