Iowa women handle Robert Morris, 81-60, win third straight

IOWA CITY, Ia. — It wound up closer than expected, but the Iowa Hawkeyes handled Robert Morris, 81-60, Friday night to improve to 8-3. It's their third straight win.

Ally Disterhoft, Megan Gustafson and Tania Davis combined to score 43. Kathleen Doyle added 11 and Hannah Stewart and Makenzie Meyer had eight. Gustafson grabbed nine rebounds, one shy of her seventh double-double this season.

"You know, I was worried about this game," Iowa's Lisa Bluder said. "I felt it was a little bit of a trap game, the emotions and the highs of beating UNI and Iowa State, and then coming out and having to prepare and play in one day. I thought our team did a good job with that."

How the game was won: The Colonials hung tough with Iowa for most of the first half, and they actually led 27-25 with 5:09 left in the second quarter.

Then Hannah Stewart got a paint bucket. Then Meyer swished a corner 3-pointer. Amanda Ollinger followed with a three of her own, Chase Coley knocked down two free throws and Davis drilled a straightaway long ball. By that point, Iowa led 38-29 and they eventually took a 40-31 lead into halftime, having closed the frame on a 15-4 scoring run.

Robert Morris got within nine points midway through the fourth before the Hawkeyes pulled away late. Doyle snagged two of her three steals in the fourth quarter.

"The beginning of the game, you could tell maybe our defensive energy wasn't there, but I thought Kathleen Doyle really brought it in the fourth quarter, both offensively and defensively," Bluder said. "She brought some energy and gave us a little bit of life there."

Key stat: Iowa obliterated Robert Morris on the offensive glass, 14-6. It turned those 14 rebounds into 15 second-chance points. The Colonials mustered 2 points on their offensive rebounds.

"We took care of the ball today," Bluder said. "That was good to see. We really took care of the glass. That was nice."

Up next: The Hawkeyes get a little more than a week off before playing Drake in Des Moines at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 18. The Bulldogs are 5-3 on the year, with a win against Nebraska and losses against Iowa State and Creighton.