Eighth-ranked Vanderbilt’s incredible 24-game regular-season winning streak against non-SEC teams is officially toast, thanks to No. 10 Iowa’s suffocating 75-65 victory on Sunday in the Bad Boy Mowers Series. What a performance by the Hawkeyes, who absolutely shut down a Commodores team that had been running wild offensively.
Hawkeyes Come Out Firing
From the jump, Iowa came out swinging, grabbing a dominant 19-7 lead. They kept their foot on the gas, staying ahead by double figures for pretty much the entire game. Ava Heiden was an absolute force, dropping 15 points and pulling down 13 boards for her tenth career double-double. Chazadi Wright led the Hawkeyes with 16 points, and Amari Whiting wasn’t far behind, adding 11 points and an impressive 12 rebounds. Dani Carnegie also chipped in 10 points, even hitting a clutch long three-pointer with 3:46 left to give Iowa a 68-53 lead when Vanderbilt was trying to claw back. Iowa, now 4-1, showed serious grit after losing to No. 2 UConn last week.
The Streak-Killing Shooting Slump
You won’t believe this: Vanderbilt missed their first THIRTEEN three-pointers. Thirteen! It was painful to watch. Aubrey Galvan finally broke the ice with a shot from downtown at 7:11 in the fourth, and Mikayla Blakes hit another less than a minute later, getting them within 63-51. That was the closest they had been since the score was 21-8. Then, a wide-open layup that would have cut the deficit to just ten points clanked off. Brutal.
Iowa’s defense deserves a massive shout-out. They held Vanderbilt to just 36% shooting, making only 25 of 70 attempts. Think about that: the Commodores came into this game having scored 100 or more points in four straight games to start the season. Iowa just completely bottled them up. Mikayla Blakes still managed to pour in 20 points, but it took her 6-of-22 shooting to get there. Mia Woolfolk added 19 points, and Galvan finished with 15. Blakes did extend her ridiculous streak of 10-plus points to 58 straight games, which is the third-longest active streak in Division I and the longest for a Commodore this century. But even her scoring couldn’t overcome the team’s struggles.
This loss ends a monumental run for Vanderbilt, who now sits at 4-1 on the season. They’ll look to bounce back when they head home to play North Alabama on Wednesday. Iowa, on the other hand, just made a huge statement and will be looking to keep that momentum rolling when they host Montana State on Thursday. Get ready for some more intense action.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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