I’m not going to copy-paste the recap from the first Iowa game.
Just a big chunk of it.
I expected Michigan to pack the paint on defense and make Iowa pay for having multiple players on the floor who weren’t outside shooting threats. Instead, from the outset, that’s what Iowa did to force U-M into their worst offensive performance of the season — a brutal 44 points and 24 turnovers in 70 possessions.
As far as the Hawkeyes were concerned, Michigan always had two players on the floor they were happy to leave alone on the three-point line. This allowed them to stick tight to U-M’s shooters, overplay Olivia Olson’s forays into the paint, and clean up the glass.
After a 59-42 loss in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, Michigan's first Iowa matchup now stands as their second-worst offensive performance of the season. The Wolverines had two players, Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway, score in double figures; they both posted precisely ten points.
U-M made 16 field goals and committed 17 turnovers. That’s a basketball Rutger.
I didn’t want to make the Everclear reference! But here we are.
Michigan’s first possession set the tone for a long afternoon.
Iowa gave tons of space to Brooke Quarles Daniels, put All-Defense selection Kylie Feuerbach on Olson, camped center Ava Heiden in the lane, and stuck tight to Syla Swords on the perimeter. Swords and BQD found no room on their forays into the paint, and when Olson caught Feuerbach napping on a backdoor cut, BQD’s pass missed the mark and ultimately bounced out of bounds off Olson:
Despite a sterling defensive performance, the Wolverines had no margin for error. Only two players, Olson and center Ashley Sofilkanich, made multiple baskets at the rim (two apiece). Swords attempted ten of her 11 shots from beyond the arc, making three.
Everything looked difficult. Only seven of U-M’s 16 field goals were assisted. No player outside of the team’s three stars scored more than four points. Holloway, one of those stars, shot 3-for-13 from the field and committed seven turnovers; Kim Barnes Arico sat her down multiple times to get her settled with no perceptible effect.
“They're very active defensively, but their guards are really good at staying attached the whole time,” said Swords. “Whether it's coming off screens, whether it's coming off handoffs, we have to work to get the ball every single possession. Credit to Iowa for that. They did that both games, and that's not easy to do.”