Iowa women's basketball takeaways: Hawkeyes conquer first true road test

Iowa women’s basketball takeaways: Hawkeyes conquer first true road test

Posted by Admin November 18, 2024 Basketball

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For a 12th straight time in an opposing building, Iowa women’s basketball took the floor in front of a packed house. Sure, there were several large black-and-gold sections Sunday afternoon inside the Knapp Center. But this was the first true road challenge for this ascending Hawkeyes group.

Test, passed.

While thriving in hostile venues became second nature for last season’s Iowa team and the pieces still remaining from it, the current bunch is still generating those early-season moments that will become calming forces as the season wears on. Performances like Sunday’s 86-73 win over Drake will likely gain value as the Hawkeyes’ cohesion comes together.

“These are the games you look forward to the most,” said senior Addi O’Grady, who set a new career-high with 27 points on 13-for-21 shooting. “They’re really fun, and it’s just a charged environment.”

The Hawkeyes won’t get another true road test until Big Ten play begins on Dec. 15 at Michigan State, adding more emphasis on conquering Sunday’s challenge with a team still meshing on all fronts. With double-digit victories now in both games away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa should plow into its upcoming stretch of neutral-site games.

Four out of Iowa’s next five games are outside Iowa City: Wednesday against Kansas in Sioux Falls, Nov. 28 and 29 versus Rhode Island and BYU at the Cancun Challenge, then Dec. 7 against Tennessee in Brooklyn. Following Sunday’s win, Jensen should feel additional confidence that her team can come out ahead in this pivotal stretch.

Other takeaways from Iowa’s in-state rivalry win:

Iowa coach Jan Jensen reflects on wave of emotions after win at Drake

The Iowa head coach improved to 4-0 with an 86-73 win over Drake, a day after a celebration of 50 years of Bulldogs women’s basketball.

Iowa’s 10-0 run to end the first half ‘might’ve won us the game’

Who blinks first when the separation stays slim can dictate how the rest of the basketball action unfolds, no matter when it arrives. Although Iowa didn’t know at the time how much its late second-quarter push would hold up, the Hawkeyes bounded into the locker room with game-changing confidence thanks to a crucial swing.

Knotted 35-35 with two minutes until the break didn’t seem like the setting for Iowa to break loose, especially after an elite defensive stretch looked like it was going to waste. The Hawkeyes held Drake to just one second-quarter field goal when Abbie Aalsma connected from deep to re-ignite the crowd.

The veteran moxie Iowa is trying to replenish stepped up when the Hawkeyes needed it most. A 10-0 sprint into the locker room arrived on Teagan Mallegni’s broad shoulders after she hit a tough layup and drained back-to-back treys in less than 90 seconds. Lucy Olsen added a mid-range basket in there for good measure.

Suddenly, a back-and-forth showdown swung Iowa’s way for good. Drake was only sporadically within double digits the rest of the way.

“That was huge, especially for our relatively younger team in the minutes they’ve played in big games,” coach Jan Jensen said. “In the past, we’ve had a lot of players who’ve been in these big games — but they dominated a lot of the minutes. So I thought that was a really huge spurt, and they went in (to the locker room) knowing they did something pretty well.

“That was hugely important. It might’ve won us the game.”

Addi O’Grady’s production continues climbing, and now, so do the expectations

For all the times recently that Iowa coaches have cautioned about using past players as blueprints for the present, O’Grady’s recent production has generated recalibrated expectations that resemble some of Iowa’s interior greats.

“The biggest compliment I can give her is I’m starting to have (Monika) Czinano and (Megan) Gustafson expectations,” Jensen said. “I was kind of cranky at a couple things she did out there. That means the expectations are growing. But I only know they’re growing because I know she can do it.“

Those are some impressive names in Iowa’s pantheon of posts. Yet, O’Grady’s start to her senior season has been worthy of the praise. A player whose career at times seemed to be spinning in the mud, O’Grady has provided the first unexpected jolt for Iowa this season.

She has scored in double figures in all four games while playing 20-plus minutes in the previous three. O’Grady’s 27 points and 10 rebounds marked her second collegiate double-double and first since her freshman season against Evansville.

“It’s really good early in the season, we’re going inside and getting our inside game going,” O’Grady said. “If our 3-pointers aren’t falling, we can fall back on that.”

O’Grady, though, is hardly a fallback option anymore.