Dec. 26, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
THE SETTING
Iowa (8-4, 1-0) returns home for its Big Ten home opener Sunday when it entertains Purdue (7-4, 1-0). Tip-off is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. (CST) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $9 for adults, $5 for youths, while students are admitted free. There will be a pre-game Kids Fun Zone on the north concourse and post-game player autographs. Sunday will be Iowa’s first home game since Dec. 11. The Hawkeyes are in the middle of a stretch of playing four of five games on the road.
ON THE TUBE
Sunday’s game will be televised live in Eastern Iowa on KCRG-TV9. John Campbell, Amy Herrig and Scott Saville will call the action.
ON THE WEB
Hawkeye fans can watch Sunday’s Big Ten home opener online at bigtennetwork.com. The streaming video is free for fans.
ON THE RADIO
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call Sunday afternoon’s game for the Hawkeye Radio Network. Hawkeye fans can listen to the contest on KXIC in Iowa City, WMT in Cedar Rapids and WHO in Des Moines. Balbinot is in his fifth season as Iowa’s play-by-play voice, while Till is in her fourth providing analysis. Hawkeye fans can also fol ow the game via live stats (gametracker). The `GT’ link can be accessed under the `Calender’ tab on the front page of hawkeyesports.com or on the women’s basketball schedule page.
IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 981 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Overall, Iowa’s record is 596-385 (.608). That includes a 296-146 (.670) mark in Big Ten contests and 277-81 (.774) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Sunday will be the 55th meeting between Iowa and Purdue, with the Boilermakers leading the series 30-24. Iowa holds a 14-9 advantage in games played at Iowa City. The Boilermakers and Hawkeyes played three times last season, with Purdue winning twice. Iowa beat Purdue (69-53) on Jan. 24, 2008 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena last season. The Boilermakers have won 10 of the last 12 meetings. Iowa has won two of the last three contests played in Iowa City.
SCOUTING PURDUE
Sunday will be the second-straight road game for the Purdue Boilermakers. Furthermore, Sunday will mark the seventh time in nine games the Boilermakers will play away from home. Purdue won its conference opener at Illinois, 53-42, Monday night in Champaign. Senior forward Lakisha Freeman poured in a game-high 19 points. Senior center Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton had seven points and also posted game highs in rebounds (13), assists (4) and steals (4). Three of Purdue’s four losses came to ranked opponents (No. 6 Stanford, No. 8 Maryland and No. 8 Notre Dame) away from West Lafayette. Purdue has two seniors ranked in the top ten in Big Ten rebounding. Wisdom-Hylton, who missed last season due to a knee injury, ranks third (9.4), while Danielle Campbell ranks sixth (8.4). Wisdom-Hylton also ranks 11th in scoring (13.1). Junior point guard FahKara Malone ranks second in steals (2.9) and fourth in assists (5.0). As a team, Purdue ranks second in first in Big Ten assist/turnover ratio (1.0), second 3-point field goal percentage (.394) and blocks (5.3), and third in 3-pointers made (6.1). Sharon Versyp is in her ninth season as a head coach and her third on the Boilermaker sidelines. Versyp is coaching for her alma mater, graduating from Purdue in 1989.
IOWA, PURDUE NOTES
? Iowa will play Purdue twice in two weeks. After Sunday’s match-up in Iowa City, the two teams will face each other again on Jan. 8 in West Lafayette.
? Eight of Iowa’s 12 games have been decided by 18 points or more (5-3).
? Iowa players have corralled double-digit rebounds 11 times this season. JoAnn Hamlin has accomplsihed the feat a team-best five times, followed by Kachine Alexander (4) and Wendy Ausdemore (2).
? Iowa has held seven of the eight teams it has defeated to 58 points or less.
? Iowa has won 12-straight home games, dating back to a loss against No. 20 Ohio State on Jan. 6, 2008.
? Iowa boasted a +21.3 scoring margin in its three wins over in-state competition. The Hawkeyes dropped Iowa State by 20, Northern Iowa by 26 and Drake by 18.
? JoAnn Hamlin, who has led the Hawkeyes in rebounding four of the last seven contests, ranks eighth in league rebounding (7.7). Kachine Alexander ranks ninth (7.5).
? Kachine Alexander leads the team with 37 assists (3.1 per game).
? Junior Nicole VanderPol is doubtful for Sunday’s game due to injury. She has not played in the last 10 games.
? Iowa has five different players lead the team in scoring through 12 games. Wendy Ausdemore has led the squad in scoring a team-best five times. Megan Skouby, who will play in her 100th game Sunday, has led the team four times.
? Iowa ranks fourth in the country in free throw percentage (.800). The Hawkeyes have nearly made (190) as many free throws as its opponents have attempted (193).
? Wendy Ausdemore has only missed one free throw (23-24, .958).
? Kristi Smith has reached double figures a team-best eight times.
? Iowa has an RPI rating of 16th in the country and strength of schedule that ranks seventh. The RPI ranking is third-best in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes’ strength of schedule ranks second-best in the Big Ten. Purdue has an RPI ranking of 52 and strength of schedule of 37. The numbers are based on the report published on Dec. 25.
HOME SWEET HOME
Iowa has maintained a solid home court advantage the last couple years. Dating back to last season, Iowa has won 12 games in a row at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It is is the longest active streak in the Big Ten. Iowa’s last home loss was a 73-65 setback to No. 20 Ohio State on Jan. 6, 2008.
HAWKEYES CAPTURE FOURTH STRAIGHT, WIN AT WISCONSIN
Iowa won its second road game in three days, beating Wisconsin 73-63 at the Kohl Center Monday night. The win snapped the Badgers’ 10-game winning streak and extended Iowa’s winning streak to four games. The Hawkeyes shot the ball extremely well, shooting 52 percent (23-44) from the floor. Iowa built a 20-point second-half cushion en route to victory. Four Hawkeyes scored in double figures to pace Iowa: Wendy Ausdemore (20), Megan Skouby (14), Kristi Smith (13) and JoAnn Hamlin (10). Hamlin recorded her third double-double of the season, also pulling down 10 rebounds. Kachine Alexander snagged a game-high 11 rebounds and dished out a game-high five assists. Iowa’s defense held Wisconsin to only 37 percent (24-65) from the field. Lin Zastrow netted a team-high 18 points for the home team.
LAST OUTING TIP-INS
? Iowa improves to 34-20 all-time against Wisconsin. The Black and Gold have now won 10 of the last 12 in the series. The Hawkeyes are now 14-11 in Madison and have won six of the last seven contests played at the Kohl Center.
? Monday night was both teams’ Big Ten opener. Iowa improves to 7-2 in Big Ten openers under Head Coach Lisa Bluder.
? Iowa attempted 15 more free throws than Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes made 73 pecent of their attempts, compared to only 60 percent for the Badgers.
? Ausdemore had another stellar outing. The senior scored a team-high 20 points on 6-8 shooting from the field, including 4-5 from 3-point range, and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.
? Iowa used a 9-2 run midway through the second stanza to build its largest cushion (56-36) with 11:08 left in the game.
? Iowa made 11 of its first 18 field goal attempts (.611) the first 15 minutes of the game. For the half, Iowa was 13-23 (.565) from the floor, compared to 10-33 (.303) for the Badgers. The visitors led by 12 at intermission (35-23). Ausdemore and Skouby each scored eight first-half points, while Smith added seven the first stanza.
? Alexander grabbed seven of her game-high 11 rebounds in the first half. She has pulled down double-digit rebounds four times this season and five times in her career. The sophomore also equaled a career high with five assists for the second-straight game.
? Ausdemore sparked Iowa offensive early, making three of her first four field goal attempts, including two 3-pointers, the first seven minutes. Iowa jumped out to a 16-7 advantage to start the contest, with Ausdemore and Megan Skouby combining for 14 of the 16 points.
? Kristi Smith made a driving lay-up as time expired in the first half. It marked the second-straight game the senior dazzled the crowd with a driving lay-up buzzer-beater.
? Iowa improved to 8-0 when leading at the half, 8-1 when having a higher field goal percentage and 8-1 when having more assists than its opponents this season.
? Iowa yielded 14 offensive rebounds, but allowed only four baskets on those second-chance opportunities.
20/20
Wendy Ausdemore scored 20 points in each of Iowa’s road victories at Drake and Wisconsin last week. The senior was on fire from behind the 3-point arc, draining 8-11 (.727). Furthermore, she was 13-19 (.684) from the field and a perfect 6-6 (1.000) from the foul line in the two victories.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Last season, Iowa had only three players record one double-double in 32 games (Wendy Ausdemore, Johanna Solverson and Megan Skouby). So far this season, Iowa has had three players post double-doubles a total of six times through 12 games. JoAnn Hamlin recorded double-doubles vs. Boston, Iowa State and at Wisconsin this year. Kachine Alexander tallied her first double-double vs. Providence, while Ausdemore had back-to-back double-doubles vs. Texas Tech and South Florida in the Paradise Jam.
PRE-SEASON RANKINGS
Iowa has been picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten by the league coaches and fifth by a selected media panel. The coaches picked Purdue to win the conference, while the media selected Ohio State. The Buckeyes have won outright, or shared, the last four regular season conference titles. Ohio State sophomore Jantel Lavender was selected as the pre-season Player of the Year by both voting groups.
IOWA APPROACHES MILESTONE
The Iowa’s women’s basketball program has 596 overall wins and 296 victories in Big Ten Conference play.
TRIFECTA
Iowa has three seniors who have reached the 1,000-point plateau. Wendy Ausdemore, Megan Skouby and Kristi Smith became the first senior trio at Iowa to eclipse 1,000 points. The 1998 senior duo of Tangela Smith and Tiffany Gooden reached the milestone, the 1990 tandem of Franthea Price and Jolette Law accomplished the feat, and the 1987 duo of Lisa Becker and Lisa Long both tallied 1,000 points. Skouby and Smith accomplished the feat last season as juniors, while Ausdemore topped 1,000 points early this season. Ausdemore netted a game-high 21 points in an overtime loss to South Florida (Nov. 28, 2008). The native of Neola, IA, reached 1,000 points in 97 games. Skouby scored six points at No. 20 Ohio State (Feb. 21, 2008) to become the 24th Hawkeye to amass 1,000 career points. Skouby, who is a native of Mentor, OH, accomplished the feat in only 82 games and she did so in front of family and friends. Smith netted 19 points vs. Purdue (March 8, 2008) to become the 25th Iowa player to tally 1,000 points. The Thornton, CO, native accomplished the feat in 90 contests.
AUSDEMORE IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Wendy Ausdemore, a senior, has her name all over the Hawkeye record books for 3-point shooting. The native of Neola, IA, is 183-438 (.418) from long distance. The senior has been on fire from behid the arc the last two games; Ausdemore sank 72.7 percent (8-11) of her 3-point attempts at Drake and at Wisconsin. Ausdemore’s career shooting accuracy from beyond the arc currently ranks second in the Big Ten and Hawkeye record books. Former Ohio State Buckeye Caity Matter (270-657, .411) ranks first, while former Hawkeye Lindsey Meder (261-644, .405) is third. Ausdemore’s 174 treys ranks second in Iowa annals behind Meder’s 261. Last season, Ausdemore was 78-171 (.456), with her percentage ranking third in the nation, and first among players with over 150 attempts. Also, Ausdemore made a school-best 62 triples as a sophomore and 78 as a junior.
IOWA FAST BREAKS
? Iowa is 129-17 when leading at the half in nine years under Coach Bluder, including a perfect 8-0 this season. The Hawkeyes are 109-22 when holding opponents to 69 points or less, including a 53-4 mark when opponents score 59 points or less.
? Iowa played seven non-conference games against teams from a major conference: Big East (Providence and South Florida), Pac-10 (California), ACC (Duke), Big XII (Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State).
? Megan Skouby tied a Paradise Jam tournament game record with four blocked shots against Texas Tech (11/27/08). Additionally, she equaled a career high blocking five shots in back-to-back games (Northern Iowa and Drake).
? Iowa’s loss to South Florida was its first overtime loss since falling 80-78 to Minnesota (Jan. 25, 2007) in Iowa City.
HOME, AWAY COMPARISONS
Iowa averages 13.8 more points at home than on the road. The Black and Gold have a higher free throw percentage at home (.808) than on the road (.773). Iowa averages 5.8 more rebounds per game, 4.0 more assists and 4.0 fewer turnovers at home than on the road.
WINS, LOSSES COMPARISONS
There are big differences in the statistics in Iowa’s wins to Iowa’s losses. The Hawkeyes average 15.5 more points in their wins to losses. Also, Iowa averages 6.9 fewer turnovers in its victories. Finally, Iowa averages .369 from behind the 3-point arc in its wins, compared to only .268 in its defeats.
SIMILARITIES
Coach Bluder sees similarities between this season’s senior and freshman classes. This year’s senior class was asked, in 2005-06, to step-up and make an immediate impact when they were freshmen. Iowa’s freshman class this year will, again, be asked to provide depth and will likely play a pivotal role in the team’s success.
GET TO KNOW HER CAMPAIGN
The Big Ten Conference announced its latest public service effort for women’s basketball. The Get to Know Her campaign is a fully integrated effort that will allow fans to see the non-basketball sides of their favorite student-athletes via multimedia tools and on-campus promotions. Elements of the Get to Know Her campaign include a fan club, theme nights, a weekly newsletter, Big Ten Network-produced PSAs, video and print feature stories, a Facebook page and fan rewards. Fans can sign up to be members of the Get to Know Her Club at all Big Ten women’s basketball home games. Fans will receive special rewards for joining the club, while membership privileges include special access, giveaways and insider information on Big Ten women’s basketball. Fans will also enjoy increased chances to learn about their favorite women’s basketball players through multimedia outlets. Written feature stories will appear on the Big Ten website throughout the conference season, while the Big Ten Network will air features and Get to Know Her PSAs through the duration of the 2008-09 campaign.
HOME GROWN HAWKEYES
Iowa’s 2008-09 roster features four players from the state of Iowa (Wendy Ausdemore, Kelsey Cermak, Kelly Krei and Nicole VanderPol). The Hawkeyes also have three players from Minnesota (Kachine Alexander, Hannah Draxten and Kamille Wahlin). Iowa’s 13-person roster also features players from Ohio (Shante Jones and Megan Skouby), Colorado (Kristi Smith), Kansas (JoAnn Hamlin) and Michigan (Lindsey Nyenhuis).
HY-VEE CY-HAWK SERIES
Iowa has clinched the 2008-09 Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series, leading 15-4 with only three evnts remaining. The Black and Gold have now won the event three times in its five-year history. The Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes (3-0) in volleyball to earn two points and finished ahead of Iowa at the men’s cross country regional meet. Iowa beat Iowa State 17-5 in football to earn the only three-point event. The Hawkeyes also downed the Cyclones in men’s basketball (73-57), women’s swimming (196-104), women’s basketball (66-46), wrestling (20-15), women’s soccer (3-2) and finished ahead of Iowa State at the women’s cross country regional meet.
UI TO HOST NCAA TOURNAMENT GAMES IN 2009
The University of Iowa and Carver-Hawkeye Arena will serve as one of 16 first and second round hosts for the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. Games will take place Sunday, March 22 (6 p.m./8:30 p.m.) and Tuesday, March 24, 2009 (8:30 p.m.). Adult tickets prices are $28 for the three tournament games and $18 for students and senior citizens if they purchase their tickets over the phone or at the UI Ticket Office. The two ticket prices are $31 and $21, respectively, if purchased on the Internet. The UI Department of Athletics first hosted an NCAA Championship site in 1986 when it served as one of four regional final sites. Carver-Hawkeye Arena has hosted NCAA Women’s Championship games 11 years (1986-90, 92-94, 96-98). The UI and Carver-Hawkeye Arena have entertained the regional finals four times and first and/or second rounds nine times. The NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994. The last time Iowa City hosted a first and second round site was in 1998. Iowa defeated Massachusetts in the first round, but lost to Kansas in the second round. The Hawkeyes boast a 9-4 record in NCAA Championship games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
BLOGGING
Iowa Hawkeye fans will be treated once again to behind-the-scenes information this season as senior Wendy Ausdemore, and sophomore Kelsey Cermak and freshman Hannah Draxten will have their own blogs, which will be posted on hawkeyesports.com. The trio will share their thoughts on practices, games, road trips, and everything else surrounding the program. Additionally, fans will be able to watch behind-the-scenes clips of the team with Lindsey Nyenhuis’ video blog.
IOWA INFORMATION ON THE WEB
Statistics and play-by-play accounts of all Iowa Hawkeye games 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 hawkeyesports.com and then clicking on the `GT’ link.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT ALL-SESSION TICKETS ON SALE
Make sure you have the best seats to cheer on the Hawkeyes at the 2009 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis at Conseco Fieldhouse March 5-8. Secure the best seats available by contacting the UI Athletic Ticket Office at (800) IA-HAWKS. To reward fans for their support of the tournament over the years, all-session tickets are on sale for $45 for the first 45 days of public sale. That is a $20 discount from the regular price of $65. The ticket promotion ends Jan. 19, 2009. The Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments will call Indianapolis and Conseco Fieldhouse home through 2012. Indianapolis has staged 13 of the 14 previous women’s tournaments. The 2009 tournament features all 11 Big Ten teams in action, competing in 10 games over four days to crown the 2009 champion and earn the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Six different conference representatives have won the tournament championship. Reigning Big Ten Tournament Champion Purdue leads all teams with seven titles, followed by two championships for both Iowa and Penn State and one title each for Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State. The 2009 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament bracket, along with information on tickets, travel, lodging, tournament history and more, can be found at bigten.org and indianasportscorp.com.
ON THE HORIZON
Iowa will return to the road for a two-game road trip through the state of Indiana. The Hawkeyes frist travel to Bloomington to face the Indiana Hoosiers Jan. 4 and then will visit West Lafyette to challenge the Purdue Boilermakers Jan. 8.