It’s usually very difficult to beat the same team twice in a week. The Iowa women’s basketball team made it look pretty easy on Friday.
Just eight days after squeaking by Illinois at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Hawkeyes took on the Fighting Illini again in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. But unlike that game in Carver last week, Iowa made easy work of a good Illinois squad.
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The Hawkeyes’ 64-58 win over the Illini on Friday in Indianapolis was one of the best overall games they’ve played all season long. Everything seemed to click from the jump, as Iowa took an early lead that it never surrendered. The final score wasn’t indicative of how well Iowa played, as a late Illini push with the Hawkeyes starters on the bench made the game appear closer than it actually was.
Now just two wins away from another Big Ten Tournament title, there’s a lot to like from Jan Jensen’s squad as they get ready for the semifinal matchup on Saturday. Here are the biggest takeaways from Iowa’s win over Illinois.
Iowa’s starters were incredible
The Hawkeyes got a big boost pregame when they found out that senior forward Hannah Stuelke would play after missing the regular season finale. She rejoined a starting lineup that fired on all cylinders Friday. All five starters scored at least nine points, led by 16 and 13 points respectively from Ava Heiden and Stuelke. Chit-Chat Wright had a great all-around performance with 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
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Kylie Feuerbach added ten points to her elite defensive work, but it was another guard who really stole the show. Taylor Stremlow’s final stat line of nine points, four rebounds, and six assists might not jump off the page, but she was incredible against Illinois. She was the first one to seemingly every single loose ball, dished out impressive dimes, and didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on her shots. All in all, this was an amazing night for those five starters.
Defense leads the way
There’s no getting around it. Iowa’s defense was stifling on Friday. They held Illinois to 33% from the field and just 23% from three. When the starters left the game around the halfway point of the fourth quarter, Illinois had mustered just 43 points the entire night. While the late-game defense from the reserves left a little to be desired, it’s hard to complain about a defensive performance like this one.
The Hawkeyes possess one of the best overall defenses in the entire country, and they’ve made a habit of shutting down talented offenses all season long. The adage of ‘defense wins championships’ rings especially true for this iteration of Iowa women’s basketball. While their offense is certainly no slouch, the Hawkeyes chances to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament rely on their defense continuing to be elite. And fans should have faith in that being the case.
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Iowa wanted it more
It was evident from the opening tip that the Hawkeyes wanted this game badly. And they made that abundantly clear throughout the night. It seemed like almost every fifty-fifty ball went to the Hawkeyes, as they were diving on the floor to win possessions. The defensive rotations were on point, the rebounding was great, and Iowa executed it’s gameplan to perfection.
They got out and ran, taking advantage of an Illinois team playing their third game in three games. They just wore down a talented Illini squad until the game was out of reach. There aren’t many teams in the country that would’ve beaten Iowa tonight. They wanted it more than Illinois. Now the key is to keep that same energy in Saturday’s semifinal matchup.
The Hawkeyes will return to the court on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CST for their Big Ten Tournament semifinal game. They’ll take on the winner of Friday’s nightcap between Oregon and Michigan. The game can be seen on the Big Ten Network.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Takeaways as Iowa women’s basketball wins Big Ten Tournament opener
