The drought is over.
The Iowa women’s basketball team beat No. 18 Ohio State, 85-75, Thursday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, picking up a victory against the Buckeyes for the first time since 2002 and with it, its most impressive win of the season. Iowa improves to 15-9 (8-5 Big Ten) in notching its second victory of the season over a ranked team it beat then-No. 22 Iowa State on Dec. 7. The win, coupled with Indiana’s loss to Michigan State, moves the Hawkeyes into fifth place in the Big Ten. “This is a pretty big win for us,†Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “It does a lot for our psyche, being able to go into this last five-game stretch knowing we can beat anybody.†The Hawkeyes led throughout the second half, with their biggest cushion late being a 75-63 lead with 3:31 to play. Ohio State fought back with a seven-point spurt — punctuated by an Ashlee Trebilcock 3-pointer with 1:38 to go — to pull to within five. From there, the Hawkeyes sealed the win at the free-throw line, going 10-for-12 over the final 1:34. Sophomore guard Kachine Alexander nailed five freebies during that stretch on her way to finishing 14-for-18 at the line. Alexander finished a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Iowa went 26-for-32 from the charity stripe, compared to 3-for-9 by the Buckeyes.