University of Missouri
Iowa
Iowa Runs to Hawkeye Challenge Title
11/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2004
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Crystal Smith led all scorers with 26 points to lead host Iowa to a 75-54 win over Missouri in the championship game of the KCRG TV-9 Hawkeye Challenge.
Junior G LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) had 14 points for the Tigers (1-1), while junior C Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire / Illinois Central College) added 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Smith was 9-of-14 from the field, and hit all seven of her charity tosses. Jamie Cavey added 13 points and four blocks for Iowa (2-0), who shot 52.9 percent from the field (27-of-51).
The Hawkeyes and Tigers traded a pair of baskets until Iowa used a 7-0 run to take an 11-4 lead and spur a Mizzou timeout just 3 minutes, 6 seconds into the game. The Hawkeyes continued to increase the lead to 24-9 with 11:48 left in the first half on a pair of Stacy Schlapkohl free throws. Yet the Tigers clawed closer, quickly trimming the margin to 10 after Bond scored on a layup set up by a block from N'Garsanet.
Yet the Hawkeyes would continue to dominate both inside and at the free-throw line. Iowa used a 24-8 advantage in the paint and 12-of-14 shooting from the line in the first half to take a 43-31 lead at the break.
Mizzou trimmed the lead to nine on an N'Garsanet baby hook with 10:18 to play and again on a 3-pointer from sophomore G Blair Hardiek (Effingham, Ill. / Effingham HS), yet the Hawkeyes made a run behind Smith.
"It's tough to come back from a lead like that. Our kids showed signs of playing well, but we also showed our youth. We're going to go through some growing pains this year," said Head Coach Cindy Stein. "I was really pleased with Christelle's play. I thought she made good adjustments to their defense. We had the opportunity to come back at the end, but the shots didn't drop. We also made a lot of mistakes, and eventually we have to decide not to do that anymore."
The Tigers continue their four-game season-opening road trip next weekend, when Missouri joins Gonzaga, Providence, and host New Mexico at the Airport University Inn Thanksgiving Tournament next Friday and Saturday. Mizzou plays the host Lobos at 9 p.m. CST Friday.
NOTE: The all-tournament team will be decided following the NIU-SIU consolation game.
