Minnesota Suffers Disappointing Loss at Iowa

Minnesota suffered a disappointing 74-57 loss at Iowa on Sunday, snapping the Gophers' three-game winning streak. The Gophers are now 11-5 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play. Kiara Buford led the Gophers with 12 points and Ashley Ellis-Milan notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.   The Gophers entered the game with an opportunity to establish themselves among the Big Ten's top teams, but Minnesota never found any rhythm in the game at Iowa . As a result, Minnesota faces a daunting task of traveling to Ohio State , a place where the Gophers have yet to taste victory.   " Iowa came out a very hungry team playing with a sense of urgency," said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. "They threw the first punch and we never were able to answer. We didn't play as a team either on offense or defense."   Iowa (9-7, 2-3) hit a three-pointer on its first shot attempt and shot out to a 7-0 lead. Minnesota missed its first seven shot attempts and committed two turnovers before Katie Ohm finally notched a three-pointer nearly four minutes into the game.   The Hawkeyes rolled to a 17-5 lead as the Gophers continued its struggles on both end of the court. The Gophers closed to within 11 points several times but was never able to reduce the Iowa lead to single digits. By halftime, the Gophers found themselves on the short end of a 36-23 tally.   The numbers tell the story. Minnesota shot 27.8 percent in the half, making just 8-of-29 attempts. The Gopher starting five was an ice-cold 4-of-23 for 17.4 percent. Fox was scoreless on 0-7. The Gophers had committed nine turnovers equaling their output from the entire Indiana game and though they out-rebounded Iowa on the offensive glass, 11-7, were outscored in second-chance points by an 11-4 margin.   The hopes of a big second half comeback were crushed early as the Hawkeyes scored three early three-pointers, two coming from senior Kristi Smith. If it wasn't Smith from the outside, the Hawkeyes scored on the inside as JoAnn Hamlin scored eight points and the Hawkeye lead grew to 20 points at 59-39. Fox banked in a lay-up finally broke into the scoring column with 13 minutes left to play. Hamlin finished with 21 to lead all scorers, while Smith added 20.   The Gopher freshmen saw plenty of action in the second half. Kiara Buford finished with 10 points, Jackie Voigt seven and Brianna Mastey with five.   Minnesota finished the game shooting 35.9 percent with 17 turnovers. Iowa shot over 65 percent in the second half to finish at 51.9 percent overall.   Minnesota travels to Ohio State on Thursday, Jan. 15.   - UM -