With Williams Arena noticeably quieter in the absence of Caitlin Clark, the Iowa Hawkeyes proved their strength, defeating the Gophers 68-60 to extend their winning streak to four games.
The eight-point defeat, while less significant than last year’s 108-60 loss, extended the Hawkeyes rivalry win streak to 11 straight victories over the past 11 years.
Similarly to their recent loss to No. 7 Southern California, the Gophers could not recover from an early disadvantage. They entered the second quarter trailing the Hawkeyes by 11 points.
“We started incredibly slowly and dug ourselves a hole,” Gophers head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “We’ve got to find a way to be more disciplined and be a little bit tougher and start the game at a whole higher, a much higher level.”
Guard Amaya Battle and forward Mallory Heyer were the only Gophers to make multiple field goals in the first half, while freshman Tori McKinney was the only other player to score.
McKinney scored 13 of her 16 points in the second half of the game, emerging as the Gophers’ leading scorer.
With the additional help of Minnesota native Annika Stewart, scoring all 14 of her points in the second half, the Gophers tied up the game with 4:33 remaining.
Still, it was not enough for the Gophers to pull through, as they struggled to capitalize on rebounds.
The Hawkeyes dominated the boards, outrebounding the Gophers 44-13. The rebound differential allowed the Hawkeyes to turn defensive opportunities into extended possessions.
“We gave up an offensive rebound on a free throw and we got out-toughed in those situations,” Plitzuweit said. “We have to capitalize in situations when we have them.”
Hawkeyes’ starting guard Sydney Affolter contributed 13 points, 14 rebounds and two steals.
The Gophers 6-6 Big Ten record proves they can compete with Big Ten teams, but Heyer said they have strides to take as they near the end stretch of the season.
“We can’t hang our heads now,” Heyer said. “We gotta keep working, we’re going to go watch film and figure out what we did wrong and how we can carry it into the next game.”
The Gophers remain at Williams Arena as they prepare for Sunday’s matchup versus Indiana, another closely contested Big Ten opponent with a 7-4 conference record.
“It’s important for us right now that we’ve got to regroup and we’ve got to do it fast,” Plitzuweit said.
