Once the Iowa Hawkeyes got hot, they didn’t turn off the steam jets.
In a matchup between two slumping Big Ten squads, Iowa reeled off an 11-0 run to start the second half, staked itself a 12-point lead and didn’t look back in handing Wisconsin a 76-64 loss, the Badgers’ sixth consecutive conference defeat. The Hawkeyes trudged into the Kohl Center on the heels of three straight losses, but hit 60 percent of their shots–including an astounding 55 percent of their three-pointers–and found the perfect antidote for their problems.
“Both of us were in slumps, and they shot the lights out to get out of their slump,” Wisconsin head coach Jane Albright said.
Offensively, Iowa’s undersized post duo of Jerica Watson and Jennie Lillis dominated Wisconsin’s inside rotation of Jessie Stomski, Emily Ashbaugh and Ebba Gebisa. Each of those Badgers held at least a two-inch height advantage over Lillis and Watson, yet the Hawkeyes found chance after chance to make their defenders look like statues.
The prettiest moves came from Watson. On at least three occasions, she caught the ball in the post with her back to the basket, spun right around her taller defender and either nailed a jumper or drove for a layup. She hit eight of her 12 shots for 18 points–the exact line with which Lillis finished–and also grabbed eight rebounds.
“I thought both Jennie Lillis and Jerica Watson had tremendous inside games,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “You know, they get kind of tired of everybody talking about the height disadvantage we’re continually facing. I just thought they really took it at [Wisconsin’s] height, and that was tremendous to see.”
For their part, the Badgers played better fundamental basketball than they have during most of the losing streak. They stuck to their goal of 17 turnovers or less (committing 17) and gave up only six offensive rebounds. And they held Iowa’s leading scorer, guard Lindsey Meder, to just six points on seven shots.
But Wisconsin’s problem was that it couldn’t stop anybody else.
“When they’re giving more attention to one player, being able to have Jerica, Jennie step up, Leah, Kristi, I just think we did a great job tonight,” Meder said. “It’s so hard to stop five people, and so I think that’s what we’re starting to show.”
With its sixth loss in 17 days, Wisconsin falls to sixth place in the Big Ten. If the conference tournament began today, the Badgers would not receive a first-round bye, a reward that seemed a foregone conclusion just three weeks ago. After the game, Albright gave her players Saturday and Sunday off. They’ll definitely have something to think about over the weekend.
