Penn State shocks Hawkeyes, 82-69

IOWA CITY — They were outplayed and outmuscled.

And if this continues, the Iowa Hawkeyes will be out in the cold come March.

Penn State led from tipoff to final horn and handed the Hawkeyes a damaging 82-69 Big Ten Conference women's basketball defeat in front of 3,873 Wednesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'I want to congratulate Penn State. You couldn't tell that was a team on a five-game losing streak,' Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said to open a brief, somber postgame press conference. 'We came out and played lackluster defense. We have to go back to the drawing board.'

The Hawkeyes (13-6 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) fell for the fourth time in the last five games, and this was the biggest punch in the gut yet. Penn State (7-11, 2-5) opened the night in last place of the Big Ten and owned an RPI of 177.

A resume-builder, this was not. Iowa has been to eight straight NCAA tournaments, but this team is sliding closer to the bubble as it approaches the midpoint of the conference season.

'We have to start playing with more emotion,' said Chase Coley, who led the Hawkeyes with 16 points. 'We have to keep up our energy. We have to take this loss to heart.'

All five Penn State starters reached double figures, and the Lady Lions owned a 48-34 rebounding advantage.

The Lady Lions took advantage of their size — Coquese Washington rotated five players between 6-foot-2 and 6-6, using their strength and spreading out their fouls.

Lindsey Spann and Brianna Banks scored 16 points apiece. Peyton Whitted added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Teniya Page also scored 14 and Kaliyah Mitchell registered 12.

The Lady Lions scored six straight points for a quick 8-2 lead and played from ahead the rest of the way. A five-point run by the Hawkeyes pulled them within 36-33, but Penn State ended the half with a 10-5 surge and led 46-38 at intermission.

The final blow came at the end of the third quarter, an 11-0 job that extended the margin to 68-49 and triggered a steady stream for the exits. The largest lead was 22 before Iowa made a too-little, too-late push.

Tania Davis' 18-footer with 57 seconds left brought the Hawkeyes within 75-69, then Penn State closed it out with the final seven points.

Ally Disterhoft added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Hawkeyes. Whitney Jennings scored 11, and Davis finished with nine points, six assists and four steals.

Iowa was 4 of 25 from long distance.

The Hawkeyes are at Purdue at 2 p.m. Sunday.

'We collectively need to play better defense,' Disterhoft said. 'We need to improve on that.'

PENN STATE 82, IOWA 69

At Iowa City

PENN STATE (82): Kaliyah Mitchell 4-9 3-4 12, Peyton Whitted 5-6 4-4 14, Brianna Banks 5-11 5-6 16, Teniya Page 4-10 5-6 14, Lindsey Spann 5-14 4-4 16, Candice Agee 3-4 0-0 6, Leah Knizner 0-0 0-0 0, Jaylen Williams 2-3 0-0 4, Ashanti Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-57 21-24 82.

IOWA (69): Ally Disterhoft 3-14 6-9 13, Kali Peschel 2-5 1-2 6, Chase Coley 7-10 2-4 16, Alexa Kastanek 2-10 3-3 8, Whitney Jennings 4-8 2-2 11, Megan Gustafson 2-5 1-2 5, Tania Davis 4-12 1-2 9, Christina Buttenham 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 24-68 17-26 69.

Halftime: Penn State 46, Iowa 38. 3-point goals: Penn State 5-15 (Mitchell 1-1, Banks 1-4, Page 1-3, Spann 2-7), Iowa 4-25 (Disterhoft 1-5, Peschel 1-4, Kastanek 1-8, Jennings 1-3, Davis 0-3, Buttenham 0-2). Team fouls: Penn State 26, Iowa 20. Fouled out: Williams, Peschel, Jennings. Rebounds: Penn State 48 (Whitted 10), Iowa 34 (Disterhoft 7). Assists: Penn State 15 (Spann 8), Iowa 18 (Davis 6). Steals: Penn State 8 (Mitchell 3), Iowa 9 (Davis 4). Turnovers: Penn State 17, Iowa 12.

Attendance: 3,873.

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