Hawkeyes hold on, edge Nebraska

IOWA CITY — They didn't exactly slam the door shut. A gentle nudge was just enough.

Up 12 points with 2 minutes to play, the Iowa Hawkeyes wheezed home and held off Nebraska, 75-72, in a Big Ten women's basketball game in front of 6,750 Saturday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'You can transcribe a big 'whew,'' Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said at the beginning of the postgame press conference. 'The win feels good, but we made it as hard as possible.'

The Hawkeyes (10-5 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) led 75-63 when Megan Gustafson scored with 2:04 remaining. But they missed six straight free throws in the final 35 seconds, and the outcome wasn't decided until they corralled a missed 3-point attempt by Nebraska's Hannah Whitish in the final seconds.

'Obviously, we had some issues at the free-throw line, but we had the right people there,' Bluder said. 'Chase (Coley) and Tania (Davis), they're right there at the top of our free-throw ladder. If I had to do it all over again, I'd want the ball in their hands again.'

After Wednesday's clunker at Illinois, the Hawkeyes will take it.

'Once we hit the court at practice, we were done with that,' Iowa's Ally Disterhoft said. 'With the quick turnaround, we wanted to flush it and get our mojo back.'

Nebraska (4-10, 0-2) held its final lead at 47-46 midway through the third quarter, then freshman Makenzie Meyer scored six straight points in a 12-2 run for a 58-49 Iowa advantage.

Disterhoft's fourth 3-pointer made it 73-62, then Gustafson's shot from the middle of the lane extended it to 75-63 before the Hawkeyes went cold at the line and the Huskers made it more interesting than it should have been.

Gustafson posted 22 points (on 9-of-12 shooting) and nine rebounds to pace the Hawkeyes.

'We've just started to expect that out of her,' Bluder said. 'Amazing numbers. She's a workhorse.'

Disterhoft added 16 points. Davis had 11 points and eight assists, and freshman Kathleen Doyle tacked on 10 points and six assists.

Doyle originally signed with Nebraska, then was released from her scholarship there after Coach Connie Yori resigned in April.

'It was definitely a weird feeling (facing the Huskers),' Doyle said. 'Let's win the game, that's all I focused on.'

Saturday's game marked the end of Bluder's five-in, five-out platoon experiment. Four starters logged 30 minutes or more.

'We have been slowly moving away from the platoon,' Bluder said. 'We just want the people on the floor that are on the floor.'

Jessica Shepard led the Huskers with 28 points. Whitish added 14, Allie Havers 12, Nicea Eliely 11.

An 8-0 run pushed the Hawkeyes in front, 17-9, in the first quarter, then a 13-4 surge made it 32-24. Nebraska rallied to tie it before Disterhoft's trey gave Iowa a 39-36 halftime advantage.

The Hawkeyes are at Penn State on Tuesday. Nebraska hosts No. 3 Maryland on Wednesday.

IOWA 75, NEBRASKA 72

At Iowa City

NEBRASKA (72): Jessica Shepard 11-22 4-5 28, Allie Havers 6-12 0-0 12, Hannah Whitish 4-7 3-4 14, Nicea Eliely 5-11 0-1 11, Jasmine Cincore 1-9 1-2 3, Rylie Cascio Jensen 0-2 0-0 0, Emily Wood 0-1 0-0 0, Grace Mitchell 1-1 0-0 2, Maddie Simon 0-3 0-0 0, Darrien Washington 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-70 8-12 72.

IOWA (75): Christina Buttenham 1-3 0-0 2, Megan Gustafson 9-12 4-6 22, Ally Disterhoft 6-15 0-0 16, Tania Davis 5-11 0-2 11, Kathleen Doyle 3-10 4-7 10, Alexa Kastanek 0-0 0-0 0, Makenzie Meyer 1-3 3-4 6, Chase Coley 3-7 0-2 6, Hannah Stewart 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 29-65 11-21 75.

Halftime: Iowa 39, Nebraska 36. 3-point goals: Nebraska 6-20 (Shepard 2-4, Whitish 3-5, Eliely 1-4, Cincore 0-2, Cascio Jensen 0-2, Wood 0-1, Simon 0-2), Iowa 6-21 (Buttenham 0-1, Disterhoft 4-9, Davis 1-4, Doyle 0-4, Meyer 1-3). Team fouls: Nebraska 17, Iowa 11. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Nebraska 46 (Cincore 11), Iowa 38 (Gustafson 9). Assists: Nebraska 13 (Whitish 4), Iowa 19 (Davis 8). Steals: Nebraska 8 (Eliely 3), Iowa 12 (Davis 4). Turnovers: Nebraska 22, Iowa 15.

Attendance: 6,750.

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