Hawkeyes escape Western Illinois in OT

IOWA CITY — Once Whitney Jennings provided a reprieve, all doubt vanished.

Jennings swished a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left in regulation, then 23rd-ranked Iowa ruled overtime to escape with a 96-81 victory over Western Illinois in a non-conference women's basketball game in front of 3,543 Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'Once Whitney hit that shot, there was no doubt in our minds we were going to win that game,' Iowa's Ally Disterhoft said.

The Hawkeyes (3-0) frittered away an 18-point first-half lead, faced a four-point deficit in the final two minutes, then had an opening when WIU's Taylor Higginbotham missed the second of two free throws with 11 seconds left in regulation and the Leathernecks holding a 78-75 advantage.

Iowa called timeout to advance the ball to the front court, then Jennings took a pass from Alexa Kastanek in the right corner and drilled the game-tying trey with 5 seconds left.

'It's a situation we work on a lot in practice,' Jennings said. '(Kastanek) drew the defense and kicked it to me.'

Western Illinois (2-1) had a decent look at the end of regulation, but Maher missed a runner at the horn, and the Hawkeyes had life. They made the most of it, outscoring the Leathernecks, 18-3, in the five extra minutes.

'We knew we had it the whole time, right?' Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said.

Not exactly.

Iowa enjoyed a 49-31 lead late in the first half before the Leathernecks chipped away. They drew even at 65-all, then took leads of 70-65 and 77-73. Higginbottom could have clinched it with a final free throw, but didn't.

Freshman Megan Gustafson scored a career-high 23 points, including five in overtime, to pace the Hawkeyes. Kali Peschel's first points of the night were a 3-pointer that put the Hawkeyes in command at 88-81 with 2:00 left in overtime.

Gustafson and Chase Coley (career-best 13 points) staked Iowa to a 60-24 advantage in paint points.

'I just wanted to contribute to the team as much as possible,' said Gustafson, who hit her first seven shots from the floor and 10 of 14 overall. 'In the third quarter, when I wasn't doing as well, my teammates were there to support me.'

Disterhoft, who was honored before the game for her 1,000 career points, added 21. Kastanek scored 13, Jennings 10.

Michelle Farrow, Jasmine Patrick and Higginbotham scored 14 apiece for the Leathernecks.

Iowa didn't score for the first 4 1/2 minutes, but heated quickly and shot 56 percent from the field in the first half. The Hawkeyes cooled to 34 percent in the second half, including 0-for-10 from 3-point range before Jennings drained the game-saver.

The Hawkeyes begin their intrastate round robin at 2 p.m. Sunday at Northern Iowa.

IOWA 96, WESTERN ILLINOIS 81 (OT)

At Iowa City

WESTERN ILLINOIS (81): Sophie Reichelt 1-8 2-2 4, Mallory Boyle 5-13 2-5 12, Michelle Maher 3-13 1-4 7, Emily Clemens 1-5 2-2 5, Michelle Farrow 5-12 0-0 14, Ciara Marlow 2-2 0-2 5, Jasmine Patrick 6-10 1-2 14, Taylor McClintock 2-4 0-0 6, Taylor Higginbotham 5-11 1-2 14, Liz Skotowski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-78 9-19 81.

IOWA (96): Kali Peschel 1-7 2-2 5, Chase Coley 6-9 1-1 13, Alexa Kastanek 4-11 3-3 13, Ally Disterhoft 9-19 3-4 21, Whitney Jennings 4-11 1-3 10, Claire Till 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Gustafson 10-14 3-4 23, Tania Davis 3-9 2-2 8, Christina Buttenham 0-1 0-0 0, Carly Mohns 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 38-83 15-19 96.

Halftime: Iowa 49, Western Illinois 36. End of regulation: 78-78.

3-point goals: Western Illinois 12-34 (Reichelt 0-2, Boyle 0-2, Maher 0-6, Clemens 1-1, Farrow 4-11, Marlow 1-1, Patrick 1-1, McClintock 2-4, Higginbotham 3-6), Iowa 5-25 (Peschel 1-6, Kastanek 2-8, Disterhoft 0-2, Jennings 1-5, Davis 0-2, Buttenham 0-1, Mohns 1-1); Team fouls: Western Illinois 24, Iowa 18; Fouled out: none; Rebounds: Western Illinois 48 (Boyle 9), Iowa 53 (Peschel 11); Assists: Western Illinois 12 (Maher 4), Iowa 24 (Jennings 6); Steals: Western Illinois 7 (Maher 4), Iowa 8 (Kastanek 5); Turnovers: Western Illinois 16, Iowa 16.

Attendance: 3,543.

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