IOWA CITY — A porous defensive performance didn’t give the Iowa women’s basketball team a chance Thursday. The Hawkeyes watched seventh-ranked Ohio State blister the nets at a 64-percent clip through three quarters, allowing the Big Ten leaders to cruise to a 98-81 victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “No matter how many good things you do, it’s always hard when you don’t get stops,’’ Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “In the fourth quarter at Indiana, we didn’t get stops, and against Michigan State (on Sunday) and Ohio State, they were few and far between.’’ Handing the Hawkeyes their eighth loss in 11 games, the Buckeyes didn’t hesitate to take any open look they had. Ohio State shot 58 percent for the game, a number tainted only by a 6-of-16 effort in the fourth quarter as Iowa cut away at the 83-62 advantage the Buckeyes had built after three quarters. Initially, Ohio State dominated with its shooting from 3-point range, collecting six of the seven 3-pointers it hit in the game during an opening quarter that saw the Buckeyes break the game open with a 10-0 run that left the Hawkeyes in a 28-15 hole after one. But ultimately, it was Ohio State’s work in the paint that made the difference. The Buckeyes outscored Iowa 54-40 in the lane, often scoring on drives through gaps in the Hawkeye defense. “To me, defense is about intensity and effort and we’re not where we need to be,’’ Bluder said. “We’ve got to teach it better. We’ve got to drill it better. Then, we’ve got to execute it better.’’ Kelsey Mitchell and Shayla Cooper led five Ohio State players in double figures, finishing with 20 points apiece. “They have so many scorers. They are a difficult team to defend, any team is when they have that many threats, but we definitely shouldn’t have given up that many points to them,’’ said Ally Disterhoft, who led the Hawkeyes with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists…
Continue Reading: Hot-shooting Buckeyes scorch Hawkeye women
