Jan. 11, 2004
Minnesota won its second straight home contest over Iowa and has won three of the last four overall meetings in the 42-game series history. Today marks the second time this season that the Hawkeyes have lost two consecutive games (Creighton and Missouri).Today’s sellout crowd of 13,817 is the largest crowd Iowa played in front of this year. The last time the Hawkeyes played in front of a sellout crowd was at Connecticut in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
Iowa falls to 0-3 against ranked opponents this year (Minnesota, 75-61, Penn State, 92-64 and Kansas State, 82-60).
Crystal Smith collected a career-high five steals in 18 minutes of action off the bench. The sophomore scored all seven of her points in the first half.Iowa had eight players score at least two points today. Jamie Cavey scored a team-high 16 points (7-11 FG, 2-2 FT). It marked the ninth time this season that the junior led Iowa in scoring. Kristi Faulkner scored 14 points (4-9 FG, 3-4 FT), while Jennie Lillis finished with 10 points (5-10 FG, 0-1 FT). Lillis is the only Hawkeye to score in double figures in every game this year.Iowa converted 6-10 (.600) three-pointers today. The Hawkeyes made three of their first four attempts today. Iowa has made five ore more triples in its last seven contests. Iowa has made at least one three-pointer in 162 consecutive games. It is a streak that has occurred over a span of seven seasons. The last time the Hawkeyes did not make a three-pointer was against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, March 1, 1998.Senior Jennie Lillis was 0-1 from the charity strip today. She has attempted at least one free throw in 102-of-107 games she has played during her four-year career. The two-time all-Big Ten performer has converted 369-496 (.745) free throws in her career. She is the school record holder for free throws attempted (496) and is 22 free throws made from breaking the school record, which is held by Amy Herrig (390).Jennie Lillis’ six rebounds today gives her 729 for her career and moves her past Franthea Price (1986-90) into seventh place on Iowa’s career rebounding chart. Lillis is 17 rebounds from surpassing Randi Peterson (1997-01) for sixth place. Her six rebounds today was a team-high, marking the third straight game the Urbandale native has led the Hawkeyes in rebounding.Kristi Faulkner was 3-4 from beyond the arc today. She has made at least one 3-pointer in 13-of-14 contests this year. She made at least one triple in 12 straight games before failing to sink one in the Hawkeyes’ last contest at Penn State last Thursday night.Lindsay Whalen scored ten of Minnesota’s first 14 points. The senior finished with a game-high 30 points. Iowa has allowed a player from the opposing team score 30 points in back-to-back contests (PSU – Kelly Mazzante).
Iowa out-rebounded Minnesota 17-9 and out-scored the Golden Gophers 7-0 in second chance scoring in the first half. Fofr the game, Iowa out-rebounded Minnesota 29-27 and out-scored the Golden Gophers 12-7 in second chance opportunities.
With the score 45-44 Minnesota with 12:20 remaining in the second half, the Golden Gophers went on a 16-4 run to give them a 13-point advantage(61-48) with 6:58 left.Iowa posted a season-high 29 turnovers today. The previous high was 28 vs. Houston on Nov. 22, 2003.