Feb. 12, 2004
MADISON, WI – You had to see it to believe it. The Iowa women’s basketball team overcame an eight-point deficit with 39 seconds left in regulation to defeated the Wisconsin Badgers, 87-82, in improbable fashion in an overtime thriller Thursday night in the Kohl Center.
Iowa (13-9, 7-4) trailed the Badgers by as many as 13 points with 6:49 left and six points with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Undaunted, the Hawkeyes mounted one of the most exciting comebacks in school history. Iowa outscored Wisconsin 21-8 the final 6:36 of regulation.
“I feel very fortunate to go out of here with a win,” said Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder. “Obviously this is a great win for us. This is a much better Wisconsin team than we saw three weeks ago. The improvement is amazing in that short a time. They not only played better, but they looked different as far as just their competitiveness on the floor.”
Kristi Faulkner scored an astonishing 15 points (four 3-pointers, one lay-up and one free throw) in the final 1:50 of regulation to help send the game into the extra session.
A Faulkner lay-up with 29 seconds left cut the Badgers lead to six (72-66). Following a Wisconsin (8-14, 2-10) turnover, Faulkner drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 17 seconds left to trim the lead to three (72-69). Jennie Lillis stole Wisconsin’s inbound pass and dished the ball to an open Faulkner in the corner, who sank the game-tying triple with seven seconds left. Wisconsin had an opportunity to win the game in regulation, but a lean-in jumper by Stephanie Rich came up short.
Faulkner and Lillis combined for 38 of Iowa’s 39 second half points, with Jamie Cavey scoring the other point on a free throw.
Lindsay Richards, who was held scoreless in regulation, made two huge 3-pointers in overtime to help the Hawkeyes maintain its hot shooting. Cavey also heated up in overtime scoring six of her 17 points in the extra session. Iowa was 5-6 from the field in overtime.
Jennie Lillis scored a game and season-high 31 points (12-21 FG, 4-4 FT) and also corralled a team-high eight rebounds. The 31 points were one point shy of a career high. Her 12 field goals made matched a career high, while her 21 attempts were a career best. Lillis has scored in double figures in every game this year and 92 times in career.
Faulkner matched a career high, which she set at Wisconsin last year, with 29 points (11-21 FG, 2-4 FT). Her 11 field goals made and 21 attempted are career highs. She also played a career-high 43 minutes and drained a career-high five triples.
Wisconsin had four players score in double figures. Ashley Josephson scored a team-high 18 points, while Stephanie Rich collected 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The win snapped Iowa’s two-game losing streak and extended a five-game winning streak over the Badgers. Furthermore, the Hawkeyes have won three consecutive games in the Kohl Center.
The overtime triumph was Iowa’s first this season after falling to Creighton and Iowa State (2OT) earlier this season. The victory marked Iowa’s first road overtime victory since a 65-58 win at Kansas on Dec. 3, 1995.
Iowa returns to action Sunday when the Hawkeyes travel to Bloomington, IN, to face the Indiana Hoosiers (10-13, 3-9) at 1:05 p.m. (CST) in Assembly Hall.