Hawkeyes gain a much-needed win

IOWA CITY — Who was guarding Katelynn Flaherty?

For the first 15 minutes, well, nobody. Then Tania Davis got the call to face-guard. To chase. To pester.

'I wanted to make everything she got, hard,' Davis said.

Davis' assignment was the pivotal moment as Iowa snapped a three-game losing streak with an 85-69 conquest of Michigan in a Big Ten women's basketball game in front of 3,780 Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'It's really exciting, especially after the last couple games,' said Chase Coley, part of Iowa's post combo that netted a pair of double-doubles. 'We showed who we are tonight.'

After dropping five of their last six games, the Hawkeyes hit the midpoint of the Big Ten campaign at 14-7 overall, 4-5 in the league.

They needed this.

After starting the first 19 games, Coley came off the bench Tuesday and registered 21 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, 7-of-8 from the line) and 10 rebounds. Megan Gustafson added 10 points and 12 boards.

'Playing (at power forward), I like it a lot,' Coley said. 'I like shooting my shots facing up and pulling their big girls out and looking for my teammates inside.'

But the difference-maker was Davis.

Flaherty torched the Hawkeyes for 24 points in the first 15 minutes, hitting her first nine shots — including five 3-pointers — as Michigan built a 37-29 lead.

Davis dogged her the rest of the way, and the game changed in a hurry.

Iowa raced back, took a 42-41 lead at halftime, and gradually pulled away.

Flaherty finished with a game-high 31 points, but made just 3 of her final 9 shots after her torrid start.

'Tania ... I don't know what to say about her,' Bluder said. 'She had 18 points and five assists against no turnovers, and she did the job on Flaherty.'

'It was definitely a challenge,' Davis said. 'I just wanted to make her work.'

Listed at 5-foot-4, Davis punctuated it with a block of Flaherty.

'That never happens,' she said, 'especially to me.'

Davis closed the first half with back-to-back 3-pointers, enabling the Hawkeyes to take the lead into the locker room.

'Down nine with 3:20 left in the first half, then to take the lead, the momentum there was huge,' Bluder said.

Michigan (11-9, 3-6), which rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Hawkeyes in Ann Arbor on Jan. 7, was still in striking range at 74-68 with 2 minutes left, but the Hawkeyes closed it out with 11 of 14 free throws down the stretch. And when they did miss, they snagged the offensive rebounds.

Whitney Jennings was scoreless with a minute left, then hit eight consecutive free throws to wrap it up.

The Hawkeyes play at Northwestern (13-8, 2-7) at 2 p.m. Sunday.

IOWA 85, MICHIGAN 69

At Iowa City

MICHIGAN (69): Kelsey Mitchell 5-10 2-5 11, Hallie Thome 4-9 2-5 10, Madison Ristovski 5-9 0-0 11, Siera Thompson 0-4 0-0 0, Katelynn Flaherty 12-18 2-3 31, Nicole Munger 0-0 0-0 0, Jillian Dunston 0-1 0-0 0, Danielle Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Sam Trammel 0-0 0-0 0, Boogie Brozoski 1-5 4-4 6. Totals 27-58 9-14 69.

IOWA (85): Kali Peschel 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Gustafson 3-10 4-5 10, Ally Disterhoft 5-12 3-6 16, Tania Davis 6-10 2-2 18, Whitney Jennings 0-7 8-8 8, Alexa Kastanek 3-6 0-0 7, Chase Coley 7-9 7-8 21, Hannah Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Christina Buttenham 1-5 2-2 5. Totals 25-59 26-31 85.

Halftime: Iowa 42, Michigan 41. 3-point goals: Michigan 6-16 (Ristovski 1-3, Thompson 0-1, Flaherty 5-8, Williams 0-1, Brozoski 0-3), Iowa 9-28 (Disterhoft 3-7, Davis 4-8, Jennings 0-4, Kastanek 1-4, Buttenham 1-5). Team fouls: Michigan 23, Iowa 14. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Michigan 31 (Thome 8), Iowa 39 (Gustafson 12). Assists: Michigan 17 (Thompson 6), Iowa 21 (Jennings 6). Steals: Michigan 6 (Mitchell, Ristovski 2), Iowa 4 (Disterhoft 2). Turnovers: Michigan 13, Iowa 12.

Attendance: 3,780.

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