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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
No. 25 Iowa makes it 11 straight vs. UNI, 71-47
Jeff Linder
Dec. 17, 2017 5:06 pm
CEDAR FALLS — Lisa Bluder is well into her 50s, but can still move when the need arises.
And when your starting point guard lands in a heap and doesn't get up, that qualifies.
'I was nervous,' Bluder said in reference to Tania Davis' knee injury in the first half of Iowa's 71-47 women's basketball win over Northern Iowa in front of 3,008 Sunday afternoon at the McLeod Center. 'It was eerily similar to last year (when Davis tore her ACL) at Michigan.'
Davis injured her left knee when she was fouled, driving to the hoop at the 9:43 mark of the second quarter. It was the opposite knee she hurt last February.
She did not return to the court, wearing an ice pack on her knee, but seemed in good spirits on the bench as the 25th-ranked Hawkeyes improved to 11-1.
'We don't think it's anything serious,' Bluder said. 'We'll re-evaluate once we get to Iowa City. We all had (bad) visions go through our minds.'
After Davis landed under the basket and didn't get up, Bluder sprinted from the Iowa bench, on the opposite end of the floor.
The Hawkeyes were in a fog somewhat for the rest of the first half, and took a precarious 28-24 edge into the locker room.
'We were able to regroup at halftime,' said Megan Gustafson, whose 26-point, 10-rebound performance was her 11th double-double of the season. 'We were able to take a step back and relax. A lot of us were forcing things, going too fast.'
Iowa outscored the Panthers (3-7) by a 43-23 margin in the second half, holding their fourth straight opponent under 60 points. The Hawkeyes have beaten UNI 11 straight times.
'Same song, different dance,' UNI Coach Tanya Warren said. 'We defended well, but we've got to figure out what's going on offensively. If we don't shoot the ball better, it's going to wear us out defensively.'
The Panthers shot 28.6 percent (18 of 63) from the floor, including 8 of 30 from long range.
There's a growing Gustafson-for-all-American chorus assembling from rival coaches. Sunday, Warren hopped aboard.
'She's an all-American in my book,' Warren said. 'She goes after offensive rebounds better than anybody I've ever seen.'
UNI's Megan Maahs, a sophomore from Epworth, drew the assignment on Gustafson.
'She's a great player,' Maahs said. 'Twenty-six and 10 ... she had great stats. What we had to do is not let her use her left hand on the block.'
Iowa started each quarter with a push — 8-0 in the first period, 6-0 in the second, 7-0 in the third, 5-0 in the fourth. The Panthers were able to recover the first two quarters and get back in the game, but couldn't keep up after intermission.
Alexis Sevillian saw extended playing time after Davis was injured and responded with 11 points, making all three of her 3-point attempts. Makenzie Meyer and Chase Coley added eight points apiece, and 10 Hawkeyes (all but Davis) scored.
Maahs paced UNI with 12 points and 10 boards. Kennedy Kirkpatrick came off the bench to score 12 of her own. Ellie Howell, the Panthers' top returning scorer from last year, was shut out on 0-for-10 shooting.
The Hawkeyes conclude pre-Big Ten action at 7 p.m. Thursday at home against Drake.
UNI is at Kansas State on Thursday.
IOWA 71, NORTHERN IOWA 47
At Cedar Falls
IOWA (71): Makenzie Meyer 4-8 0-0 8, Chase Coley 4-8 0-0 8, Megan Gustafson 11-15 4-6 26, Tania Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Kathleen Doyle 1-7 3-6 5, Alexis Sevillian 3-3 2-2 11, Hannah Stewart 2-6 1-2 5, Zion Sanders 1-1 0-1 2, Paula Valino Ramos 1-1 0-0 2, Carly Mohns 0-1 1-2 1, Amanda Ollinger 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 28-54 11-19 71.
NORTHERN IOWA (47): Karli Rucker 1-3 1-2 4, Nicole Kroeger 0-1 0-0 0, Ellie Howell 0-10 0-0 0, Heidi Hillyard 0-6 0-0 0, Megan Maahs 5-14 0-0 12, Bre Gunnels 0-2 0-0 0, Rose Simon-Ressler 2-3 1-2 6, Kennedy Kirkpatrick 5-10 1-1 12, Mikaela Morgan 2-5 0-0 5, Taylor Hagen 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Gerrits 3-7 0-0 8, Marissa Robson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-63 3-5 47.
Halftime: Iowa 28, UNI 24. 3-point goals: Iowa 4-9 (Meyer 0-2, Doyle 0-2, Sevillian 3-3, Ollinger 1-2), UNI 8-30 (Rucker 1-2, Howell 0-5, Hillyard 0-3, Maahs 2-7, Simon-Ressler 1-1, Kirkpatrick 1-3, Morgan 1-4, Gerrits 2-4, Robson 0-1). Team fouls: Iowa 11, UNI 16. Fouled out: Hagen. Rebounds: Iowa 42 (Gustafson 10), UNI 33 (Maahs 10). Assists: Iowa 21 (Doyle 7), UNI 13 (Howell 4). Steals: Iowa 9 (Coley, Stewart 2), UNI 8 (Morgan 3). Turnovers: Iowa 15, UNI 15.
Attendance: 3,008.
l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com