No. 23 Iowa beats Penn St. 77-52 in Big Ten opener

Dec 28, 2014, 05:23 pm

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Bethany Doolittle had 12 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, and No. 23 Iowa beat Penn State 77-52 on Sunday in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Melissa Dixon was 5 of 12 from 3-point range and led the Hawkeyes (10-2) with 21 points. Ally Disterhoft, Whitney Jennings and Christina Buttenham each added 11 points. Jennings also had eight assists.

Lindsey Spann had 22 points, five rebounds and four assists for Penn State (3-9). Alex Harris grabbed 10 rebounds.

Iowa scored the first nine points and opened the game on a 16-1 run, but Spann's 3-pointer brought Penn State within 20-16.

The Hawkeyes took control back with a 13-2 run to go ahead 33-18 with 4:54 left in the half and started another 13-2 run in the final minute that stretched into the second half to lead 50-26.