The game started off with solid defense. The ladies were taking good shots overall. Weirdly had a couple of early shots blocked. Iowa was taking threes and missing starting the game 0-9. Crooks was hot and ISU was hitting inside and out. The ladies worked out to a 12-2 early lead. For Iowa, Olsen was the only one doing anything. ISU led 14-6 after Williams hit two free throws. Olsen was keeping Iowa around. No one else had scored in the game. Brown hot from three and sadly this would be something we would miss later. The negative is that Crooks is missing all of her free throws. After missing a pair, it’s 19-13 ISU. Iowa State continued to miss free throws, 2/7 so far, and it allowed Iowa to creep back into the game. It's called missed opportunities. It was 20 to 17 after Harris got burnt on a drive. AJ missed a layup on a fast break opportunity. Chances were there and ISU wasn’t making the most of them. Iowa State ended the quarter really struggling at the line and missing several opportunities. They led 20-17.
2nd
Iowa kept missing from deep while getting some open looks, but Iowa kept getting too many offensive boards and second chances. Brown picked up her THIRD foul on a questionable call and she was done for the half. A theme that would rear its ugly head again and again, the offense was a bit dysfunctional against a tough Iowa D. Part of this is a lack of foul calls and part the lineup on the court. Hansford fouled on a trey and Iowa pulled closer. After another turnover Iowa tied it at 22 on another Olsen shot. She's the CC for Iowa this year. Meanwhile, the sisters just keep missing at the line. Not sure it would have mattered, but Iowa was beating us up and getting away with it. Harris hits a trey after Iowa gets their first lead and Iowa answers with one of their own. On the other end, Crooks took an ill advised trey attempt. ISU still led 30-28 at the timeout. Too many empty possessions on offense. Iowa's D has something to do with it. But I really think some of the lineups don’t flow well. Add to that, our defense was breaking down. After another turnover Iowa hit yet another trey to take the lead 36-34. Joens hit a trey and it’s 39-36 at the half.
3rd
Beginning of the third was a back and forth affair. Very physical. Crooks was very active…almost unstoppable. The old theme of too many Iowa offensive boards kept haunting us. Crooks was tough on offense and terrible defensive rebounding. Sometimes she was completely immobile when a rebound was in the area. ISU led 46-42 early. Our second worst defender Harris is getting beat to the hole. Like Tanke she is susceptible to driving guards. For a while it seemed we just had a bad lineup on the floor. At this point it was 15 to 5 turnovers, but ISU was up 2 at the timeout 46-44. After the break the name of the game was keep feeding Crooks. Add to that, a rare second half trey from Hansford. Tanke would follow with a trey and the lead was suddenly 54-46. This was the end of the good times for the sisters. Interestingly, Brown had yet to play and the gamble was working. Crooks scored again and was answered by back to back treys by Iowa. Hansford was back to missing wide open shots. AJ fouled and a free throw pulled Iowa within three. Brown re-entered the game with :20 left, likely to have an offensive player out there for the last shot. She missed it. At the end of three ISU leads 56-53.
4th
Starts with a Harris brick from deep and the next possession is a slowed down turnover. Crooks would get hit in the face and no call. Iowa hit a trey to tie the game. The missed foul was upgraded to an intentional foul, but Iowa was on a 10-2 run. The offense seemed lost way too much. The theme of the quarter was too many empty possessions. Audi's free throw shooting was killing us and Iowa was on a 16-5 run. The team was trying to force the ball to Crooks and this resulted in turnovers when she was closely guarded. We appeared to forget the three point line. Ryan missed a layup and on the other end we foul and Iowa scored. They led 65-61. It was now a 20-5 run for the Hawks. How did ISU respond? Another turnover and yes, on the other end Crooks fouled. At this point with about 4 minutes left it felt like the game was slipping away. Same theme - we miss again and foul again. Brown scored to pull within four 67-63, but the clock was running out. We fouled on the other end and Iowa’s lead was back to five. For ISU? Another turnover. Crooks traveled.
Iowa wins 75-69 after ISU absolutely collapses in the fourth. There was no better description for what we saw. ISU scored a whopping 11 points in the fourth quarter (four of them in the last minute).
Observations
This team needs to learn how to shoot free throws. It has now become a major liability.
Way too many offensive rebounds given up for second chances.
What happened to the offense in the fourth? There was no semblance of any plan at all other than force the ball to Audi. It was as if anyone else wasn’t worthy of putting up a shot.
POG - I’d give it to Crooks, but her free throw performance keeps me from doing so.
Ryan - wow…sloppy play from the floor general. Nine turnovers to 7 assists. Only 9 points.
Crooks - went off for 31 points and 10 boards, but woof…her free throw shooting really hurt the team tonight. 3-10. That is 100% unacceptable.
Brown - she did the team no favors picking up three quick fouls and essentially sitting out two quarters. 13 points and 5 boards.
AJ - not much here at all. I wonder why she is starting except for her defense. No points and four boards.
Tanke - only took two shots. She is SLOW out there. Anyone can drive past her. And the lack of quickness doesn’t allow her to get open.
Harris - still disappointing. Only 3 points and 1 board.
Joens - got the start tonight and not much happened. Five points, 2 assists and 3 boards.
Williams - no help here either. Couldn’t deal with Iowa’s bigs.
Hansford - made a three, but went back to missing again. 1-5 on the night. I was hoping after her make she would be the hero. Not so.
Three pointers - after a horrendous 0-9 start, Iowa went 8/16 after. ISU forgot the three point shot later in the game and had 7/15. ISU forgot they could shoot from outside and kept trying to force the ball inside to Crooks at all costs.
Rebounding - Hard to believe ISU out rebounded Iowa 37-33. But Iowa had 12 big offensive boards.
The big stat - turnovers. 21-9. That was a crapload of empty possessions. Too many in a row at times.
The big push - After ISU seemingly had the game under control with an 8 point lead, Iowa completely dominated the game going on a 20-5 run late in the game. Why? Empty possessions.
The bench was a big factor tonight. Just no production from it at all. Eleven points and 8 rebounds out of five players.
We all knew that Carver has a way of turning a better team into another victim. We’ve seen good teams go in there and come out wondering what happened. Remember Ashley Joens’ first season? I truly believe our team is better than Iowa. But lordy, the mistakes we made are not survivable on the road. We committed 21 turnovers and missed 10 free throws and still could have won. What it does tell me though is we have some very big holes that need corrected quickly. There were many on here that predicted a 15 point blowout. Well, sorry to disappoint, but that didn’t happen. But this game was in our grasp. Reminded me of a raccoon given a sugar cube and they wash it and wonder what happened. Just disappointing to let this one slip away.
2nd
Iowa kept missing from deep while getting some open looks, but Iowa kept getting too many offensive boards and second chances. Brown picked up her THIRD foul on a questionable call and she was done for the half. A theme that would rear its ugly head again and again, the offense was a bit dysfunctional against a tough Iowa D. Part of this is a lack of foul calls and part the lineup on the court. Hansford fouled on a trey and Iowa pulled closer. After another turnover Iowa tied it at 22 on another Olsen shot. She's the CC for Iowa this year. Meanwhile, the sisters just keep missing at the line. Not sure it would have mattered, but Iowa was beating us up and getting away with it. Harris hits a trey after Iowa gets their first lead and Iowa answers with one of their own. On the other end, Crooks took an ill advised trey attempt. ISU still led 30-28 at the timeout. Too many empty possessions on offense. Iowa's D has something to do with it. But I really think some of the lineups don’t flow well. Add to that, our defense was breaking down. After another turnover Iowa hit yet another trey to take the lead 36-34. Joens hit a trey and it’s 39-36 at the half.
3rd
Beginning of the third was a back and forth affair. Very physical. Crooks was very active…almost unstoppable. The old theme of too many Iowa offensive boards kept haunting us. Crooks was tough on offense and terrible defensive rebounding. Sometimes she was completely immobile when a rebound was in the area. ISU led 46-42 early. Our second worst defender Harris is getting beat to the hole. Like Tanke she is susceptible to driving guards. For a while it seemed we just had a bad lineup on the floor. At this point it was 15 to 5 turnovers, but ISU was up 2 at the timeout 46-44. After the break the name of the game was keep feeding Crooks. Add to that, a rare second half trey from Hansford. Tanke would follow with a trey and the lead was suddenly 54-46. This was the end of the good times for the sisters. Interestingly, Brown had yet to play and the gamble was working. Crooks scored again and was answered by back to back treys by Iowa. Hansford was back to missing wide open shots. AJ fouled and a free throw pulled Iowa within three. Brown re-entered the game with :20 left, likely to have an offensive player out there for the last shot. She missed it. At the end of three ISU leads 56-53.
4th
Starts with a Harris brick from deep and the next possession is a slowed down turnover. Crooks would get hit in the face and no call. Iowa hit a trey to tie the game. The missed foul was upgraded to an intentional foul, but Iowa was on a 10-2 run. The offense seemed lost way too much. The theme of the quarter was too many empty possessions. Audi's free throw shooting was killing us and Iowa was on a 16-5 run. The team was trying to force the ball to Crooks and this resulted in turnovers when she was closely guarded. We appeared to forget the three point line. Ryan missed a layup and on the other end we foul and Iowa scored. They led 65-61. It was now a 20-5 run for the Hawks. How did ISU respond? Another turnover and yes, on the other end Crooks fouled. At this point with about 4 minutes left it felt like the game was slipping away. Same theme - we miss again and foul again. Brown scored to pull within four 67-63, but the clock was running out. We fouled on the other end and Iowa’s lead was back to five. For ISU? Another turnover. Crooks traveled.
Iowa wins 75-69 after ISU absolutely collapses in the fourth. There was no better description for what we saw. ISU scored a whopping 11 points in the fourth quarter (four of them in the last minute).
Observations
This team needs to learn how to shoot free throws. It has now become a major liability.
Way too many offensive rebounds given up for second chances.
What happened to the offense in the fourth? There was no semblance of any plan at all other than force the ball to Audi. It was as if anyone else wasn’t worthy of putting up a shot.
POG - I’d give it to Crooks, but her free throw performance keeps me from doing so.
Ryan - wow…sloppy play from the floor general. Nine turnovers to 7 assists. Only 9 points.
Crooks - went off for 31 points and 10 boards, but woof…her free throw shooting really hurt the team tonight. 3-10. That is 100% unacceptable.
Brown - she did the team no favors picking up three quick fouls and essentially sitting out two quarters. 13 points and 5 boards.
AJ - not much here at all. I wonder why she is starting except for her defense. No points and four boards.
Tanke - only took two shots. She is SLOW out there. Anyone can drive past her. And the lack of quickness doesn’t allow her to get open.
Harris - still disappointing. Only 3 points and 1 board.
Joens - got the start tonight and not much happened. Five points, 2 assists and 3 boards.
Williams - no help here either. Couldn’t deal with Iowa’s bigs.
Hansford - made a three, but went back to missing again. 1-5 on the night. I was hoping after her make she would be the hero. Not so.
Three pointers - after a horrendous 0-9 start, Iowa went 8/16 after. ISU forgot the three point shot later in the game and had 7/15. ISU forgot they could shoot from outside and kept trying to force the ball inside to Crooks at all costs.
Rebounding - Hard to believe ISU out rebounded Iowa 37-33. But Iowa had 12 big offensive boards.
The big stat - turnovers. 21-9. That was a crapload of empty possessions. Too many in a row at times.
The big push - After ISU seemingly had the game under control with an 8 point lead, Iowa completely dominated the game going on a 20-5 run late in the game. Why? Empty possessions.
The bench was a big factor tonight. Just no production from it at all. Eleven points and 8 rebounds out of five players.
We all knew that Carver has a way of turning a better team into another victim. We’ve seen good teams go in there and come out wondering what happened. Remember Ashley Joens’ first season? I truly believe our team is better than Iowa. But lordy, the mistakes we made are not survivable on the road. We committed 21 turnovers and missed 10 free throws and still could have won. What it does tell me though is we have some very big holes that need corrected quickly. There were many on here that predicted a 15 point blowout. Well, sorry to disappoint, but that didn’t happen. But this game was in our grasp. Reminded me of a raccoon given a sugar cube and they wash it and wonder what happened. Just disappointing to let this one slip away.
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