Doyle Sets Assist Record; Hawkeyes Bounce Back Against Huskers
Kathleen Doyle heard the announcement about her record.
The Iowa senior guard set a new program single-game mark with 15 assists in Thursday’s 76-60 win against Nebraska at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but that wasn’t what Doyle was thinking about.
“Oh, I didn’t know how many I had when they said it,” Doyle said. “I was just thinking about all of the missed layups I had.”
It wasn’t the best shooting night for Doyle — she was 5-of-15 from the field, finishing with 15 points, as Nebraska’s defense hindered her from driving to the basket.
All Doyle did was throw the ball to someone else to score.
“They took away her drive, so she found the assists,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.
Doyle broke the record of 14 assists set by Sam Logic in the 2013-14 season, and Bluder sees similarities between the two.
“Sam was so good at beating people, and then finding where the help came from,” Bluder said. “(Doyle is) able to drive, figure out where that help defense is, and make that pass.
“It’s very Sam-ish.”
Iowa (19-4 overall, 10-2 Big Ten), ranked 20th in the national polls, stayed in a tie for first place in the conference with Maryland. The Hawkeyes play the Terrapins on the road next Thursday, so it was important to keep pace with a win over the Huskers (15-8, 5-7), who won the first matchup between these two teams to start conference play in late December.
It was the 33rd consecutive home win for the Hawkeyes, the second-longest active streak among NCAA Division I teams.
The Hawkeyes, coming off a 79-63 road loss to Michigan on Sunday that knocked them out of sole possession of the conference lead, were helped with the return to the starting lineup by center Monika Czinano, who scored 23 points and had eight rebounds.
Czinano, who injured her ankle in the Jan. 26 win over Michigan State, didn’t play against Penn State and then played just 16 minutes in the loss to Michigan.
She played almost 34 minutes in this game, going 11-of-20 from the field.
“Obviously it’s nice to have Monika a little healthier,” Bluder said. “Big difference for us.”
“Feels good,” Czinano said of her ankle. “It felt good at practice yesterday, felt good today. Happy to report it’s all good.”
The teams combined to miss the first 10 shots of the game and were tied at 13 at the end of the first quarter. Iowa, which led 35-32 at halftime, pulled away in the second half, leading by as much as 17 points in the fourth quarter.
