March 6, 2009
The Iowa Hawkeyes beat the Minnesota Gophers, 79-64, tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. Iowa led by as many as 15 points in the second stanza. Iowa improves to 21-9 overall, while Minnesota falls to 19-11.
Iowa advances to play top-seeded Ohio State tomorrow night at approximately 7:15 p.m. (CST) in Conseco Fieldhouse. The Hawkeyes beat the Buckeyes in the only regular season meeting 85-75 on Feb. 12 in Iowa City. Ohio State defeated ninth-seeded Illinois tonight, 70-53.
Iowa has won 13 of its last 15 contests, including seven in a row. Iowa has now advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals seven times. The Hawkeyes advanced to the semifinals a year ago as a No. 2 seed, but lost to Purdue.
Tonight was Iowa’s 1,000th women’s basketball game in its 35th season as a varsity sport.
Tonight was the 62nd meeting between Iowa and Minnesota. Iowa improves to 41-21 all-time against the Gophers. Iowa has now won four of the last five meetings. The Hawkeyes are now 3-0 vs. Minnesota in Big Ten Tournament contests.
Iowa is now 16-2 when shooting a higher percentage than its opponents. Iowa shot 50 percent (30-6) from the field to only 43 percent (25-58) for Minnesota. Iowa improves to 20-2 when scoring 60 or more points, 18-1 when leading at the half.
Wendy Ausdemore poured in a game-high 25 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. The senior shot a blistering 10-16 (.625) from the field and 4-5 (.800) from 3-point territory.
Iowa improves to 8-7 in Big Ten Tournament contests under Head Coach Lisa Bluder. The Hawkeyes improve to 4-2 all-time as a No. 4 seed in Big Ten Tournament games.
Also shooting the ball well tonight was Kachine Alexander, making 7-11 (.636) from the field. She also secured a game-high 13 rebounds. The native of Minneapolis, MN, has now posted a team-best eight double-doubles this season.
Kamille Wahlin netted all eight of her points in the second half. She also dished out four assists. Kristi Smith finished with 15 points and also had a team-high five assists to only one turnover.
Iowa led by as many as 15 points (44-29) in the first half. The Gophers scored the last five points of the half to make the score 44-34 at intermission.
Wendy netted 16 first half points, shooting 6-10 (.600) from the field, including perfect 3-3 (1.000) from distance. Kachine Alexander nearly posted a double-double the first 20 minutes with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Iowa made 10 of its first 13 field goals attempted (.769), including its first three 3-point attempts (1.000).
Trailing 17-14, Iowa recorded four-straight 3-point plays (three triples and one traditional 3-point play) to take an early 26-17 advantage. Wendy Ausdemore scored 13 of Iowa’s first 26 points the first 10 minutes of the contest.
Iowa outrebounded the Gophers by nine tonight (40-31).