Nov. 2, 2004
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THE SETTING
The Iowa women’s basketball team hosts Australian Institute of Sport Thursday in its first of two exhibition games. The game is slated to tip-off at 7:05 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Single game tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for youths.
The game will not have a radio broadcast. Fans can watch live stats online by clicking the gametracker link on the front page of www.hawkeyesports.com.
SEASON TICKETS
Hawkeye fans may purchase a 16-game season ticket package for only $70. Senior citizens and faculty/staff can purchase season tickets for $56, while the price for students is $35. There is also a “Family Pack” for $145 that includes admission for two adults and two youths. Tickets can be purchased online by logging on to www.hawkeyesports.com or by calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS. Fans may also order tickets in person at the UI Ticket Office.
IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 846 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Overall, Iowa’s record is 514-332 (.608). That includes a 276-144 (.657) mark in Big Ten games and a 227-54 (.808) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
HAWKEYES ADD THIRD JERSEYS
For the first time under Coach Bluder’s tenure, Iowa will have three colored jerseys this season (white, black and gold). The last time Iowa played in gold jerseys was during the 1999-00 season.
FRESHMEN HAWKEYES
Forwards Krista VandeVenter (Osseo, MN) and Stacy Schlapkohl (Durant, IA) and guards Abby Emmert (Winterset, IA) and Jeneé Graham (Bolingbrook, IL) join the Hawkeye roster this season.
Schlapkohl is the Durant HS record holder in eight statistical categories and received a school-record 17 letters in four sports. VandeVenter was runner-up Miss Minnesota and was the Osseo HS Female Athlete of the Year her senior year. Emmert is a four-time all-conference selection and is the Winterset HS career leader in assists and scoring. Graham was the Bolingbrook HS Gatorade Player of the Year and was a Chicago Tribune all-State honorable mention her senior season.
FRESHMEN SLATED TO START THURSDAY
Point guard Abby Emmert and power forward Krista VandeVenter are slated to start Thursday’s exhibition game vs. Australian Institute of Sport.
HAWKEYES ADD WALK-ON
Head Coach Lisa Bluder announced Tuesday that Ebone Pope (Ottumwa, IA) has been added to the 2004-05 roster as a walk-on. The 5-9 guard will wear No. 15.
Pope was a two-year starter at Marshalltown Community College. Pope averaged a team-best 11.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 2.7 apg last year. She was team captain, earned first team all-conference and first team all-tournament honors last season. She averaged 9.0 ppg and earned all-region honorable mention accolades her freshman year.
She graduated from Ottumwa High School in 2002, where she averaged 14.5 ppg, 3.5 apg and 3.3 rpg. Pope earned second team all-conference laurels her junior and senior years. Her high school team competed in the state tournament her senior season.
Pope joins Kristi Faulkner (2001-04) as the only walk-ons to make a Hawkeye roster under Coach Bluder.
GEOFFROY BECOMES STUDENT ASSISTANT COACH
Senior Lindsay Geoffroy received a medical hardship and will no longer play women’s basketball for the Hawkeyes. Geoffroy played in 25 games for Iowa. The senior will serve as a student assistant coach this season.
RICHARDS TO START SEASON ON THE SIDELINES
Junior point guard Lindsay Richards underwent successful surgery on July 7, to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee.
Richards is expected to make a full recovery and hopes to return to the Hawkeye lineup in January. The native of Barrington, IL, sustained the injury during practice with the Big Ten All-Stars before the team left for Australia in early-June. This is the second time in as many years she has undergone surgery to repair a damaged ACL in her right knee. Richards’ first ACL injury came in a home game against Denver on December 12, 2002.
Richards started all 29 games for the Hawkeyes last year. She ranked fifth on the team in scoring (5.4 ppg) and free throw percentage (39-51, .765), second in assists (85) and fourth in steals (27). Her 2.93 assists average ranked 11th in the Big Ten. Richards was also an academic all-Big Ten selection last year.
Before injuring her knee as a freshman, she played in eight games as a reserve, averaging 4.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg and dishing out 29 assists. Richards will not receive a medical redshirt for her freshman season.
EMMERT MAKES HISTORY
Abby Emmert will become only the second Iowa freshman to start at point guard. Prior to this season, Cara Consuegra was Iowa’s only freshman to start at point guard (1997).
HAWKEYES ADVANCE TO NCAA TOURNAMENT
Iowa (16-13, 10-6) tied for fourth in the always difficult Big Ten Conference race and received an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, its 15th overall. The Hawkeyes came on strong down the stretch winning six of their final 10 regular season games. Iowa finished the season playing the 14th most difficult schedule in the nation and was ranked No. 37 in the final RPI rankings.
POST-SEASON HONORS
Senior Jennie Lillis was a second team all-Big Ten selection, while senior Kristi Faulkner and junior Jamie Cavey nabbed third team accolades.
EIGHT HAWKEYES EARN ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
A team record eight student-athletes were named to the winter Academic all-Big Ten Team: Jenna Armstrong, Jamie Cavey, Kristi Faulkner, Morgan Kasperek, Jennie Lillis, Becca McCann, Tiffany Reedy and Linday Richards. The eight selections were the most among the 11 Big Ten women’s basketball teams.
TRIPLE THREAT
Iowa had three players score 450 points last season. Jamie Cavey (487) led the Hawkeyes, followed by Kristi Faulkner (469) and Jennie Lillis (463), marking the first time in school history that a trio posted 450 points or more in a single season.
IOWA RANKED HIGH NATIONALLY
Iowa ranked eighth nationally in free throw percentage (.769), 19th in assists (16.7) and scoring offense (73.4) and 21st in 3-point field goal percentage (.364). Kristi Faulkner ranked 13th nationally in free throw percentage (.868) and Jamie Cavey ranked 19th in field goal percentage (.562).
ROAD WARRIORS
The Hawkeyes were 8-5 in road games, including capturing five of the last six conference road games (Northwestern, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois). The last time the Hawkeyes won five Big Ten road games was during the 2001-02 season (Iowa was 5-3). The last time Iowa won eight overall road games was when the Hawkeyes posted nine during the 1993-94 season.
THREE’S A CHARM
Iowa was the only team to have three student-athletes ranked in the top 10 in conference scoring. Jamie Cavey ranked sixth in scoring, followed by Kristi Faulkner (seventh) and Jennie Lillis (ninth). The Hawkeyes were also the only league school to have three players ranked in the top 15 in assists. Lillis ranked 10th, followed by Lindsay Richards (11th) and Johanna Solverson (12th).
IOWA SHATTERS FREE THROW RECORD
Iowa converted 76.9 percent (433-563) of its free throws. The Hawkeyes shattered the school record of 74.4 percent (338-455) set during the 1980-81 season. Iowa’s 76.9 percent from the charity stripe ranked second in the Big Ten (Penn State). The Hawkeyes converted 78.9 percent (228-289) from the free throw line in conference games, which ranked first.
RAINING THREES
The Hawkeyes tied a season high with ten 3-pointers at Wisconsin on Feb. 12. The Hawkeyes ranked first in the league in 3-pointers made (6.07). Iowa has made at least one 3-pointer in 177 consecutive contests. It is a streak that has occurred over a span of seven seasons. The last time the Hawkeyes did not make a 3-pointer was against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament on March 1, 1998.
AMAZING COMEBACKS
Looking back on the 2004 season, you can point to two road games that helped propel the Hawkeyes to an at-large berth in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Iowa trailed at Marquette 59-49 with 3:58 left in the game. The Hawkeyes finished with a flurry, out-scoring the Golden Eagles 16-3 to end the game and give the Hawkeyes the win.
Just over two months later, Iowa recorded one of its most amazing comebacks in school history. You had to see it to believe it! The Hawkeyes overcame an eight-point deficit with 39 seconds left in regulation to defeat Wisconsin, 87-82, in an overtime thriller at Madison, WI, on Feb. 12. Iowa 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 out-scored Wisconsin 21-8 the final 6:36 of regulation. 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 contest into overtime.
SOLVERSON POSTS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Johanna Solverson registered her first career double-double, which she nearly accomplished in the first half vs. Ohio State on Feb. 5, 2004. The sophomore pulled down 12 rebounds and scored a season-high 17 points. Solverson tallied 10 points and collected nine rebounds in the first frame. She posted double figures in rebounding a team-best three times in 2004. Solverson was the second Hawkeye to record a double-double. Jennie Lillis collected the 16th of her career vs. Saint Joseph’s.
CAVEY HAS CAREER YEAR
Jamie Cavey, who was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Feb. 2, was a dominant force in the post last season. Cavey averaged 3.7 points per game in Big Ten play and 5.6 ppg in overall play. In 2003-04, she ranked No. 4 in conference and No. 6 in overall play with 16.8 and 17.1 points per game, respectively. She led Iowa in scoring on 14 occasions, and chalked up at least 20 points in nine outings. Cavey posted career highs in points (33), field goals made (14) and attempted (25) vs. Ohio State on Feb. 5. The 14 field goals made are the most in a game by a player in the Big Ten last year. Her 33 points marked the first time an Iowa player amassed 30 points or more since Jennie Lillis scored a career-high 32 points at Penn State on Feb. 10, 2002.
CAVEY IMPROVES AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Jamie Cavey’s free throw shooting was just one aspect of her game that she has improved on last year. Cavey converted 107-141 (.759) from the charity stripe in 2003-04. Last year, she made 38-72 (.528).
ATTENDANCE RANKINGS
Iowa ranked 24th in the nation in attendance (4,134). The Hawkeyes were the sixth-highest ranked Big Ten team. Purdue ranked fifth, followed by Minnesota (6), Penn State (7), Wisconsin (13) and Michigan State (16).
SMITH POSTS BREAKOUT YEAR
Crystal Smith was Coach Bluder’s first guard off the bench, averaging 16.5 minutes per game. Smith was Iowa’s top defender, ranking second (49) behind starter Jennie Lillis (56) for the team lead in steals. Smith ranked eighth in conference steals (1.94), the highest ranking non-starter. She had two of the best games of her career vs. Illinois and Minnesota. The native of Haughton, LA, matched her career high with 10 points, blocked her first career shot, collected a career-high four assists and grabbed four rebounds vs. the Illini. Smith collected seven points (2-2 FG, 2-2 FT), three rebounds and a career-high five steals at Minnesota. Her five steals came while guarding one of the conference’s and nation’s top players — Lindsay Whalen. Smith matched her career high in steals in Iowa’s last game against Minnesota in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The sophomore collected three of her game-high five thefts in the first half.
IOWA TIP-INS
- Iowa did not lose three-straight games last season.
- Iowa was 10-0 last year when having a higher field goal percentage than its opponents, 13-0 when holding its opponents to 69 points or less and 12-1 when leading at halftime.
- The Hawkeyes’ 37 field goals made vs. Illinois (1/2/04), 80 field goal attempts at Iowa State (12/3/03) and thirty 3-point field goal attempts at Michigan State (2/1/04) were the most in the Big Ten last season. Iowa’s 55 rebounds at Missouri (12/30/03) and 17 steals vs. Drake (12/21/03) ranked as the second most in the conference last year.
- Iowa’s 3-point field goal percentage of .364 ranked second in school history (min. 225 att.).
- The Hawkeyes’ scoring average of 73.4 ranks seventh in Iowa history. Iowa’s 1987-88 squad averaged 77.6 ppg to set the school record.
- Johanna Solverson led Iowa in rebounding nine times last year.
- Crystal Smith collected 10 steals against Minnesota last year — five in each contest.
- Iowa had a 3-1 record against conference teams it played only once during the regular season (wins over Michigan, Northwestern and Michigan State and a loss to Ohio State).
- Iowa won at least one game against every Big Ten school last year except Penn State, Purdue and Ohio State.
- Iowa scored 180 points (90 ppg) in two games vs. Illinois.
CENTER OF ATTENTION
For the first time under Coach Bluder, Iowa will start its season with a returning starting center.
Since Bluder began coaching the Hawkeyes in 2000 Iowa has had a different center to start the season. Randi Peterson was Iowa’s starter in 2000-01, followed by Beatrice Bullock (2001-02), Tracy Schrupp (2002-03) and Jamie Cavey (2003-04). Peterson, Bullock and Schrupp were all seniors.
Cavey becomes Iowa’s first center to start consecutive seasons since Amy Herrig (1998-99).
HOME GROWN HAWKEYES
Iowa’s roster features four players from the state of Iowa (Jamie Cavey, Abby Emmert, Tiffany Reedy and Stacy Schlapkohl). The Hawkeyes also have four players from the state of Illinois (Lindsay Richards, Johanna Solverson, Jeneé Graham and Morgan Kasperek). Iowa’s 11-person roster also features players from Missouri (Jenna Armstrong), Minnesota ( Krista VandeVenter) and Louisiana (Crystal Smith).
IOWA INFORMATION ON THE WEB
Statistics and play-by-play accounts of all Iowa home games and most road contests will be available live on the internet. The statistical program allows viewers to read the play-by-play action just moments after it takes place, and to view all individual and team statistics while the game is in progress.
The program can be accessed through www.hawkeyesports.com and then clicking on the Gametracker link.
AFTER THIS
Iowa will play its final exhibition game Nov. 11 vs. Truman State (7:05 p.m.) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes will open their regular season Nov. 19 against Southern Illinois (5:30 p.m.) in the annual KCRG-TV 9 Hawkeye Challenge.