INDIANAPOLIS — Momentum darted from one bench to the other Thursday inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, offering both squads ample chances to corral this late-night affair. A chance to cement an early March moment stared back at Iowa women’s basketball while waiting for a response.
Challenge, answered.
Locked in a vintage postseason contest with little comfort and even less separation, these Hawkeyes re-affirmed their growth with handling intense, grueling action. The final scene was a hard-earned 74-61 win over No. 6 seed Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament’s second round, a victory that propels No. 11 seed Iowa into Friday’s 8 p.m. quarterfinal versus No. 3 seed Ohio State.
“We thought we were poised to have nice, exciting moments in March,” Iowa coach Jan Jensen said. “So that’s what we’ve been talking a lot about. But March is madness, right? So you’re never guaranteed moments like this.
“But if there’s a group that’s been working and been believing and been relentless in their pursuit of chasing fun and chasing success, it’s been this group. I’m just so thankful they’ve had a moment like this tonight. Obviously we understand we’ve got three big games left to play (in the Big Ten Tournament should Iowa advance to Sunday’s title game), but I’m a big believer in the stop and smell the roses. Tonight we get to do that for a bit. They get to do it a little longer.”
It was a similar flow some three months ago, when the Hawkeyes trekked to East Lansing on Dec. 15 for a Big Ten slog that ended with a painful 68-66 Iowa loss. The Hawkeyes were ready to display another sign of significant progress when Thursday’s action reached a similar spot.
Foul trouble, officiating issues and an inconsistent offensive product created plenty of turbulence Iowa had to endure. But when an opportunity finally opened, the Hawkeyes didn’t miss it. An 8-0 surge with freshman Ava Heiden spearheading it ended the third quarter and allowed Iowa to operate from ahead down the stretch. The Hawkeyes closed down this one like a team ready to stick around for a while.
“In the past, we’ve struggled at the end of games and being able to finish games and handle their runs,” said Hannah Stuelke, who delivered 12 points despite sitting for large stretches with foul issues than ultimately led to Jensen’s first technical foul. “I think we’ve been doing a great job now finishing out games.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence.”
Contributions came from every corner. Another strong Lucy Olsen effort (21 points, nine assists) kept Iowa afloat early and in control late. Heiden’s extended cameo with Stuelke sidelined saw her deliver 11 second-half points that should inject a massive confidence boost. All four of Taylor McCabe’s treys seemed to arrive just when the Hawkeyes needed them most.
“We’re super deep right now,” McCabe said. “We’ve got plenty of people coming off the bench at the moment. I think that keeps everybody fresh and ready to go. We’re playing our best right now, so that’s really good to see. Good to see we can pull away down the stretch.”
Especially crucial considering how rocky Iowa’s start was. After McCabe drained a trey on Iowa’s first possession, the Hawkeyes quickly needed Olsen to prevent an early derailment. She delivered the rest of Iowa’s first-quarter points — nine of them — while the Hawkeyes slogged through a scoring drought of five-plus minutes.
It felt significant, though, that Michigan State couldn’t construct a lead larger than six as Iowa sputtered — and the Hawkeyes soon showed why. Iowa emphatically regrouped and ripped off a 16-0 surge to begin the second quarter, resetting Thursday’s tone in the process. More than eight minutes of game clock transpired between first-half Michigan State buckets, as the Spartans struggled to find their own rhythm while sinking into a heftier hole.
Iowa’s 32-25 intermission lead felt more robust than the seven-point cushion indicated. The fact it didn’t hold gave the Hawkeyes a great March practice test for even bigger games ahead.
Consider this one passed with authority.
“At the beginning of the season,” Olsen said, “we were trying to figure out our identity and had a lot of moving pieces.
“But now, we found it.”
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
