Nov. 29, 2008
Iowa lost its second-straight game Saturday night at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands, falling 76-43 to No. 3 California. Iowa falls to 4-3, while California remains undefeated at 7-0. Tonight was just the second-ever meeting between California and Iowa.
Tonight was Iowa’s first game against a team ranked as high as No. 3 in the national polls since playing No. 2 Ohio State on Feb. 13, 2005 (L, 67-60).
California’s Ashley Walker was tabbed the tournament’s MVP. She poured in a game-high 32 points tonight, 20 of which came in the first half. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Wendy Ausdemore was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament team. She made two triples tonight, marking the fifth-consecutive contest the senior sank two-or-more treys. Ausdemore finished the game with a team-high 10 points and five rebounds.
Megan Skouby and JoAnn Hamlin each scored eight points. Hamlin also corralled a team-high seven rebounds and three assists.
Iowa jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead, but California quickly countered with a 24-2 run to take a 25-10 advantage midway through the first half.
California shot 50.8% (31-61) from the field for the game, while Iowa was held to a season-low 33.3% (17-51) from the floor.
Iowa did post a season-low 16 turnovers tonight, however California converted those miscues into 24 points.
Iowa made (3) and attempted (4) season lows from the free throw line tonight. California was 7-8 (.875) from the charity stripe tonight.
The Bears forced the Hawkeyes into a perimeter game, as half of their first-half field goal attempts (30) were from beyond the 3-point arc (15). Iowa was only 4-15 (.267) from long distance the first 20 minutes.
Iowa’s 20 points in the first stanza are the fewest it has scored in a half this season (25 vs. Texas Tech). In fact, California’s Ashley Walker scored 20 points herself in the first half to match Iowa as a team.
Iowa will leave its hotel early tomorrow morning and spend the entire day traveling back to Iowa City. The Hawkeyes return to action Thursday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Iowa will travel to Durham, NC, to face nationally-ranked Duke at 6:05 p.m. (CST).