Behind a career-high 22 points from five star freshman McKenna Woliczko and a dominant defensive effort, the No. 10 Iowa women’s basketball team cruised past Eastern Illinois, 80-39, Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Woliczko led all scorers, shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range in just 23 minutes of action. Fourth-year Amari Whiting matched her career high with six steals while dishing out a game-high seven assists and grabbing seven rebounds. Third-year Ava Heiden added 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting and a team-high eight rebounds.
Woliczko got the Iowa offense started with a three-pointer, leading the Hawkeyes with seven points in the opening quarter. Eastern Illinois cut Iowa’s lead to 11-9 with 3:30 remaining, but the Hawkeyes closed the quarter on a 6-1 run, capped by a Dani Carnegie layup at the buzzer. Iowa forced seven turnovers and held the Panthers without a field goal over the final 3:30 to take a 17-10 advantage.
The Hawkeyes broke the game open in the second quarter, closing the half on an 11-2 run. Eight Hawkeyes entered the scoring column in the period, led by Ava Heiden with eight points, as Iowa outscored Eastern Illinois 27-8. The Hawkeyes continued their defensive pressure, forcing 10 turnovers while committing none to take a 44-18 lead into halftime.
Iowa continued to build its advantage in the third quarter, with Woliczko connecting from beyond the arc to extend the lead to 51-20 midway through the period. The Hawkeyes outrebounded the Panthers, 12-6, with Heiden and Amari Whiting collecting three rebounds apiece. Carnegie knocked down a three-pointer in the closing minute to help Iowa take a 60-30 lead into the fourth.
The Hawkeyes opened the final quarter on a 10-0 run, highlighted by three-pointers from Carnegie, Woliczko and Chit-Chat Wright. Woliczko connected on her fourth three-pointer of the night to push Iowa’s advantage to 75-34 with 5:10 remaining. All 11 Hawkeyes saw action as Iowa shot 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from beyond the arc in the quarter to secure the 80-39 victory.
Hawkeye head coach Jan Jensen was happy with the outcome, “I think there was some improvement in the offense had we hit a better percentage collectively from the three ball early. … If we hit maybe just even three more of those at the right time, we’re probably feeling a little bit different about it. … But I’m not concerned at that, at least certainly not this one. We’re only two games in because we’ve been shooting it so well in practice. But again, when the lights are on is when you really have to come through.”
“McKenna’s a really good student of the game. She works and she studies the film. I’m really happy with her … I really love the progression of McKenna. I love how she attacks it and really tries to let that game come to her and she makes some pretty good decisions.”
