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Gustafson stands tall as No. 10 Iowa holds off Indiana 70-61

Sports

March 8th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Megan Gustafson scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds Friday to help No. 10 Iowa pull away late for a 70-61 victory over Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. The Hawkeyes (24-6), the Big Ten regular-season runners-up, have won nine of their last 10 and will make their first semifinal appearance since 2014 on Saturday.

Tenth-seeded Indiana (20-12) was led by Ali Patberg with 25 points. Grace Berger added 13 points of the bench for last year’s WNIT champions. The 6-foot-3 Gustafson was simply too much for the smaller Hoosiers. She produced the highest point total in the tournament’s first nine games by going 11 of 19 from the field and matched the fifth-highest single-game rebounding total in tourney history. Gustafson also contributed four steals and four blocks.

The Hawkeyes stayed in control most of the game but struggled to put away the scrappy Hoosiers until the closing minutes. It was not a good look for a team trying to make a case to move up at least one seed line. But they still have a chance to improve their standing as they pursue their first Big Ten Tournament crown since 2001.

Gustafson drew nine fouls. … Makenzie Meyer scored all 12 of her points on 3s. … Hannah Stewart finished with nine points and 13 rebounds. … The Hawkeyes were 7 of 16 on 3s and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line.
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Iowa: Faces third-seeded Rutgers in Saturday’s semifinals at 6:30-p.m.