Iowa women advance to W-N-I-T Semifinals

The Iowa women came back from a double-digit deficit and went on to down Arkansas State 66-52 in the W-N-I-T in Cedar Rapids. Hawkeye coach Lisa Bluder says her team picked up the defensive intensity to get them back in the game. She says their 2-3 zone was very good. Bluder says her team couldn’t shoot the ball very well in the first half, and Arkansas State had the same problem in the second half. Crystal Smith led Iowa in scoring with 20 points. Jamie Cavey had 17, and Krista VandeVenter had 15 points as the two worked the inside game.Bluder says her team is playing with a lot of heart right now, as she says they could’ve easily given up when they got down in the first half. VandeVenter broke the Hawkeye freshman rebounding record while pulling in 12 boards. Iowa moves on to the W-N-I-T Semifinals to face Southwest Missouri State, which beat Texas A&M 62-60. The game will be played on the Lady Bears home court in Springfield, Missouri on Monday night at 7 p.m.