Iowa women's basketball: No. 17 Hawkeyes roll by Western Kentucky in first road test
Dargan SouthardThe No. 17 Hawkeyes passed their first road test with ease.
An all-around dominant performance Tuesday night propelled Iowa to a 104-67 road win over Western Kentucky at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Hawkeyes (2-0) led for all but 25 seconds.
Lisa Bluder’s squad put four in double figures, highlighted by Megan Gustafson’s double-double (29 points, 12 rebounds) and perfect night shooting (13-for-13). Makenzie Meyer poured in 21 points on 5-for-10 shooting from deep, and Iowa got 14 from Hannah Stewart and 11 from Alexis Sevillian.
Iowa’s opening mirrored Friday’s swift start, as the Hawkeyes constructed a 20-point lead midway through the second quarter and led by 14 at the break. Only this time, there was no second-half defensive stumbling.
Iowa punched the gas in the third, outscoring Western Kentucky by 19 in reaching a 30-point advantage. The gap grew to as much as 44 points.
It was a typical Hawkeye recipe for a blowout win. Iowa had nearly a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (34 assists to 12 turnovers) and lit it up early. The Hawkeyes hit 20 of their first 29 shots and drained nearly 50 percent of their treys (13-for-28).
An expected — but still emphatic — first road win. Iowa returns to action Saturday against North Carolina Central at 7 p.m.
Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.