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Hawkeyes pass first real road test

Vaseline2 weeks ago

0 3 minutes read

For the twelfth time in a row, Iowa women’s basketball took the floor to a packed house in a building across the street. Sure, there were several large black-and-gold sections at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon. But this was the first real road challenge for this emerging Hawkeyes group.

Test, passed.

While thriving in hostile locations became second nature to last season’s Iowa team and the pieces that remain of it, the current team is still generating those early season moments that will become calming forces as the season progresses. Performances like Sunday’s 86-73 victory over Drake will likely gain value as the Hawkeyes’ cohesion strengthens.

“These are the games you look forward to the most,” said senior Addi O’Grady, who set a new career-high with 27 points on 13-for-21 shooting. “They’re a lot of fun and it’s just a charged environment.”

The Hawkeyes won’t get another real road test until Big Ten play begins Dec. 15 at Michigan State, with more emphasis placed on overcoming Sunday’s challenge with a team still working together on all fronts. With double-digit wins now in both games away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa should be committed to the upcoming slate of neutral-site games.

Four of Iowa’s next five games will be outside of Iowa City: Wednesday against Kansas in Sioux Falls, Nov. 28 and 29 against Rhode Island and BYU at the Cancun Challenge, and then Dec. 7 against Tennessee in Brooklyn. After Sunday’s victory, Jensen should feel extra confident that her team can take the lead in this crucial stretch.

Other takeaways from the Iowa rivalry win:

Iowa coach Jan Jensen reflects on the wave of emotions after the win over Drake

The Iowa head coach improved to 4-0 with an 86-73 win over Drake, one day after a celebration of 50 years of Bulldogs women’s basketball.

Iowa’s 10-0 run to end first half ‘might have won us the game’

Whoever blinks first if the separation remains small can dictate how the rest of the basketball action unfolds, regardless of when it arrives. Although Iowa didn’t know at the time how much pressure would hold in the late second quarter, the Hawkeyes stormed into the locker room with confidence thanks to a crucial swing.

A 35-35 lead with two minutes until the break didn’t seem like the setting for Iowa to break away, especially after an elite defensive stretch looked like it was going to waste. The Hawkeyes held Drake to just one field goal in the second quarter when Abbie Aalsma connected from deep and fired up the crowd again.

The veteran moxie Iowa looks to supplement when the Hawkeyes need it most. A 10-0 sprint to the locker room arrived on the broad shoulders of Teagan Mallegni after she made a difficult layup and drained back-to-back treys in less than 90 seconds. Lucy Olsen has added a mid-range basket for good measure.

Suddenly, a back-and-forth showdown swung Iowa’s way for good. Drake was only sporadically within double figures the rest of the way.

“That was huge, especially for our relatively younger team in the minutes they played in big games,” coach Jan Jensen said. “In the past we’ve had a lot of players who have played in these big games, but they dominated a lot of the minutes. So I thought that was a huge spurt, and they went in (to the locker room) knowing they had something have done quite well.

“That was extremely important. It might have won us the match.”

Addi O’Grady’s production continues to rise, and now expectations rise too

For all the times Iowa coaches have recently cautioned against using past players as blueprints for the present, O’Grady’s recent production has generated recalibrated expectations that resemble some of Iowa’s inner greats.

“The biggest compliment I can give her is that I’m starting to have expectations for (Monika) Czinano and (Megan) Gustafson,” Jensen said. “I was kind of grumpy about some of the things she was doing out there. This means that expectations are increasing. But I only know they are growing because I know she can.”

Those are some impressive names in Iowa’s pantheon of posts. Still, O’Grady’s start to her senior season was worthy of praise. O’Grady, a player whose career at times seemed to be spinning in the mud, has provided the first unexpected upset for Iowa this season.

She scored in double figures in all four games, while playing more than 20 minutes in the previous three games. O’Grady’s 27 points and 10 rebounds marked her second collegiate double-double and first since her freshman season against Evansville.

“It’s really good early in the season, we’re going in and getting our inside game going,” O’Grady said. “If our three-pointers don’t fall, we can fall back on that.”

However, O’Grady is hardly a fallback option anymore.

Vaseline2 weeks ago

0 3 minutes read

Iowa’s 10-0 run to end first half ‘might have won us the game’

Addi O’Grady’s production continues to rise, and now expectations rise too

Vaseline

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