IOWA CITY — For the first few minutes, there was quite a game developing at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa committed just three turnovers in the
For the rest of the game, it was an impressive all-around display by the Iowa women’s basketball team. The Hawkeyes dominated the Rockets on both ends of the court in the paint, outscoring Toledo 52-20 inside on the way to a 94-57 win on Wednesday night improving to 3-0 on the season with each win coming more decisively than the next.
“I’m really happy with how well the team came out and the intensity they played with from the start,” Iowa women’s head basketball coach Jan Jensen said. “These games are always tricky. You always wonder how teams are going to respond.”
Toldeo forced Iowa to respond early. Kendall Carruthers and Khera Goss each sank a pair of 3-pointers in the opening three minutes as the Rockets edged in front of Iowa 8-5.
The Hawkeyes responded by scoring the next nine points, forcing Toledo into five straight misses from the field. Iowa scored 17 unanswered points in the opening quarter, building a 22-8 lead.
“Our defense was really good in that first quarter,” Iowa junior Hannah Stuelke said. “We’ve been progressing really well. We just need to keep building on what we started since June.”
Iowa kept building on its lead with Stuelke leading the charge, finishing just one rebound short of a double-double opening the game scoring eight points while grabbing four rebounds. Stuelke, who finished with a team-leading 17 points and nine rebounds on Wednesday, talked about playing pain free at the start of this season after dealing with a knee injury throughout her sophomore campaign.
“I’ve been in the training room a lot, which is not great, but I feel good,” Stuelke said. “I noticed it with every step last year. Being able to get up down the court without worrying about the knee is really nice.”
Iowa’s 17 unanswered points extended into a 23-2 run that put the Hawkeyes in firm control. Five Hawkeyes reached double figures in scoring with 14 points apiece from Lucy Olson and Taylor McCabe helping the Hawkeyes build a 49-21 halftime lead.
“I still never know when my time is coming,” McCabe said. “I know that, when my time is called, I’m going to be ready to hit shots.”
Sydney Affolter added 11 points while dishing out a team-leading four assists and collecting a pair of steals for the Hawkeyes. Addison O’Grady scored 10 points and blocked a pair of shots as Iowa forced the Rockets into 20 turnovers while limiting Toledo to 31 percent shooting for the game, including three made field goals in the first quarter.
“We graduated a whole lot of points. You’re not going to replicate that at all, but we thought we might be able to make up some of that difference by focusing on the defensive end,” Jensen said. “Our staff really knew that we could get better on that end.”
Sammi Mikonowicz led Toledo with 17 points. Carruthers added 15 points for the Rockets (1-1) while Hannah Noveroske scored 10 points in the loss.
Iowa, 3-0 on the season, heads to Des Moines on Sunday to face Drake starting at 2 p.m. The game will be a reunion for Jensen who both played for the Bulldogs leading the nation in scoring during her senior season before serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under Lisa Bluder.
“I’m a proud Drake alum. Drake did so much for me as a young student athlete,” Jensen said. “I’m for Drake in every game, except the one we play against them. They’ve done a great job inviting the history of the program back. It’s going to be a fun celebration. I know it’s going to take everything we’ve got. It’ll be fun, but it’ll be emotional.”
The contest, which also feature a 50-year celebration of the Drake women’s basketball program, will also feature a reunion on the court between the McCabe sisters. Peyton McCabe, in her freshman season at Drake, will match up with her older sister for the first time on the college level.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever played against each other,” Taylor McCabe said. “It’s going to be fun on Sunday.”
