Maryland eliminates Iowa from Big Ten tournament

INDIANAPOLIS — Iowa had a near flawless first quarter, but things changed quickly.

And not for the better.

Maryland, ranked fifth nationally, shook off a slow start to pull away from the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes, 75-55, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten women's basketball tournament on Friday.

The lopsided end result looks even worse considering what Iowa did in the first quarter. The Hawkeyes shot 75 percent from the field, had 10 assists, and committed just three turnovers. They built a 28-18 lead.

'We had great intensity in the first quarter,' Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. 'Obviously it takes four quarters and after that (first quarter) we pretty much lost it.'

Maryland (28-3) dropped its zone and picked up its defensive pressure in the second quarter. Iowa had no answer, with an awful looking stat line to prove that.

The Hawkeyes (19-13) made just nine field goals and had only two assists over the final three quarters. They scored just four points in the second quarter and 27 over the final three quarters. That's one less point than they scored in the first quarter alone.

'I think they really just picked up their intensity and went into a little bit more of a denial,' said Iowa junior Ally Disterhoft, who led the Hawkeyes with 16 points. 'We didn't respond as well as we could have to that. We needed to move the ball like we know how to, we just kind of let it get to us.'

Maryland forced 22 turnovers, which it turned into 30 points. But maybe the bigger problem was how the Terrapins dominated the paint with a 50-18 scoring edge.

Terrapins center Brionna Jones was a difficult matchup for Iowa freshman Megan Gustafson. Jones finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds, with 10 of those on the offensive end. Gustafson finished with seven points on three shot attempts. She scored 25 points in Thursday's win over Michigan.

'(Jones) is an incredible athlete and has great experience,' Bluder said. 'I mean, she played in the World University Games last year. You know, my center was playing in Port Wing, Wisconsin, last year against 5-foot-8 players. They're no comparison in the experience level of these two players. ... but you know, Megan is a freshman and she will continue to get better and better.'

Maryland outscored Iowa, 21-4, in the second quarter to take a 39-32 halftime lead. Iowa trailed by double-digits for most of the final 15 minutes of the game. Anytime the Hawkeyes made a slight run, Maryland answered. And it usually came off a drive from All-Big Ten guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who had 23 points.

'That's what All-Americans do,' Bluder said. 'We have a lot of great players in this league, but Shatori is one of the best. … She wants the ball in those situations.'

Before the tournament, several analysts suggested Iowa needed to win two games — which would have included against Maryland on Friday — to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Bluder didn't come out and say the Hawkeyes deserve a bid, but suggested to those choosing that they should consider scheduling.

'Sometimes you look at conference standings,' Bluder said, 'and when you only play five teams (twice) and the others just (once), it depends on who you play. You have to throw it out and look at our whole body of work such as what we did in non-conference and our whole body of work.'

Of the teams Iowa played twice, only Penn State finished in the bottom-5 of the conference. The Hawkeyes' RPI is 58th, while their strength of schedule ranks 20th nationally.