Council Bluffs, Iowa
After narrowly escaping Iowa Central on the road, Iowa Western Women's Basketball knew they had their hands full when the Tritons came calling to Reiver Arena.
The Tritons clawed back from an early first quarter deficit to lead 15-13 after the opening quarter behind Nevaeh Galloway's six points. The two teams combined for a 1-13 performance from beyond the arc, with the lone make coming from the Reivers' Ruba Abo Hashesh.
Iowa Western tied the game as the second quarter got underway, but ICCC would hold steady through the first five minutes. After an Isnelle Natabou lay-up to tie the game at 19, the Reivers would end the half on an 11-2 run before the Tritons' Carley West made a lay-in with just 0:02 left on the clock.
Hayley Berfield scored seven points to go along with three assists and a pair of steals to lead the charge, and the Reivers doubled up the Tritons on the boards, outrebounding the team 14-7.
The blitz continued to start the second half as IWCC opened the third quarter on a 12-0 run led by Gabriella Smith's tenacious play and Hayley Berfield catching fire from outside to boost the Reivers lead after three to seventeen points, a deficit that Iowa Central could never recover from.
"We had a slow start tonight and weren't able to get the easy baskets to fall." Said Head Coach Lindsey Vande Hoef, "I thought we went into halftime on a good roll and then the start to the third quarter was phenomenal! Really proud of the work Gabi (Smith) did on the boards tonight and the team had another great night sharing the ball."
Defense and a team-first attitude helped the team to their fifth straight win, with their 21 assists making it four out of the last five contests the squad surpassed the 20 assist plateau.
Overall, Berfield and Smith combined to lead the Reivers with 17 points each, while Smith recorded a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds. Natabou nearly poured in a double-double of her own with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Abo Hashesh scored 14 off the bench on 5-8 shooting.
IWCC forced 17 turnovers, the apparent magic number in the Reivers' 10th win of the season.
The Reivers' hit the road on Saturday to Iowa Falls where they'll take on Ellsworth before returning home next Wednesday (3/3/21) to face Northeast at Reiver Arena as part of a double-header with the Men's team.
Follow the Reivers on social media:
Twitter https://twitter.com/ReiverWBB
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/reiverwbb/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ReiverWBB
#SailsUP
