Hawkeyes sprint away late from Pepperdine

IOWA CITY - Second gear for 28 minutes, then over-overdrive the rest of the way.

No. 18 Iowa closed with a 45-point avalanche in the final 12 minutes and sprinted away from Pepperdine, 97-68, in a semifinal game of the Hawkeye Challenge women's basketball tournament before 3,578 Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'We played Iowa basketball tonight,” said Melissa Dixon, who splashed six 3-pointers and led the Hawkeyes (3-0) with 20 points. 'We made the extra pass and got everyone involved.”

A dozen Hawkeyes reached the scoring column, and many of them did it from long distance. Iowa hit 15 treys, including a blinding 10-of-13 in the second half.

The Hawkeyes will face Dayton (1-2) for the tournament championship at 7:30 Saturday night. The Flyers whipped Tennessee-Martin, 78-47.

It's a rematch from last year, when Iowa edged the Flyers in overtime.

'We have to ride the momentum from tonight,” said Samantha Logic. 'Dayton's a good basketball team, and they'll play like they have a chip on their shoulder.”

Ally Disterhoft posted the fourth double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) of her career. Logic was Logic-like (12 points, six rebounds, nine assists).

And Whitney Jennings sparked the rookies with 11 points. Fellow freshmen Christina Buttenham, Carly Mohns and Chase Coley all contributed.

'All of our freshmen played really well,” Bluder said. 'They took another step together in growing up.”

Pepperdine (1-2) stayed in striking range for more than a half, and was still within single digits at 52-43 with 12 minutes to go.

Disterhoft scored on a drive, then Dixon hit a 3-pointer, Buttenham followed, then Dixon again, and the Hawkeyes were off and gunning.

'The second half, we let the offense come to us,” Disterhoft said. 'We stopped trying to force things.”

Iowa's 56 second-half points were four short of a school record. And the 15 treys missed a school mark by just two.

Allie Green led the Waves with 16 points. Pepperdine held a couple leads midway through the first half, the last one at 24-23.

But the Hawkeyes closed the half with an 18-6 rush. A pair of buckets by freshman Coley ignited the surge, and Logic capped it with a three-point play with 4 seconds left to give Iowa a 41-30 halftime lead.

DAYTON 78, TENNESSEE-MARTIN 47

The Flyers held UT-Martin without a basket for more than 9 minutes to start the second half, and breezed to the tournament final.

Dayton (1-2) led 43-27 at halftime and extended the margin to 30 points before the Skyhawks (1-3) managed their first basket after intermission.

Andrea Hoover led the Flyers with 14 points. Ally Malott added 13.

Jessy Ward paced UT-Martin with 16 points, but the Skyhawks shot just 23 percent (10 of 43) from the field.

IOWA 97, PEPPERDINE 68

At Iowa City

PEPPERDINE (68): Krista Pettepier 1-2 0-0 2, Keitra Wallace 5-12 1-4 13, Bria Richardson 4-11 2-2 11, Ea Shoushtari 4-15 2-2 14, Allie Green 7-17 0-0 16, Kim Jacobs 0-1 0-0 0, Devin Stanback 2-3 0-0 4, Tessa Emerson 0-0 0-0 0, Olivia Ogwumike 1-2 2-2 4, Kelsey Brockway 2-3 0-1 4. Totals 26-66 7-11 68.

IOWA (97): Kali Peschel 1-3 5-6 7, Bethany Doolittle 2-6 0-2 4, Ally Disterhoft 5-10 2-2 14, Melissa Dixon 7-12 0-0 20, Samantha Logic 5-7 2-2 12, Alexa Kastanek 1-7 2-3 5, Claire Till 0-0 0-2 0, Chase Coley 2-3 0-0 4, Whitney Jennings 4-8 1-3 11, Christina Buttenham 3-5 0-0 9, Kathryn Reynolds 1-1 0-0 3, Carly Mohns 3-3 0-0 6, Hailey Schneden 0-0 0-0 0, Nicole Smith 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 35-66 12-20 97.

Halftime: Iowa 41, Pepperdine 30. 3-point goals: Pepperdine 9-29 (Wallace 2-2, Richardson 1-5, Shoushtari 4-13, Green 2-8, Jacobs 0-1), Iowa 15-26 (Disterhoft 2-4, Dixon 6-11, Kastanek 1-3, Jennings 2-4, Buttenham 3-3, Reynolds 1-1). Team fouls: Pepperdine 18, Iowa 14. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Pepperdine 33 (Wallace 7), Iowa 45 (Disterhoft 10). Assists: Pepperdine 14 (Richardson, Shoushtari 4), Iowa 26 (Logic 9). Steals: Pepperdine 7 (Pettepier, Wallace 2), Iowa 9 (Jennings 3). Turnovers: Pepperdine 16, Iowa 16.

Attendance: 3,578.