Gustafson scores 41 as No. 16 Iowa stops Sparty
IOWA CITY — Megan Gustafson poured in 41 points and grabbed 14 rebounds Thursday night to lead No. 16 Iowa to an 86-71 win over No. 23 Michigan State.
Kathleen Doyle added 18 points with four 3-pointers, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Hawkeyes (18-5, 9-3 Big Ten Conference). Gustafson was 17 of 24 from the field and made all seven of her free throws as Iowa avenged an 84-70 loss at Michigan State on Dec. 30 when she became the Hawkeyes’ all-time leading scorer. The nation’s leading scorer (26.7 ppg) pushed her career total to 2,429 points.
Freshman Nia Clouden, who scored a career-high 27 in the first meeting, led the Spartans (16-6, 6-5), who had won three straight, with 20 points.
Gustafson scored Iowa’s first eight points and had 11 in the first quarter to stake the Hawkeyes, who are 12-0 at home, to a 23-15 lead. It was 50-38 at halftime and when Clouden’s 3-point play pulled MSU within nine, Gustafson scored the last eight in a 10-0 run that put Iowa’s lead in double figures for good.
No. 16 IOWA 86, No. 23 MICHIGAN ST. 71
At Iowa City
MICHIGAN ST. (16-6) — Cooks 4-12 0-0 9, Allen 1-7 0-0 2, Clouden 7-11 4-5 20, Colley 3-12 0-0 7, McCutcheon 4-12 1-2 11, Belles 1-3 2-3 4, Cook 6-9 0-1 12, Gaines 1-2 0-0 3, Hollie 0-0 0-2 0, Ozment 0-1 0-0 0, Hendrickson 1-1 0-0 3. TOTALS 28-70 7-13 71.
IOWA (18-5) — Stewart 3-6 0-0 6, Gustafson 17-24 7-7 41, Davis 2-6 5-6 10, Doyle 5-13 4-5 18, Sevillian 0-3 0-0 0, Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Czinano 2-3 0-1 4, Ollinger 2-3 0-2 4, Valino Ramos 0-0 0-0 0, Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Taiwo 1-5 0-0 3. TOTALS 32-63 16-21 86.
Michigan St. 15 23 16 17 — 71
Iowa 23 27 17 19 — 86
3-Point Goals–Michigan St. 8-23 (Cooks 1-3, Allen 0-2, Clouden 2-2, Colley 1-4, McCutcheon 2-8, Cook 0-1, Gaines 1-1, Ozment 0-1, Hendrickson 1-1), Iowa 6-13 (Davis 1-3, Doyle 4-6, Sevillian 0-2, Ollinger 0-1, Taiwo 1-1). Assists–Michigan St. 14 (Clouden 5), Iowa 24 (Doyle 8). Fouled Out–Michigan St. Allen, Rebounds–Michigan St. 37 (Colley 8), Iowa 44 (Gustafson 14). Total Fouls–Michigan St. 24, Iowa 17. A–6,287.