Top Takeaways: Iowa Women's Basketball takes down #14 Indiana

On Saturday night, the third-ranked Hawkeyes and 14th-ranked Hoosiers went head-to-head in a top 15 showdown in primetime on FOX. Iowa came away with an 84-57 statement victory over Indiana to take sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes are now 17-1 and their 14-game winning streak is the longest under Lisa Bluder.

Up next, Iowa will play host to the Wisconsin Badgers on Tuesday night. Before we get to that matchup, we take a look back at the biggest takeaways from the Hawkeyes win over Indiana.

1. Molly Davis was a game-changer in the first half

Talk about picking the right time to have a career night. While most of the team struggled from behind the arc early in the game, Molly Davis was hot right out of the gates. She knocked down a pair of threes to help Iowa out to an early 9-4 lead. Her biggest moment though, came in the second quarter. With 4:49 remaining in the first half, Caitlin Clark went to the bench with two fouls. Over the next two and a half minutes, Davis had 7 points and an assist to bridge the gap until Clark came back into the game.

Molly Davis finished the game with an Iowa career-high 18 points on 7/10 shooting, as well as three rebounds and two assists. Over the last five games, Davis has put up 37 points (9.3 pts) and five threes, while shooting 68.4% from the floor. She also has eight assists to two turnovers over the last three games.

2. The defense and rebounding in the second half won Iowa the game

The Hawkeyes routinely score 90+ points in a game and have one of the most lethal offensive attacks in the country. However, Lisa Bluder and her entire team will tell you that it’s their defense and rebounding that allows them to get out in transition. Last night, the Iowa defense stepped up after halftime and held Indiana to a season-low 20 points in the second half and 57 points for the game. Their 82.6 pts per 100 possession rating was also their lowest of the season.

How did they get the job done? They defended the three-point line and changed up how they were guarding Mackenzie Holmes in the interior. Holmes was just 1/7 from the floor and had four points in the second half. Indiana shot just 28.0% from the floor and was just 2/9 from three-point range over the last 20 minutes. On the glass, Iowa outrebounded Indiana 19-9, including pulling down 17 of 19 on the defensive end. Shooting 62.5% and making eight threes after halftime would have been hard for Indiana to beat, but Iowa’s defense was instrumental in the win.

3. The three-point shooting is starting to come around

This might be the scariest thing about facing the Hawkeyes if you are an upcoming opponent on the schedule. Last season, Caitlin Clark led the country with 142 made three-pointers, but still only accounted for 40.0% of the teams 350 made threes. After the near loss to Michigan State, Iowa ranked second in the Big Ten in made threes, but Clark had accounted for 76 of the 142 (53.5%) made three-pointers. She was carrying too much of the load.

The big change over the last three games is that the Hawkeyes have been able to spread out their attack from behind the arc. Since the MSU game, Iowa has knocked down 40 of their 94 (42.6%) three-point attempts and now they rank second in the country with 182 made threes. So what has changed? Gabbie Marshall has started heating up, hitting 12 of 20 (60.0%) three-pointers. Meanwhile, Molly Davis (5), Kate Martin (3) and Syd Affolter (3) have added a few as well. Caitlin Clark has still knocked down a team-high 15 threes, but has accounted for just 37.5% of the 40 three-pointers. When the Hawkeyes can rely on Gabbie Marshall to be a knock down shooter, it takes pressure off of the rest of the team and Caitlin Clark continues to be herself.

4. The Hawkeyes took care of the ball and won the turnover battle

Iowa has been pretty good at limiting turnovers for most of the season. They are one of just five power conference teams that rank in the top 50 in possessions per 40 minutes and in the top 75 in fewest turnovers per game. On Saturday, they went up against an Indiana team that ranked 22nd in fewest turnovers per game, so who won that battle was going to be important. The Hawkeyes were able to force 15 turnovers and limited themselves to just 13. In a game where the Hoosiers offense was struggling, Iowa could not afford to give up points off of turnovers to help them stay in it and they didn’t. They outscored Indiana 16-11 in points off turnovers and assisted on 19 of 30 made field goals.