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Takeaways from Megan Gustafson and Iowa’s big win over Rutgers

By Jasmine Brown

04 JAN 2015: Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach C. Vivian Stringer during the second half of the game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Iowa Hawkeyes played at The RAC on the campus of Rutgers University. The Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 79-72. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images)
04 JAN 2015: Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach C. Vivian Stringer during the second half of the game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Iowa Hawkeyes played at The RAC on the campus of Rutgers University. The Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 79-72. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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Familiar territory for Stringer, familiar result for Gustafson.

Legendary Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer returned to Carver Hawkeye Arena, an arena she knows well. It is place where she achieved a 269-84 record as Iowa head coach. It is a place where she took the Hawkeyes to nine consecutive NCAA tournaments. It is a place where she led them to two elite eights and a Final Four.

Nostalgia had to run rampant for Stringer. And the results were familiar, too: Stringer coaching, and Iowa winning, 72-66, though Stringer was on the losing end this time.

This, the arena where she and Rutgers would lose their first conference game, also contained Megan Gustafson. The elite Iowa senior center finished with 32 points on 13-of-16 shooting along with 12 rebounds. Kathleen Doyle also added 17 points in the win.

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Here are the takeaways from the game.

All Megan Gustafson from the start

Gustafson scored the first the 13 points for the Hawkeyes to open the game.

“(Gustafson) is the best that I’ve seen,” Stringer said following the game. “She’s truly the best center in the country, bar none. The beautiful part about Gustafson is she runs. She played 35 minutes. She did everything on both ends of the floor. We had no answer for her. None.”

It was a back and forth effort between the two teams 

The game had 10 ties and 10 lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the game. The quarter was also tied at 21-21 to end the first quarter. It was not expected to a be a shootout, because Rutgers has one of the best defenses in the country, but with Megan Gustafson on the floor, it was not enough to contain her.

Eyes on the prize

The Hawkeyes entered the matchup against Rutgers averaging 81.0 points per game. Rutgers’ defensive efforts limited 19 of their opponents under their scoring average. But Iowa’s 72 points scored are the most Rutgers has allowed this season. Lastly, Iowa’s .500 field goal percentage is the highest against a Rutgers team this season.

Iowa laid down a marker last night. The Big Ten has a contender in the Hawkeyes.

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