Dec. 30, 2009
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THE SETTING
The Iowa Hawkeyes (7-6, 0-2) host the Wisconsin Badgers (11-2, 1-1) Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tip-off on New Year’s Eve is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Single-game tickets are $9 for adults. Youth (18 and under) are admitted free.
PROMOTIONS
Thursday is a “Family Four Pack” night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas is just $25. Fans who buy one ticket for Thursday’s game will receive a free ticket when they present their souvenir FedEx Orange Bowl patch.
ON YOUR TELEVISION
Thursday’s game will be televised live to a local audience on KCRG-TV9. John Campbell and Amy Herrig 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.
Fans can also watch a live webcast of the game on bigtennetwork.com for a $2.99 fee.
ON YOUR RADIO
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call Thursday’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 1,015 games, since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 617-398 (.608). That includes a 309-152 (.670) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 290-86 (.771) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Iowa leads the all-time series, 35-20. The Hawkeyes have won the last five games, dating back to the 2006-07 season.
The Hawkeyes have won five of the last six games in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes are 21-8 against the Badgers when the game is played in Iowa City.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
The Wisconsin Badgers are 11-2 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin’s only losses are to Green Bay (60-58) and Ohio State (70-55).
In their last game, the Badgers upset Michigan State, 62-54 Monday night in Madison. Alyssa Karel led the way with 21 points, while Lin Rae D’Alie netted 13 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. D’Alie also had a team-best seven assists and six steals. Wisconsin outscored Michigan State, 24-18 in the paint, and converted 21 points off turnovers.
Karel is the only player averaging double figures, at 14.5 points per game. Tara Steinbauer is the next leading scorer at 8.3 points per contest. Steinbauer also leads the team at 6.6 rebounds per game.
As a team, Wisconsin is shooting .444 from the field, including .337 from distance.
WISCONSIN VS. IOWA NOTES
? Wisconsin Head Coach Lisa Stone graduated from the University of Iowa, and was a member of the Hawkeye women’s basketball team. She also replaced Lisa Bluder as head coach at Drake in 2000, when Bluder moved to Iowa. Stone was also the head coach at Cornell College in Mount Vernon from 1985-88.
? Wisconsin Director of Operations Stephanie Janke was recruited and played two seasons for Lisa Bluder at Drake, before Bluder moved to Iowa.
LAST MEETING
Iowa used an 11-0 run to start the second half, gaining control of the game and cruising to a 72-65 win over Wisconsin.
Five Hawkeyes scored double figures, including Kachine Alexander, Wendy Ausdemore and Megan Skouby, who all netted 15 points. Alexander also grabbed 12 rebounds.
The Hawkeyes finished the game 20-24 from the foul line, and limited Wisconsin to just 5-9 from the charity stripe.
HAWKEYES FALL IN OVERTIME AT PENN STATE
The Hawkeyes dropped a heartbreaking, 77-73 decision in overtime at Penn State Monday night. Iowa now stands at 7-6 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play.
Penn State led by five at haltime, and stretched the advantage to 10 points at the 11:57 mark in the second half. But, the Hawkeyes once again battled back, using a 12-1 run to take a slim 51-50 lead with 7:47 remaining. The teams battled back and forth in the final minutes, and two Nittany Lion free throws with 1:16 remaining tied the score at 62, forcing overtime.
With the score tied at 70 with 1:43 left in overtime, Penn State converted seven-straight free throws to escape with the win.
The Hawkeyes were led by Kamille Wahlin, who scored 27 points and drained a career high seven three pointers. Freshman Jaime Printy added 16 points and five rebounds, while Kachine Alexander scored 11 points and eight rebounds.
WAHLIN PUTTING UP THE POINTS
Sophomore Kamille Wahlin scored 20 points or more for the fourth time this season Monday night at Penn State. She led the Hawkeyes with 27 points and seven three pointers in the close overtime loss.
Wahlin netted a career high 33 points at Northern Iowa (Nov. 22). She scored 20 points the following game against William & Mary (Nov. 24) and 23 against Boston College (Dec. 2).
ALEXANDER BACK IN STARTING FIVE
Junior Kachine Alexander was back in the starting lineup Dec. 28 at Penn State, after coming off the bench the previous two contests.
Alexander started the first three games of the season before suffering a stress fracture in her right leg. She missed Iowa’s next seven games, before returning to the lineup Dec. 20 against Drake. Alexander played 15 minutes against the Bulldogs and 25 minutes against South Dakota State Dec. 22, before starting and playing 35 minutes at Penn State.
THREE HAWKEYES OUT FOR SEASON
Senior JoAnn Hamlin, sophomore Hannah Draxten and freshman Theairra Taylor will all miss the season with injuries.
Hamlin has missed the entire season after having a blood clot removed in her right leg. Taylor suffered a torn ACL in Iowa’s win over South Dakota State. Draxten has played four games this season, despite suffering from a herniated disc. It was announced after Iowa’s loss at Penn State that Draxten will be forced to miss the rest of the season due to the back injury.
JOHNSON IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Freshman Morgan Johnson has scored in double figures in six of Iowa’s last seven contests.
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.
In Iowa’ most recent games, Johnson was the teams’ second-leading scorer with 16 points, and also chipped in five rebounds and four blocks against Drake. She netted 11 points, along with nine rebounds in Iowa’s win over South Dakota State.
OH, SO CLOSE
Four of Iowa’s six 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.
DRAINING FROM DISTANCE AND THE LINE
The Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten in three-pointers made (104, 8.0) and rank second in free throw percentage (.768) and three-point percentage (.369).
Individually, sophomore Kamille Wahlin is leading the conference in three-pointers made (3.0 per game) and minutes played (36.7). She also ranks fifth in scoring (16.7).
Freshman Morgan Johnson is fifth in the Big Ten in blocked shots (2.1 per game).
WAHLIN STEPPING UP
Sophomore Kamille Wahlin filled Iowa’s scoring role when Kachine Alexander, the team’s leading scorer, went down with an injury.
Wahlin averaged 17.7 points (.455 FG%, .420 3PT%, .917 FT%) in the seven games without Alexander. She also played an average of 37.6 minutes in those seven games.
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, 86 percent of minutes played, 85 percent of assists, 84 percent of steals and 91 percent of blocks.
LOGGING MAJOR MINUTES
Due to injuries, Iowa’s roster has been forced to play a large amount of minutes so far.
Three players have played over 30 minutes a game. Kamille Wahlin is playing 36.7 minutes per game, Jaime Printy is playing 32.3 minutes and Kelly Krei is at 31.7.
PLAYING THEM ALL
Despite the injuries, six Hawkeyes have managed to play in all 13 games this season.
Kamille Wahlin, Jaime Printy, Morgan Johnson, Kelly Krei, Trisha Nesbitt and Kelsey Cermak have seen action in all contests. Wahlin, Printy and Johnson have started all 13 games, while Krei has started 12. Cermak has started two games for the Hawkeyes.
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).
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.
PRINTY PUTS ON A SHOW AGAINST THE JACKS
Freshman Jaime Printy came up big for Iowa in the clutch against South Dakota State Dec. 22.
With the Hawkeyes ahead by one point (67-66) at the 3:34 mark in the second half, Printy ignited a 15-3 run to close the game, scoring the first seven points of the surge, and all nine of her second half points, during the crucial stretch.
Printy drained a long-distance three to put Iowa up four (70-66) at the three-minute mark. On the next two possessions, Printy sliced through the lane with the shot clock winding down, nailing layups to give Iowa a 74-66 advantage. She then scored the final two points of the game on a layup with two seconds remaining for the final count.
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).
ON THE HORIZON
The Hawkeyes travel to Minneapolis Sunday to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.