Gustafson, Iowa roll over Missouri
Megan Gustafson and the surging Hawkeyes are off to the Sweet 16.
Iowa might evolve into a true Final Four contender if Gustafson can get the kind of help that she got from her teammates on Sunday.
Gustafson scored 24 points with 19 rebounds, Makenzie Meyer added 18 points and second-seeded Iowa pounded Missouri 68-52 in Iowa City, Iowa, to advance to its second Sweet 16 in five years.
Kathleen Doyle scored 15 points for the Hawkeyes (28-6), who held the Tigers to 36 percent shooting and blew them away with a blistering 23-4 run in the second half. They’ll face either Kentucky or North Carolina State, who play each other on Monday, in the semifinals of the Greensboro Regional next week.
“We are just wanting to keep playing basketball,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “We want to make it to the Sweet Sixteen because it’s a huge accomplishment. But it’s not about a legacy. It’s more about a sentiment; it’s more about being together.”
Gustafson was brilliant in the first two rounds, combining for 54 points and 35 rebounds. But the Hawkeyes showed how truly dangerous they can be when Gustafson’s teammates turn up the pressure on defense and take advantage of the attention their star center demands on the other end.
“We made them work really hard to get shots. And Megan was there to clean up the boards,” Bluder said. “They were just not getting any really good looks. When we were able to keep getting defensive stops, it gave us a mental edge.
Tania Davis hit her first 3 of the game to open the fourth quarter, putting Iowa up 50-41, and Meyer’s corner 3 pushed the lead to 13. Gustafson’s jumper over two defenders made it 60-43 with 4:21 to go, capping a spurt that helped Iowa clinch its highest win total in 31 years.
“We really can’t control a lot of things, but we’re able to control our effort on defense,” Gustafson said.
Amber Smith scored 21 points for Missouri (24-11). The Tigers bowed out in the second round for the third time in four years after scoring just 23 points in the second half.
Iowa held Mizzou star Sophie Cunningham to just eight points — 10 below her average — on 3 of 11 shooting.
“We didn’t feel like we could take away everything. Megan demands so much attention. The last thing we wanted to do was give up 3s and easy touches inside,” Missouri coach Robin Pingeton said. “It makes it hard when you’re having a hard time scoring.”
Iowa struggled mightily in beating 15th-seeded Mercer on Friday, and it got off to another sluggish start that was punctuated when Missouri’s Jordan Roundtree hit a half-court bank shot to beat the first-quarter buzzer.
Iowa finally woke up in the second quarter.
The Hawkeyes shored up their defense and started feeding Gustafson in the post, fueling a 15-2 run that put the Hawkeyes ahead 33-29 at the break. Missouri responded, tying the game at 39 on an Smith jumper, but Gustafson buried two more inside jumpers to push Iowa ahead 47-41 heading into the fourth. LOUISVILLE 71, MICHIGAN 50: Asia Durr scored 24 points, including 12 in the first quarter to lead topseeded Louisville (31-2) past No. 8 seed Michigan (22-12) in Louisville, Kentucky. The Cardinals started fast and stayed in gear on the way to earning their third consecutive Sweet 16 berth. Akienreh Johnson had 12 points and Kayla Robbins 10 for Michigan, which fell to 1-4 all-time against Louisville. CONNECTICUT 84, BUFFALO 72: Napheesa Collier scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as No. 2 seed Uconn (33-2) held off 10thseeded Buffalo (24-10) in Storrs, Connecticut to move into the Sweet 16 for a 26th consecutive season. Katie Lou Samuelson and freshman Christyn Williams each added 17 points for the Huskies. Cierra Dillard, the nation’s second leading scorer, had 29 points to lead Buffalo, which made a big run in the fourth quarter but could not overcome a 24-point second-half deficit. TEXAS A&M 78, MARQUETTE 76: Chennedy Carter scored 30 points, Shambria Washington hit the go-ahead 3-pointer late and No. 4 seed Texas A&M (26-7) got a win over fifth-seeded Marquette (27-8) in College Station, Texas. A jump shot by Allazia Blockton tied it with a minute left and Amani Wilborn made 1 of 2 free throws with 36 seconds remaining, but a lane violation by A&M gave her one more shot and she made it to put Marquette up 76-74. Carter found Washington on A&M’S next possession and she made the 3-pointer to put the Aggies up 77-76 with 23 seconds left.