Dear Old Gold
Fansided

Iowa Women’s Basketball Team Hopes Pink Will Be A Winning Color

By Derek Helling

Feb 15, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Ally Disterhoft (2) dribbles in the first quarter against the Minnesota Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 15, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Ally Disterhoft (2) dribbles in the first quarter against the Minnesota Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The University of Iowa women’s basketball team hopes to be red-hot in its Pink Game.

The Indiana Hoosiers (18-9 overall, 10-5 Big 10), one of the teams that the Hawkeyes (16-11, 6-9) are looking up at in the Big 10 standings, are coming to town on Sunday. Iowa will be looking to avenge a disappointing 79-74 loss in Bloomington just two weeks ago, and continue a push to improve their standing for the conference and hopefully NCAA tournaments.

In order to do that, the Hawkeyes could simply replicate their game on Feb. 4 on the Hoosiers’ home court, with one big change. Iowa has to finish this time against an Indiana team that has won five games in a row.

In Bloomington two weeks ago, Iowa led the Hoosiers 54-37 with 3:38 left in the third quarter. Indiana finished the third quarter on a 10-4 run, then won a hard-fought fourth quarter to take the contest.

For two and a half quarters, all the winning elements were there for the Hawkeyes. Freshman Megan Gustafson posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Ally Disterhoft contributed 20 points and freshman Tania Davis compiled four assists. Iowa held the Hoosiers under 37 percent from the field in the first half and was winning the turnover battle.

More from Dear Old Gold

The issue in that game, and several others this season, has been playing at that level for the better part of 40 minutes. That’s something that the Hawkeyes will have to do on Sunday if they want to defeat an Indiana team which is playing for a first-round bye in the Big 10 tournament due to winning eight of its last nine games.

The only stat category in which the Hoosiers have performed well this season is scoring defense, giving up an average of just 67.4 points per game. Their most dangerous offensive threat remains sophomore guard Tyra Buss, whose 19.1 points per game is good for eighth in the Big 10 right now. Buss’ 4.6 assists per game average have her tied for seventh in the conference in that category as well.

Buss went for 18 points and seven assists back on Feb. 4, so limiting her further will be a defensive priority for Iowa. The Indiana player who really hurt the Hawkeyes, especially down the stretch, was sophomore forward Amanda Cahill.

Cahill has the interesting dynamic of being the Hoosiers’ leading rebounder and leader in 3-point percentage. Her range and 6-foot-2 frame make her a match-up challenge for any defense. The Hawkeyes also struggled against junior center Jenn Anderson in the first meeting as well.

Drawing on lessons learned from that comeback, it’s easy to expect that Indiana’s game plan will be to have Buss feed Anderson and Cahill to get high-percentage shots, along with create open lanes for Buss to drive. Gustafson, sophomore Chase Coley and other players occupying the space near the basket in Iowa’s zone will have to be tough, forcing Buss to try to beat the Hawkeyes with her shooting.

If Iowa can keep Anderson and Cahill from replicating their combined 42 points back on Feb. 4, force Buss to take jump shots and execute on the offensive end against a formidable Hoosier defense for 40 minutes, the Pink Game should put the Hawkeyes on a winning streak and perhaps back into the NCAA tournament conversation.