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Second half surge leads Iowa to tourney win

Mar 24, 2014 - 3:02 AM Iowa City, IA (SportsNetwork.com) - Theairra Taylor scored 22 points, leading all five starters in double figures, as the Iowa Hawkeyes crushed the Marist Red Foxes, 87-65, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's Louisville Regional at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Bethany Doolittle was responsible for 21 points and eight rebounds, while Melissa Dixon tacked on 12 points for the sixth-seeded Hawkeyes (27-8). Coming up a rebound shy of a triple-double was Samantha Logic with 11 points and 10 assists, while Ally Disterhoft pitched in with 10 points for the hosts.

Marist (27-7), the 11th seed in the region, was led by Emma O'Connor, Sydney Coffey and Madeline Blais, all with 12 points, followed by Casey Dulin with 10, the latter shooting a mere 1-of-7 behind the 3-point line.

The Red Foxes led by three nearly nine minutes into the meeting, but Iowa ended up shooting 51.9 percent from the field in the period in order to claim a 38-30 advantage at the break.

The Hawkeyes dominated the second half with not only 62.1 percent accuracy from the floor, but also 8-of-12 beyond the arc, en route to the 22-point victory.

Iowa, which used a 41-23 rebounding advantage to help compensate for 17 turnovers, will be back in action on Tuesday night versus Louisville after the Lady Cardinals crushed Idaho, 88-42, in the first round of the tourney.