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No. 23 Iowa women rally past No. 17 Purdue 87-80

Sports

March 7th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ally Disterhoft scored 10 of her 12 points in the final 5:38 as 23rd-ranked and fifth-seeded Iowa clawed back from the brink with a 24-11 closing run to upend No. 17, fourth-seeded Purdue 87-80 in a Big 10 quarterfinal Friday. The Hawkeyes (25-7) face eighth-seeded Ohio State (17-17) in a semifinal Saturday after the Buckeyes shocked No. 11 and top-seeded Penn State, 99-82.

Purdue (21-8) battled through seven ties and six lead changes in the first half to lead 39-35 at the break and appeared to be in control after halftime with Courtney Moses banging down 24 points. Iowa’s all-Big Ten selections Disterhoft, Samantha Logic and Bethany Doolittle were held to a combined seven points in the first half due to foul trouble but caught fire in the second. Doolittle finished with 16 and Logic 12.

Disterhoft scored six in an 8-1 run for a 71-70 lead Iowa never lost.