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Hawkeyes earn a gritty win over 7th-ranked Baylor

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann1 hour agoHuesmannKyle
The Hawkeyes earned a big win over Baylor. (Photo by UI Athletics)
The Hawkeyes earned a big win over Baylor. (Photo by UI Athletics)

Adversity came in waves for the Hawkeyes on Thursday night. At times, it felt like it was going to be enough to keep them from coming away with a win. However, Jan Jensen’s squad grit their teeth and found a way, grinding out a low-scoring, 57-52 win over 7th-ranked Baylor at the WBCA Showcase to move to 5-0 on the season.

“Even though we’re in the top 25, we’re still going to be underestimated. I think this just shows that we can compete with anybody, that we’re ready to do so,” said Taylor Stremlow.

In the first half, Hannah Stuelke limped off the court. Early in the second half, Chit-Chat Wright was carried off the floor with an injury. Then, early in the fourth quarter, Kylie Feuerbach fouled out. Stuelke would return to the game, but that much hardship would have folded most teams, especially against a top ten opponent. The fact that the game was rock fight helped, but the Hawkeyes tremendous resolve, making plays down the stretch to get the win.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early 11-5 lead, with a three-pointer from Kylie Feuerbach and a couple of baskets in the paint. However, the Baylor defense flexed their muscle on many occasions in the first half, tallying nine blocked shots, including three blocks apiece from backup center Kyla Abraham and Bella Fontleroy. It became pretty clear that buckets were going to come at a premium all night. Iowa went scoreless for the final 4:50 of the first quarter, but on the flip side, the Bears managed just four points and still trailed 11-9 after ten minutes.

Baylor took command in the second quarter on the back of Auburn transfer Taliah Scott who finished with a game-high 32 points. She knocked down a couple of three-pointers and a midrange jumper, spearheading an 11-0 Bears run to take a 23-16 lead.

With Hannah Stuelke out of the lineup after limping off, the Hawkeyes battled back with a quick turn of momentum late in the half. Taylor McCabe knocked down an open three-pointer, followed by a Taylor Stremlow hustle play on the defensive end that led to a Chit-Chat Wright transition triple, tying the game 23-23. Although Baylor ended up taking a 28-25 lead into the locker room, it felt like it could have been more without that crucial sequence.

Just 41 seconds into the second half, Chit-Chat, who led Iowa in scoring through four games, went down awkwardly on a drive to the basket and had to be carried off the floor after briefly standing up. Without a point guard on the floor for Iowa, the Bears tied their largest lead of the game, pushing their advantage to 33-26 on a basket in the paint from Taliah Scott.

However, Baylor couldn’t buy a bucket by a player not named Scott. They went without a made field goal for 8:22 in the third quarter, which allowed the Hawkeyes go on a 15-4 run to take the lead. With Wright out of the lineup, Taylor Stremlow took over the point guard duties, knocking down a three and finishing at the basket to put Iowa up 41-37, before a Jana Van Gytenbeek layup cut the lead to two points heading into the final quarter.

The intensity quickly picked up to start the fourth quarter and Taliah Scott continued her mission of trying to will Baylor to a victory. Another Stremlow three and a pair of Hannah Stuelke baskets were countered by three triples from Scott and three free throws to give the Bears a 51-48 lead. Baylor didn’t know it, but with 5:49 remaining in the game, they were done making shots. Jan Jensen opted to switch up her defense to a zone, and the Bears couldn’t get a shot to fall.

On the other end, back-to-back buckets from Ava Heiden put Iowa back in front. A three-minute scoring drought ensued, with the Hawkeyes unable to take advantage of several defensive stops. Until they did. Emely Rodriguez got to the rim for a basket to make it 54-51, which was followed by Darianna Littlepage-Buggs inexplicably passing to Taylor McCabe on the inbounds pass for an easy layup to give Iowa a five-point lead with 1:38 to play. That sequence was enough to sink the 7th-ranked Bears.

Over the final 5:49 of the game, the Hawkeyes outscored the Bears 9-1, holding them to 0-of-10 shooting and three turnovers. On the night, the Iowa defense forced Taliah Scott to do it all. She put up 32 points on 10-of-25 shooting, with the rest of Baylor’s roster combining for just 19 points on 7-of-34 shooting.

As for Iowa, Ava Heiden led the way with a double-double 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Taylor Stremlow was fantastic off the bench with 12 points and four assists. Hannah Stuelke added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Up Next: The Hawkeyes will face Miami FL in the defacto championship game for the WBCA Showcase, as the Hurricanes defeated Davidson 66-58 earlier in the night. Tipoff on Saturday is set for 7:00pm CT on ESPN+.

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