Hawkeye women protect home court against Iowa State

IOWA CITY - Once again, it was the hostesses with the most.

No. 24 Iowa wiped out most of a massive first-half rebounding disparity, and Whitney Jennings introduced herself to the Cy-Hawk women's basketball rivalry in the Hawkeyes' 76-67 victory over Iowa State on Thursday night in front of 4,902 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'I'm from Indiana, so I know Indiana-Purdue,” Jennings said. 'I know how big a rivalry this is.”

Not too big for the 5-foot-5 freshman guard.

Jennings scored 15 points, and came up with two big steals in the final minute after the Cyclones had closed within four points.

The outcome meant that the home team has won each of the last eight games in this series, and 13 of the last 14. The Hawkeyes (8-2) virtually the entire way, but weren't out of the woods until Jennings' late thefts.

'I was just trying to get my hands on the ball, and I was able to knock it loose,” she said.

Each team started just one Iowan, and it was the two home-staters that led their respective teams. Hometown girl Ally Disterhoft paced the Hawkeyes with 16 points. Mason City native Jadda Buckley tallied 25 for the Cyclones (5-2).

'It's an awesome feeling to come out in front,” Disterhoft said. 'Carver was the loudest it's been in a while, and we put on a little show for our fans.

'We're not going to let people come in and win on our home court.”

Iowa State grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and outboarded the Hawkeyes, 21-9, in the first half, but managed just seven second-chance points.

'We talked about that a lot,” said ISU Coach Bill Fennelly. 'One possession, it seemed they were getting out of the way to let us score, and we missed three shots in a row. Every possession matters, and those (empty) possessions hurt.”

The Hawkeyes evened things out on the boards after intermission, and actually finished with an 11-7 advantage in second-chance points.

Kali Peschel entered the game with just two 3-pointers in nine attempts this season, but was 3-of-4 from distance Thursday and provided 13 big points off the bench.

'My teammates were giving me great opportunities, and it was nice to return the favor and get them some assists,” she said. 'She shots came to me, and they went down. It was a great win.”

Buckley's 25 points (she was 8-of-13 from the field) came partially by necessity to keep ISU close. Backcourt partners Nikki Moody and Brynn Williamson were burdened with foul trouble throughout.

'Some kids, you've got to have on the floor,” Fennelly said. '24 minutes for Brynn and 23 for Nikki - that's not a recipe for success. And their players off the bench were better than ours at critical times.”

Nicole Blaskowsky's 3-pointer capped an 11-2 ISU run for the Cyclones' only lead of the game, 23-22.

But the Hawkeyes answered with 22 points in the final 5 minutes of the half. Peschel hit a pair of treys down the stretch of the first half, and her second one gave the Hawkeyes a 44-35 lead at intermission.

Melissa Dixon's basket stretched Iowa's lead to its largest margin at 49-39.

The Cyclones closed within 64-60 with 7 1/2 minutes left, but Peschel's final trey of the night restored order at 67-60.

Disterhoft's two free throws made it 71-62 with 1:13 to go. Buckley's 3-pointer with 52 seconds left gave the Cyclones life at 71-67, but Jennings hit two free throws, then sealed it with two straight steals.

Iowa's Samantha Logic and Moody are 1-2 in the country in career assists among active players. Logic counted six Thursday, Moody four.

IOWA 76, IOWA STATE 67

At Iowa City

IOWA STATE (67): Brynn Williamson 0-4 2-2 2, Bryanna Fernstrom 2-6 2-2 6, Nikki Moody 4-7 2-2 12, Jadda Buckley 8-13 7-8 25, Seanna Johnson 2-11 2-3 6, Nakiah Bell 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Durr 2-4 0-0 5, Nicole Blaskowsky 3-11 2-3 11, Fallon Ellis 0-1 0-0 0, Madison Baier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 17-20 67.

IOWA (76): Bethany Doolittle 3-8 2-2 8, Ally Disterhofy 6-10 2-4 16, Whitney Jennings 4-12 6-8 15, Melissa DIxon 3-6 2-2 9, Samantha Logic 3-8 0-3 7, Alexa Kastanek 2-3 2-2 8, Claire Till 0-2 0-0 0, Christina Buttenham 0-0 0-0 0, Kali Peschel 4-9 2-2 13. Totals 25-58 16-23 76.

Halftime: Iowa 44, ISU 35. 3-point goals: ISU 8-29 (Williamson 0-3, Fernstrom 0-2, Moody 2-3, Buckley 2-4, Johnson 0-3, Bell 0-1, Durr 1-2, Blaskowsky 3-11), Iowa 10-25 (Disterhoft 2-4, Jennings 1-7, Dixon 1-4, Logic 1-4, Kastanek 2-2, Peschel 3-4). Team fouls: ISU 23, Iowa 19. Fouled out: Moody. Rebounds: ISU 41 (Johnson 12), Iowa 36 (Logic, Peschel 7). Assists: ISU 9 (Moody 4), Iowa 14 (Logic 6). Steals: ISU 5 (Johnson 2), Iowa 7 (Jennings 3). Turnovers: ISU 14, Iowa 13.

Attendance: 4,902.

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