Dec. 17, 2009
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THE SETTING
The Iowa Hawkeyes (5-5) will host the Drake Bulldogs (6-2) Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
PROMOTIONS
Fans who buy one ticket for Sunday’s game will receive a free ticket when they present their souvenir FedEx Orange Bowl patch. Also, any fan who shows their men’s basketball ticket stub from Saturday’s game against Drake will receive free admission.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season ticket prices are $70 for adults, $56 for UI faculty and senior-citizens and $15 for youth (18 and under). UI students are admitted free with student I.D.
Single-game tickets are $9 for adults. Youth (18 and under) are admitted free for weekday games and are charged $5 for weekend games.
ON YOUR TELEVISION
Sunday’s game will be televised live to a national audience on the Big Ten Network (HD). Brent Stover and Stephanie White will call the action.
ON YOUR COMPUTER
Hawkeye fans can follow the game via live stats (Gametracker). The “GT” link can be accessed under the “Calendar” tab on the front page of hawkeyesports.com or on the women’s basketball schedule page.
ON YOUR RADIO
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call Sunday’s game for the Hawkeye Radio Network. The game can be heard on AM-800 KXIC, AM-600 WMT, AM-1040 WHO, and also on the Hawkeye All-Access page of hawkeyesports.com. Balbinot is in his sixth season as Iowa’s play-by-play voice, while Till is in her fifth year providing analysis.
IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 1,012 games, since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 615-397 (.608). That includes a 309-151 (.672) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 288-86 (.770) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Drake leads the all-time series, 24-17, but Iowa has won the last seven contests, including last year’s game in Des Moines (71-53).
Drake also holds a 10-9 record in contests played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but Iowa has won the last three games in Iowa City.
The Bulldogs won 19 of the first 20 matchups in the series, which started in 1974. The Hawkeyes then won nine of 10 games between 1986-97.
SCOUTING DRAKE
The Drake Bulldogs are 6-2, and are currently on a four-game winning streak.
Drake defeated North Dakota, 70-58, last Sunday in Des Moines. Monique Jones and Rachael Hackbarth each scored 14 points to lead the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs held North Dakota without a bucket for 8:12 late in the first half to help build a 32-19 lead. Drake shot .453 from the floor, and forced 19 turnovers, scoring 22 points off the turnovers.
Jordann Plummer leads the team with 15.8 points per game. Kristin Turk is averaging 12.1 points per game, while Jones is the team’s leading rebounder at 6.9 per contest. As a team, Drake is shooting .456 from the floor, including .372 from distance.
Drake’s head coach is Amy Stephens, who is in her seventh year. She entered the 2009-10 season with a 300-127 overall record, including a 103-84 record at Drake.
DRAKE VS. IOWA NOTES
? Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder coached 10 successful seasons (1990-2000) at Drake before joining the Hawkeyes.
? Iowa Associate Head Coach Jan Jensen and Assistant Coach Jenni Fitzgerald both played and coached at Drake. Jensen is one of only two Drake women’s basketball players to have her uniform retired. Both Jensen and Fitzgerald received the Drake Double D Award, which is the highest honor Drake bestows on its student-athletes.
? Iowa will have nine full days off between games, while Drake will have six. Both schools had the week off from games due to final exams.
LAST YEAR AGAINST DRAKE
Four Hawkeyes scored double figures and Iowa turned 20 Drake turnovers into 20 points en route to a 71-53 road win at Drake.
Wendy Ausdemore (20), JoAnn Hamiln (14), Megan Skouby (12) and Kachine Alexander (11) all reached double figures.
The Hawkeyes used a 21-2 run in the first half to claim a lead they never relinquished.
HAWKEYES FALL AT IOWA STATE
Iowa State made 16 three-pointers en route to an 85-66 win over Iowa last Thursday in Ames. The Cyclones netted 21 second chance points and 29 points off turnovers for the win.
The Hawkeyes were led by freshman Jaime Printy, who scored 14 points. Freshman Morgan Johnson added a double-double, with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
OH, SO CLOSE
Three of Iowa’s five losses have been by five points or less, with two of those being by three points.
The Hawkeyes had a three-point attempt at the buzzer against West Virginia fall short, that would have sent the game to overtime.
Against Boston College, Iowa missed a three-pointer with seven seconds left that would have tied the game.
Against Michigan, Iowa missed the front-end of a one-and-one from the free throw line with both 27 and 11 seconds left, each time trailing by only one point.
JOHNSON EMERGING IN THE PAINT
Freshman Morgan Johnson has had four solid games in a row for the Hawkeyes in the paint.
Johnson notched her first career double-double in Iowa’s win over Columbia, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. She followed with a 16-point, six-rebound performance against Boston College. She added 12 points and seven boards against Michigan, and collected her second-career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds at Iowa State.
Johnson had only scored in double figures twice in Iowa’s first six games, but has had four-straight games with at least 10 points.
WAHLIN STEPPING UP
Sophomore Kamille Wahlin has filled Iowa’s scoring role since Kachine Alexander, the team’s leading scorer, went down with an injury.
Wahlin is averaging 17.7 points (.455 FG%, .420 3PT%, .917 FT%) in the seven games since Alexander’s injury. She has also played an average of 37.6 minutes in those six games.
NOT PLAYING LIKE A FRESHMAN
Freshman Jaime Printy has started all 10 games for the Hawkeyes, and hasn’t looked like a rookie on the court.
Printy has scored double figures in seven of her 10 starts, and is averaging 11.6 points per game and has played 32.3 minutes per contest.
The Marion, IA, native has also secured at least five rebounds in nine games, and has had at least three assists in all but three games.
LOGGING MAJOR MINUTES
Due to injuries, Iowa’s roster has been forced to play a large amount of minutes so far.
Three players (minus the injured Kachine Alexander), have played over 30 minutes a game. Kamille Wahlin is playing 36.5 minutes per game, freshman Jaime Printy is at 32.3 minutes per contest and sophomore Kelly Krei is playing 31.7 minutes.
NEVER RIDING THE PINE
Sophomores Kelly Krei and Kamille Wahlin have both played all 40 minutes in back-to-back games this season.
Krei never left the court in consecutive games against Illinois State (Nov. 15) and Kansas (Nov. 18). Wahlin did the same against Boston College (Dec. 2) and Michigan (Dec. 6).
DRAINING FROM DISTANCE AND THE LINE
The Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten in three-pointers made (78, 7.8), rank second in free throw percentage (.774, 106-137) and rank third in three-point percentage (.368, 78-212). Iowa also 16th in free throw percentage and 19th in three-pointers made per game, nationally.
Individually, sophomore Kamille Wahlin is leading the conference in three-pointers made (2.7 per game) and minutes played (36.5). She also ranks fifth in scoring (16.1). Nationally, Wahlin ranks 46th in three-pointers made per game.
Freshman Morgan Johnson is tied for fourth in the Big Ten and 33rd nationally in blocked shots (2.1 per game).
INJURY UPDATE
Senior JoAnn Hamlin is out for the season after having a blood clot removed from her right leg.
Junior Kachine Alexander is expected to miss approximately two weeks with a stress fracture in her right leg. She has missed the last seven games with the injury.
ALEXANDER’S NUMBERS WILL BE MISSED
Junior Kachine Alexander had a solid start to the season. Alexander recorded a double-double in each of Iowa’s first three games, and was averaging 21 points and 15.7 rebounds, before suffering a stress fracture in her right leg.
UNDERCLASSMEN CONTRIBUTING
Iowa’s freshmen and sophomore class are putting up big numbers for the Hawkeyes this season.
Hawkeye underclassmen are responsible for 88 percent of the teams’ points, 72 percent of rebounds, 87 percent of minutes played, 89 percent of assists, 85 percent of steals and 91 percent of blocks.
Iowa’s freshmen class alone are responsible for 63 percent of the team’s points, 62 percent of rebounds, 64 percent of minutes played, 66 percent of assists, 65 percent of steals and 89 percent of blocks.
ALEXANDER NAMED CO-BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Kachine Alexander was named co-Big Ten Player of the Week Nov. 16 after earning MVP honors at the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge.
Alexander recorded double-doubles in each of Iowa’s first two games. She tied a Hawkeye Challenge tournament record by grabbing 18 rebounds (nine offensive, nine defensive), along with netting 19 points in Iowa’s season-opening win over Santa Clara. Both her 19 points and 18 rebounds were game highs.
Alexander followed on Sunday with a 21 point, 12 rebound (nine offensive, three defensive) performance in the championship game against Illinois State. Alexander was clutch down the stretch at the free-throw line, making 13-16 attempts from the charity stripe.
PRINTY NAMED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Jaime Printy was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, after her performances against William & Mary, West Virginia and Columbia.
Printy averaged 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists, as the Hawkeyes posted a 2-1 record last week. Printy recorded her first-ever 20-point game against William & Mary, adding nine rebounds with five assists. Against West Virginia in the first round of the Nugget Classic in Reno, Printy netted 16 points with four boards and five assists in the close, three-point loss. The Marion, IA, native scored Iowa’s first eight points against the Mountaineers, and made her first four shots, including a perfect 3-3 from distance.
Printy saved her best for last in Iowa’s win over Columbia. She scored 12 points with five rebounds and three assists in the thrilling win. Printy nailed a three-pointer with 52 seconds left to tie the game, giving Iowa a chance to win on its next possession.
WAHLIN ON ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
Sophomore Kamille Wahlin was chosen to both the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge and Nugget Classic all-tournament teams.
In the season-opening Hawkeye Challenge, Wahlin netted 13 points and added three rebounds.
She was clutch down the stretch in the championship against Illinois State, scoring seven points during Iowa’s crucial 12-2 run in the final three minutes of the second half to give the Hawkeyes the victory. Wahlin drained a three-pointer with 3:46 left to give Iowa a one-point lead (64-63). She then hit a jumper with 37 second left, extending Iowa’s lead to five points (70-65). Wahlin added two free throws on the next trip down the court to seal the win.
Wahlin scored 16 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out five assists against West Virginia in the Nugget Classic. She followed with 18 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 10 seconds left, to go along with three points and four assists against Columbia in the consolation game.
JOHNSON TIES SCHOOL RECORD
Freshman Morgan Johnson tied a school record with seven blocked shots against Northern Iowa (Nov 22). Johnson now holds the record with Jerica Watson (vs. Kent State, 12/8/01) and Tangela Smith (at Michigan State, 1/15/95). She currently ranks third in the Big Ten in blocks per game (2.75).
Johnson added 11 points and eight rebounds in the win.
HAWKEYES TIE FREE-THROW MARK
Iowa tied the school record for single-game free throw percentage, converting all 16 attempts against Columbia (1.000).
Freshman Morgan Johnson led the way, going 6-6. Sophomore Kamille Wahlin and freshman Theairra Taylor each went 4-4, while freshman Gabby Machado finished 2-2.
JOHNSON’S BIG GAME AGAINST COLUMBIA
Freshman Morgan Johnson recorded the first double-double of her career Saturday vs. Columbia.
Johnson finished with 18 points on 6-8 shooting, along with 12 rebounds (three offensive, nine defensive). Both numbers are career-highs.
CAREER DAY FOR WAHLIN
Sophomore Kamille Wahlin poured in a career-high 33 points against Northern Iowa. She also notched career highs in field goals made (11) and attempted (19), three-pointers made (6) and attempted (10) and free throws made (5) and attempted (6). Her five five three-pointers were just one shy of the school record.
Wahlin led Iowa’s second-half comeback with 21 points on 6-10 shooting, including 4-5 from three point range and all five free throws in the final half.
TAYLOR SHINES IN FIRST START
Fresh off her first significant action of the season at Northern Iowa, freshman Theairra Taylor made the most of her first-ever start as a Hawkeye.
Taylor poured in 16 points (7-15 FGs, 2-3 3PT FGs), along with nine rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal in 36 minutes of play in her first start Nov. 24 vs. William & Mary.
HOME GROWN HAWKEYES
Four Hawkeyes prepped in the state of Iowa. Those players are junior Kelsey Cermak (Norwalk), sophomore Kelly Krei (Iowa City) and freshmen Trisha Nesbitt (Ames) and Jaime Printy (Marion).
LAND OF 10,000 HAWKEYES
The 2009-10 edition of the Iowa Women’s Basketball team has four players from the state of Minnesota. They include junior Kachine Alexander (Minneapolis), sophomores Kamille Wahlin (Crookston) and Hannah Draxten (Fergus Falls) and freshman Theairra Taylor (St. Paul).
ON THE HORIZON
The Hawkeyes will host South Dakota State Tuesday at 7 p.m.