Iowa's upset bid close but not quite in loss to Notre Dame

IOWA CITY, Ia. — Like they did against No. 9 UCLA, the Iowa Hawkeyes hung blow-for-blow with No. 1 Notre Dame for three quarters before running out of juice in the fourth and losing 73-58.

Megan Gustafson had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ally Disterhoft scored 18 and dished out five assists. Kathleen Doyle was next on the leader board with six points.

Iowa shot 4-for-19 from 3-point land and 6-for-15 from the free throw line.

How the game was won: Iowa trailed just 43-41 with 7:21 left in the third quarter. Gustafson had just made her seventh straight basket to open the game, capping an 8-2 run to start the second half. The crowd in Carver Hawkeye Arena rose to its feet as Notre Dame called a timeout. And you couldn't help be reminded: This was Notre Dame's first true road game.

The Fighting Irish quickly got over whatever road woes they may have felt right before that timeout. They outscored Iowa 14-8 to close the third and 16-9 in the fourth to seal the win.

Key stat: Iowa actually had the same shooting percentage as Notre Dame (45 percent). But the Irish made six more baskets on 14 more shots.

Up next: The Hawkeyes (5-3) host Northern Iowa (4-2) this Sunday at 2 p.m. That starts a stretch of four games that features three in-state games (vs. Iowa State Dec. 7, at Drake Dec. 18).