Gustafson's 41 leads No. 16 Iowa women past No. 23 Spartans

Feb 8, 2019, 02:47 pm

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Megan Gustafson poured in 41 points and grabbed 14 rebounds Thursday night to lead No. 16 Iowa to an 86-71 win over No. 23 Michigan State.

Kathleen Doyle added 18 points with four 3-pointers, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Hawkeyes (18-5, 9-3 Big Ten Conference). Gustafson was 17 of 24 from the field and made all seven of her free throws as Iowa avenged an 84-70 loss at Michigan State on Dec. 30 when she became the Hawkeyes' all-time leading scorer. The nation's leading scorer (26.7 ppg) pushed her career total to 2,429 points.

Freshman Nia Clouden, who scored a career-high 27 in the first meeting, led the Spartans (16-6, 6-5), who had won three straight, with 20 points, 10 in the fourth quarter.

Gustafson scored Iowa's first eight points and had 11 in the first quarter to stake the Hawkeyes, who are 12-0 at home, to a 23-15 lead. It was 50-38 at halftime and when Clouden's 3-point play pulled MSU within nine, Gustafson scored the last eight in a 10-0 run that put Iowa's lead in double figures for good.