Iowa women’s basketball blasts UMass in Hawkeye Challenge opener, 71-30

IOWA CITY – Through the first three games this season, the Iowa women's basketball team has used a platoon system to great success.

In the opening round of the Hawkeye Challenge, the Hawkeyes called in an airstrike to down Massachusetts, 71-30.

'I thought we ran well, we passed the ball well, and we crashed well,” said Iowa coach Lisa Bluder. 'We were able to dominate the paint points, and Alexa (Kastanek) shot the ball well.”

Coming off the bench as part of the second wave, Kastanek knocked down five 3-pointers on her way to a team-high 17 points. Kastanek also had three rebounds and four assists.

'I think every shooter loves the zone because you don't have that hand in your face constantly,” said Kastanek. 'Knowing that my teammates could get me open and get me shots that I could knock down was really great.”

Kastanek and the Hawkeyes made ball movement a priority early. Kastanek picked the pocket of the Minutewomen's Jessica George and fed Kathleen Doyle with a behind the back pass to put Iowa up 11-3 early in the first quarter. As a team, Iowa finished with 24 assists, just one shy of its season high.

'I do that in practice all the time,” said Kastanek. 'I was just glad to be able to use it in a game once at least.

The platoon system kept Iowa sharp defensively. The Hawkeyes held a 39-10 halftime edge, with 10 points the fewest allowed in a half in program history. The previous low (11) was against West Virginia in 1992.

'Last year, we were not happy with our defense, and that gave us extra motivation for this season,” said Iowa's Megan Gustafson, who led Iowa with 8 rebounds.

The Iowa defense held Massachusetts to just 12.9 percent shooting from the field in the game. The Minutewomen were just 4-of-31 from the field in the first half and 2-of-6 from the free throw line.

'I think we made them take contested shots and that got into their head a little bit,” said Bluder. 'They didn't shoot the ball well, and I hope that was partly because of our defense.”

Overall, Iowa had four players in double-digit scoring. In addition to Kastanek's 17, Gustafson finished with 13 points, while Ally Disterhoff and Hannah Stewart each had 10.

'It's just about having patience,” said Bluder. 'I think sometimes you can get into a rush. To come out of a fastbreak and have the wherewithal to understand that you can set up your offense and work for the good shot.”

Iowa will face the winner of South Dakota State-Montana Sunday at 2 p.m. at Carver Hawkeye Arena.