Too Much Yellow Jacket

March 22, 2009

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Lisa Bluder was concerned about Georgia Tech’s ability to pressure the ball. The head coach of the University of Iowa was also concerned about rebounds.

Bluder’s concerns were proven to be very real late Sunday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena when the No. 9 seed Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech dealt the No. 8 seed Iowa Hawkeyes a 76-62 loss in first round action of the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

Pressure? Tech forced Iowa into 17 turnovers and converted those into 21 points. The Yellow Jackets were also credited with 10 steals.

“I didn’t think early in the game, in the first half particularly, the press was hurting us so much as we were really making some unforced errors and making some passing decisions that weren’t so good in the quarter court,” Bluder said afterward.

“But obviously their press played a big part in the 17 turnovers, they shot the ball 67 times we shot the ball 47, our shooting percentages were about the same. But they had 20 more opportunities to shoot the ball, part of that was because of rebounding and part of that because of turnovers.”

Rebounds? Tech outrebounded Iowa 43-30, a mark that included a 19-7 edge on the offensive end of the court where Iowa needed one-and-done’s and didn’t get them. Tech, a team that thought it deserved a much higher seed after completing the season 21-9 overall and 8-6 in the ACC, scored 19 points off those second chances.

However, the statistics that really told the story of this game – the second on the floor of Carver between the two schools in the last two years – was points in the paint: Tech 46. Iowa 12.

“They did a tremendous job penetrating. I think we had an exceptional weak side defensive help to clog up the paint, we gave up way too many paint points tonight. Some of that was the rebounding, some of that was our interior defense. But definitely we got beat off the dribble too many times,” Bluder lamented.

Jacqua Williams was the biggest difference-maker for Tech. The 5-foot-7 senior guard entered the game averaging a little more than 11 points a game. She scored a game-high and career-high 23 points. Iasia Hemingway and Sasha Goodlett added 16 each and Brigitte Ardossi another 11.

Goodett also was credited with a game-high 13 rebounds, six of which coming on the offensive glass.

Tech shot 45 percent from the field for the game, knocking down 30 of 67 attempts – 20 more attempts than the Hawkeyes, who made 20 of their 47 and just six of 15 from behind the arc. Included in Iowa’s 30 rebounds were only seven on the offensive glass.

Kachine Alexander led the Hawkeyes with another double-double: 17 points and 10 rebounds. She also had three assists and three steals. Kamille Wahlin added 14 points and Wendy Ausdemore 12.

Iowa scored the first four points of the second half, pulling to 36-35 when Wahlin sank a nice runner with just six seconds remaining on the shot clock. However, it was all downhill from there.

Tech took off on a 12-2 run to move the game to 48-37 with just under 16 minutes to play.

The lead reached 13 when Goodlett dropped a short jumper in the late at the 15:04 mark. It reached 15 at 57-42 when Hemmingway dropped a jumper with 12:51 left to play.

Tech’s victory improved the team’s record to 22-9 and puts the Yellow Jackets and Oklahoma – who defeated Prairie View earlier Sunday night – on the floor of Carver-Hawkeye Tuesday night with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16.

The loss drops Iowa to 21-11 in 2008-09 and its all-time NCAA Tournament record to 16-18.

Iowa trailed 36-31 at intermission primarily because of its inability to stop the Tech’s inside game. The Yellow Jackets held a 26-4 advantage in points in the paint in the game’s first 20 minutes thanks in good measure to 12 offensive rebounds, five of which were credited to GTU center Sasha Goodlett, who also had 10 points.

Tech broke open the game with a 17-2 run that featured points from six different players. The streak was started on a three-point bucket by Jacqua Williams that trimmed Iowa’s lead to 12-11 with 14:16 left to play. It ended seven minutes later when Bridgette Ardossi dropped in a lay-up.

Iowa responded with a three-pointer by Wahlin, a lay-up by Alexander and a trey from Ausdemore to make it a one-point game at 27-26. Tech responded with a pair of buckets from Ardossi and a pair of free throws from Williams.

The Hawkeyes were charged with eight turnovers in the opening period, a total that resulted in 11 Tech points. Iowa was also outrebounded 25-16 and could only manage seven attempts from the charity stripe.

Wahlin had team highs of 10 points and four rebounds at intermission. Alexander and Ausdemore each had seven points. Iowa shot just 38 percent from the field – 11 of 28 – compared to Tech’s totals of 46 percent (17 of 37).

Tickets for Tuesday’s game — which is scheduled to tip shortly after 8:30 p.m. – can be purchased online by clicking HERE. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 1-800 IA-HAWKS or at the UI Athletics Ticket Office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.