INDIANAPOLIS
It’s round three Big Ten tournament action for the Hawkeye women tonight in Indy. They are facing off against #3 seed Ohio State. The Hawks are on the hardwood for the third night in a row as they previously earned their way forward against Wisconsin and Michigan State while Ohio State is making their first postseason appearance tonight for the quarterfinals. Iowa comes in with some great momentum on a win streak playing the entire bench in the first round, and a hard-fought battle last night with freshman Ava Heiden having a standout night and double-digit scoring. Ohio State came in a 3.5 point favorite but the Hawks have upset the lines many times for victory and hope to again tonight.
Iowa started with their usual five: McCabe, Affolter, Feuerbach, Olsen and Stuelke. Ohio took the tipoff and opened with a three which was answered by Iowa’s Olsen dropping a three of her own. The Buckeyes again returned fire with another long basket putting Ohio up quickly 3-6. The Hawks struggled with shot accuracy for the remainder of the quarter, allowing Ohio to extend their lead to 7 points at the end of the first five minutes at 5-12 with Olsen being the sole scorer for Iowa. The Buckeyes continued to outshoot and outrebound the Hawks with Iowa’s shooting percentage nearing single digits at times. Olsen ended the first ten minutes hitting a jumper but Iowa ended was down 9-14 at the buzzer. They will need better shot accuracy and to find a combo that works in the paint going forward. Jensen put several looks out for Iowa ending the quarter with Stuelke and Heiden both helping with strength down low.
[foogallery id=”295854″]Stuelke put a couple points up at the start of the second, but the Buckeyes soon began walking on the Hawks and were up 11-18 within one minute. Olsen snagged a steal and a layup, but Iowa continued to struggle neutralizing the size and strength of Ohio. The Hawks (Stuelke & Olsen) went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 18 with seven minutes left on the clock before Ohio called a timeout. It’s early in the second, but the Hawks are showing that they can stay in this one just like they did at their last matchup with Ohio in the regular season in a game that went into overtime. Immediately after the Iowa run, Ohio flipped the script and went on a 6-0 run of their own taking the lead 18-24 halfway into the second quarter.
Finally, after several possessions, Sydney Affolter hit a three to stop Iowa’s drought (21-26 @ 2:34). Hawkeyes gave some more play time to Heiden who was able to force a foul and drop one from the line. A long pass to Heiden on the next possession was put in for a pair putting the Hawks within 2 (24-26 @ 1:51). And another two for Heiden on the next play tied the game at 26 and felt like déjà vu from last night’s game. Heiden made a quick impact but also picked up two fouls and was pulled out. Ohio got back up by one 28-29 before halftime. The Hawkeyes are hoping they have turned this game and can keep momentum when they come back.
Iowa reverted to their original lineup to start the third quarter. The teams traded a couple buckets with Stuelke putting in two to put Iowa up 32-31. Affolter nailed a three to move it to 35-33 with Iowa looking more poised to start this quarter. Olsen then drove in for two putting Iowa up by 4 and Ohio State took a timeout with 5:49 on the clock. The halftime pep talk must have made a difference as this Iowa lineup looks calm and fearless thus far in the half. After another minute of play and some Iowa substitutions, Ohio got back within one and a slip by Olsen put her dribble on the ground and forced an Iowa timeout to maintain possession with 4:29 on the clock and a score of 37-36.
Two shots at the line from Feuerbach put Iowa up 39-36 but was quickly tied by a three from Ohio. Stuelke put two points up to take the lead again and again the Buckeyes immediately answered to tie at 41. Heiden back in the game put in two points down low before Ohio took the lead with a three and then a Buckeye steal lengthened the Iowa deficit to three with just under two minutes to play in the third. Another Feuerbach three ties it back up at 46. An Ohio shot at the buzzer put Ohio back up by two 46-48 after thirty minutes of play. This is still anyone’s game and every movement down the court matters form here on out.
A familiar story as Stuelke manages to tie it up at 48. Ohio continues to immediately double team Olsen which leaves an open shot if she is able to get the ball to them. The Hawks held the tie for three minutes before a Buckeye three put Iowa behind again 48-51. Heiden again hit one of two from the line narrowing the gap to two. A couple baskets were traded prior to a media timeout with 4:49 left to play and Iowa down 51-53.
A foul by Stuelke put Ohio at the line and extended their lead to 3. Ohio then hit a three on the next possession putting Iowa down six. Heiden put in two under heavy guard to drop that to four points. With three minutes left, Iowa had five team fouls putting Ohio State in the bonus. One from the line put Ohio up five. Affolter drilled a three bringing Iowa within two with just over two minutes to play. Affolter nailed another three to put Iowa up 59-58 with a minute left. Stuelke drew a charge at 48 seconds to give Iowa the ball back as well as put Iowa in the bonus. Ohio grabbed a rebound off Iowa and took a timeout with 19.8 seconds left with Hawks still up by one. Stuelke got called for a block with 6.7 seconds left putting Ohio at the line where they put both in taking the lead by one. Iowa used their final timeout to advance the ball and plan their last play. Iowa missed and maintained possession with 0.7 on the clock. Stuelke got the inbound and shot in the air but it fell off target. Ohio wins with 60 to Iowa’s 59.
Ohio State will play UCLA tomorrow in the semifinals at 4:30 central on. You can watch that game on Big Ten Network.
Big 10 Tournament coverage brought to you by Sedona Staffing and Uptown Motors.
