Doolittle hits 1,000; Hawkeyes rout Penn State

IOWA CITY - A typically unselfish outlook led to an not-so-typical mismatch.

Ally Disterhoft dished out a career-high eight assists, Bethany Doolittle reached the 1,000-point plateau and 20th-ranked Iowa smashed three-time defending Big Ten regular-season champion Penn State, 77-52, in the league women's basketball opener for both teams in front of 5,411 Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'It speaks to my teammates' unselfish, assist-first mentality,” said Doolittle, who became the 33rd Hawkeye to reach quadruple-figure scoring for her career. 'It's a great bunch of girls I can say I've played with.”

The 25-point margin matched Iowa's biggest win in the 45-game series against the Lady Lions. Iowa beat PSU, 84-59, on Feb. 7, 1993.

Iowa (10-2 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) stormed to a 16-1 lead, then after a lull allowed the Lady Lions (3-9, 0-1) back into the game briefly, the Hawkeyes stung PSU with a 13-2 surge to regain control, and they led comfortably the rest of the way.

It was 41-24 at halftime, then a 9-2 spree to start the second half erased any lingering doubts.

Melissa Dixon sank five more 3-pointers to move within four of Lindsey Meder's career mark of 261. Dixon has hit 15 of 26 from long distance in the past two games.

'The defense collapses, and I'm open on a lot of pitches,” said Dixon, who scored 21 points to lead a pack of five Hawkeyes in double figures.

Doolittle added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Disterhoft, Whitney Jennings and Christina Buttenham tallied 11 points apiece. Buttenham, a freshman from Canada, reached double digits for the first time in her collegiate career.

A mini-epidemic of the flu hit the Hawkeyes after their win over Drake a week ago. Dixon, Peschel, Disterhoft and Alexa Kastanek were impacted.

Twenty-one of Iowa's 28 field goals were assisted. Disterhoft's eight were three more than her previous career best.

'If the drive's not there and the shot's not there, we like to hit our teammates,” Disterhoft said. 'It's a fun way to play.”

Penn State lost Maggie Lucas, among others, to graduation, and the Lady Lions are in full rebuilding mode. They shot 32 percent from the field, and Lindsey Spann (22 points) was the lone Penn State player in double figures.

The Hawkeyes are off until next Sunday, when they play at Rutgers (10-2, 1-0).

'It's not a perfect time for a bye, but we can't control that,” Bluder said.

C. Vivian Stringer was at Iowa for 12 seasons before leaving for Rutgers in 1995. She's 2-1 against Iowa since arriving in New Jersey.

IOWA 77, PENN STATE 52

At Iowa City

PENN STATE (52): Kaliyah Mitchell 0-2 0-2 0, Peyton Whitted 0-6 0-0 0, Candice Agee 4-5 1-2 9, Sierra Moore 1-7 0-0 2, Lindsey Spann 6-21 6-8 22, Keke Sevillian 1-2 2-2 4, Alex Harris 2-5 0-0 4, Dominique Brooks 0-0 0-0 0, Jenny DeGraaf 2-2 0-0 4, Tori Waldner 2-7 3-4 7. Totals 18-57 12-18 52.

IOWA (77): Bethany Doolittle 6-10 0-1 12, Ally Disterhoft 3-5 4-7 11, Whitney Jennings 3-9 5-6 11, Melissa Dixon 7-16 2-2 21, Samantha Logic 3-6 1-2 8, Alexa Kastanek 1-2 0-0 3, Claire Till 0-0 0-0 0, Chase Coley 0-1 0-0 0, Christina Buttenham 5-8 0-0 11, Kali Peschel 0-3 0-0 0, Carly Mohns 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 12-18 77.

Halftime: Iowa 41, Penn State 24. 3-point goals: Penn State 4-12 (Whitted 0-2, Moore 0-1, Spann 4-9), Iowa 9-22 (Disterhoft 1-2, Jennings 0-2, Dixon 5-12, Logic 1-2, Kastanek 1-2, Buttenham 1-2, Peschel 0-1). Team fouls: Penn State 19, Iowa 16. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Penn State 40 (Harris 11), Iowa 38 (Doolittle 11). Assists: Penn State 9 (Spann 4), Iowa 21 (Disterhoft 8). Steals: Penn State 9 (Sevillian 2), Iowa 10 (Dixon 3). Turnovers: Penn State 24, Iowa 18.

Attendance: 5,411.

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