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Iowa survives a three-point flurry, outlasts Fairfield

On3 imageby: Kyle Huesmann9 hours agoHuesmannKyle

It’s likely that not many people have ever heard of Fairfield and even fewer have probably heard of the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference. However, they were always going to be a more than sneaky test as a high-level mid-major. So much so, that even Jan Jensen’s son, Jack, asked before the season whose idea it was to invite the Stags to Iowa City. Despite barrage of three-pointers from the visiting MAAC power, the Hawkeyes were able to come away with an 86-72 victory that will likely look pretty good by the time March rolls around. With the win, Iowa moves to 8-0 on the season for just the fifth time in program history.

“Beating that team is a really good win, and to do it without Chit-Chat, arguably our most efficient player right now, that’s a really great win,” said Jan Jensen. “They’re efficient, they play hard and they’re capable of just hammering you with those threes.”

The Stags opened 0-for-4 from three-point range, allowing Iowa to get out to an early 5-0 lead, but it didn’t take long for them to show everyone in the arena why they are a mid-major deserving of major respect. While Iowa missed some good looks in the paint, Fairfield knocked down six threes in the opening quarter. An open triple from preseason MAAC Player of the Year Meghan Andersen gave the Stags a 22-11 lead, which would be their largest of the game.

Against a team with that much firepower, an early double-digit deficit was a little unsettling. Still, the Hawkeyes stayed the course, expecting Fairfield to cool off, at least for a little bit, and were able to get back into the game. A 13-2 run, capped by a Taylor McCabe three-pointer and back-to-back buckets from Journey Houston forced a Fairfield timeout with 7:46 to play in the first half.

“You have to ride the waves (against Fairfield). I watched film of their South Florida game, and they came out scorching with 25 points in the first quarter. Then in the second quarter (they cooled off). They won the game, but law of averages…I felt like eventually they were going to cool down and we were going to be able to get some of that inside action.”

Stuck in a tight game, the intensity ratcheted up quickly, with the smaller than usual crowd getting into it. Taylor Stremlow knocked down a three-pointer to give the Hawkeyes a 30-27 lead, their first since it was 5-2, but picked up a technical foul after a blocked shot with 3:37 to play in the half. That got the crowd fired up, and in return, Iowa was able to close out the half on a high note, outscoring the Stags 11-6 over the final 2.5 minutes.

“Taylor is our emotional player and I love what she does,” said Jensen. “She’s going to take some risks. I think we all love watching Stremlow play because she’s got that fire. Taylor is not a trash talker, I’ve coached a few. I think it was just her exuberance and they probably had to call it.”

That sequence swung momentum back to Iowa and Addie Deal was the one to give a scoring spark in the late stages of the half. She knocked down a three-pointer, followed by a midrange jumper at the horn to send the Hawkeyes into the locker room with a 41-35 lead.

For all of the excitement and scoring in the first half, it fell apart in the third quarter. Iowa’s defense calmed Fairfield fiery attack, holding them to 23 points over the middle two quarters, including a 3-of-15 (20.0%) stretch from behind the arc. The two sides combined for just 25 points on 9-of-26 (34.6%) shooting in the quarter, but it was a Taylor Stremlow driving layup in the final seconds that pushed the Hawkeyes lead to 56-45 heading into the fourth.

“I was really pleased with our defensive intensity,” said Jensen. “Even though we gave up a lot of those threes, but our defensive intensity, it really held when we needed it to…We were trying to do some different things, but just confident in our defense, and I didn’t think they could really shoot 70% from three the whole game.”

Just 60 seconds into the final quarter, the Hawkeyes seemed set on running away with it. Back-to-back three-pointers from Kylie Feuerbach and Taylor McCabe gave Iowa their largest lead of the game at 62-45, but the Stags had more left in the tank.

It was a flurry of made threes from Fairfield, kind of like the snowstorm that hit Iowa earlier in the weekend. They made nine in the fourth quarter, including a pair of triples from Rutgers transfer Jillian Huerter that bookended a 9-2 to run, cutting the Iowa lead to 68-60 with 5:38 to play.

“That was six-on-six basketball the way both teams were lighting it up, but they were just jacking (threes) and they’re good at it,” said Jensen.

Kylie Feuerbach had the counter. The sixth-year senior was just 3-of-17 (17.7%) through seven games but put up a career-high tying 17 points, including four made three-pointers. Feuerbach knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to thwart the Stags comeback attempt, pushing the advantage to 74-60 with under five minutes to play.

“There’s a lot of extra shots that go in and just trusting it and continuing to shoot it,” said Feuerbach. “Everybody on the team has my back, and they just continue to be positive and optimistic. I think it’s just continuing to trust that it’s going to fall (eventually). Once they fell, it felt really nice.”

“Just so happy for her,” said Jensen. “You see these young people work so hard. (Sometimes) they’re not hitting and they’re getting a little tighter, but just to see it when it works. That’s just the greatest thing…If we see that Kylie moving forward, she doesn’t have to be quite that stellar, but if we can get her close to that, boy, does that help our team.”

Eventually the Hawkeyes size and inside presence was too much for Fairfield to handle. Iowa outrebounded them 44-26, while Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke combined for 31 points and 24 rebounds, including 22 points in the second half. Heiden recorded another double-double, quietly finishing with 18 points and 16 rebounds. They outscored the Stags 30-14 in the paint for the game.

“That was part of the game plan. We knew that they were going to be a little bit undersized,” said Heiden. “Hannah, Layla and I were just working on the block, trying or best to tire them out and then also open up our three-point shooters because they were collapsing on us.”

“Very much (a quiet double-double),” said Jensen. “I don’t think she played as great as she can. She was six for 11 and in my mind, she could have been 8 for 11, they just went in and out. I think she’s on her way to becoming one of the great ones, but I’m always going to motivate her to get a couple more makes.”

On the night, the Hawkeyes were 29-of-57 (50.9%) from the floor and knocked down 10-of-21 (47.6%) from three-point range. Ava Heiden (18), Kylie Feuerbach (17), Hannah Stuelke (13) and Taylor McCabe (13) all scored in double figures, while Taylor Stremlow added nine points, seven rebounds and a season-high seven assists.

Up Next: The Hawkeyes will open Big Ten play with a trip to Piscataway with face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5:00pm CT on FS1.

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