May 31, 2007
VOULIAGMENI, GREECE – – The Iowa women’s basketball team lost to the Greek National Team, 68-53, Thursday night. The contest was the last of three exhibitions against Greece on the Hawkeyes’ 11-day foreign tour.
Junior Megan Skouby was Iowa’s only player in double figures in defeat. The native of Mentor, OH, scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the first half. Senior Jenee Graham collected a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with four assists and three points. Sophomore point guard Kristi Smith only had five points, but dished out seven assists and had four rebounds. Junior Lindsey Nyenhuis provided a spark off the bench, draining two second-half 3-pointers and finished with nine points.
The 68 points Iowa yielded tonight was the fewest Greece scored in the three games, which pleased Head Coach Lisa Bluder.
“I feel like we got better every game,” said Bluder. “Our first game was a little tough adjusting to all the different rules and their physical style of play. I’m really proud of the team in the way they improved every single game. The last two games our rebounding was much better and I thought we matched their intensity and our defense improved.
Iowa started tonight’s game much faster than the previous two, jumping out to a 9-2 advantage in the first five minutes. The Hawkeyes ultimately won the first quarter, 14-11. Greece answered with a 13-2 scoring surge spanning the first and second periods and claim a 19-16 lead. Greece stretched its advantage to six by halftime.
The Hawkeyes started the second half on a 7-0 run to tie the game, but never was able to regain the lead.
Iowa shot 46 percent from the field and 80 percent from the foul line for the contest.
After the game, both Iowa and Greece enjoyed a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Friday is the final day of Iowa’s visit to Greece before traveling the entire day Saturday back to the States. Tomorrow is a “free day” for the team, as many will spend the day around the beach resort in Vouliagmeni.
Scoring Summary 1 2 3 4 FIowa 14 11 19 9 53Greece 11 20 22 15 68
Player Game StatsName Pts Rbs Asts Stls BlksKristi Smith 5 4 7 1 0Wendy Ausdemore 6 6 3 1 0JoAnn Hamlin 8 5 0 1 0Megan Skouby 12 4 0 1 0Jenee Graham 3 11 4 0 0Nicole VanderPol 3 2 0 0 1Lindsey Nyenhuis 9 1 0 0 0Abby Emmert 0 1 1 2 0Stacy Schlapkohl 7 3 0 0 0