Hawkeyes whip UNI, 88-39

IOWA CITY — In a one-sided rivalry, this was the most lopsided outcome.

The Iowa Hawkeyes hit 11 of 16 shots from long distance, held Northern Iowa to 21-percent shooting and blasted the Panthers, 88-39, in a women's basketball mismatch in front of 4,666 Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

All 12 players scored for the Hawkeyes (6-3), who beat UNI for the 10th straight time, and the 20th time in 22 meetings overall.

'It was our best all-around performance of the year,' Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. 'We took control of the game early, both offensively and defensively.'

The game was delayed briefly during the first possession as officials tended to a wet spot on the Carver floor — presumably due to a roof leak as a result of Sunday's snow.

Once play resumed, it was all Iowa, all game.

Kathleen Doyle splashed a 3-pointer to start the landslide, then Ally Disterhoft and Bre Cera followed from long range on the way to an 11-3 advantage.

Then it was Chase Coley from deep, just the second 3-pointer of her career, that ignited an 11-point rush that made it 22-6, and it never got better for the Panthers (4-4).

'We've got to get a lot better,' UNI Coach Tanya Warren said. 'We could be playing against my 2-year-old nephew, and we're not going to win if we don't shoot the basketball better.'

It was the largest margin of victory for either team in this series; the old standard was 45 points (Iowa won, 106-61 on Nov. 27, 1978).

Disterhoft took just seven shots Sunday, but made six of them, including all four of her 3-point tries. She led all scorers with 17 points.

'My mentality was a little different. I did a better job of not second-guessing myself on the release,' Disterhoft said.

Megan Gustafson added 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks.

'The first half, my shots weren't falling,' she said. 'I focused on rebounds, and tried to get my teammates open.'

Disterhoft and Gustafson were the only Hawkeyes in double figures, but six other players scored six points or more (Makenzie Meyer had nine). And even Hailey Schneden got a couple baskets, to her teammates' delight.

On the other end, the Hawkeyes blocked seven UNI shots in the first quarter. The Panthers made just 4 of 22 shots in the opening period, 7 of 36 in the first half.

Iowa led 40-17 at intermission, and eventually sent the Panthers to their worst defeat since Dec. 7, 2007 — 91-37 against Maryland.

'We have to learn from this,' said UNI's Madison Weekly, who registered a team-high 12 points. 'This is a big learning stride for us.'

Warren said, 'I'm as blindsided as could be, but we'll get it fixed.'

Sunday's game was the first in-state battle for the Hawkeyes, who host Iowa State at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

'It's (always) an emotional game,' Bluder said. 'It's going to be a great game.'

UNI hosts Creighton on Saturday.

IOWA 88, NORTHERN IOWA 39

At Iowa City

NORTHERN IOWA (39): Taylor Hagen 1-3 2-4 4, Madison Weekly 5-16 0-0 12, Angie Davison 1-5 0-0 3, Hannah Schonhardt 1-10 0-0 2, Mikaela Morgan 2-5 2-2 7, Mariah Criswell 0-1 0-0 0, Ellie Herzberg 0-3 0-0 0, Rose Simon-Ressler 0-0 1-2 1, Kennedy Kirkpatrick 0-4 4-6 4, Heidi Hillyard 0-1 0-0 0, Abby Gerrits 1-6 0-0 2, Megan Maahs 2-8 0-0 4. Totals 13-62 9-14 39.

IOWA (88): Megan Gustafson 5-11 2-2 12, Ally Disterhoft 6-7 1-2 17, Tania Davis 3-4 0-0 6, Kathleen Doyle 2-5 2-2 7, Bre Cera 3-4 0-0 7, Alexa Kastanek 2-3 0-0 5, Makenzie Meyer 2-5 3-4 9, Chase Coley 3-4 0-0 7, Hannah Stewart 3-6 1-1 7, Christina Buttenham 2-3 0-0 5, Hailey Schneden 2-3 0-0 4, Amanda Ollinger 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 34-56 9-11 88.

Halftime: Iowa 40, UNI 17. 3-point goals: UNI 4-27 (Weekly 2-6, Davison 1-3, Schonhardt 0-6, Morgan 1-3, Criswell 0-1, Herzberg 0-1, Kirkpatrick 0-2, Gerrits 0-2, Maahs 0-3), Iowa 11-16 (Disterhoft 4-4, Davis 0-1, Doyle 1-1, Cera 1-1, Kastanek 1-2, Meyer 2-4, Coley 1-1, Buttenham 1-2). Team fouls: UNI 14, Iowa 17. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: UNI 27 (Schonhardt 8), Iowa 47 (Gustafson 17). Assists: UNI 6 (Weekly, Morgan 2). Iowa 21 (Davis 4). Steals: UNI 10 (Weekly 4), Iowa 9 (Kastanek 3). Turnovers: UNI 18, Iowa 21.

Attendance: 4.666.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com