Jan. 2, 2010
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Complete Release in PDF Format
IOWA CITY – THE SETTING
The Iowa Hawkeyes (8-6, 1-2) travel to Minneapolis Sunday to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-5, 1-1). Sunday’s game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.
ON YOUR COMPUTER
Hawkeye fans can follow the game via live stats. The live stats 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 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 1,016 games, since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 618-398 (.608). That includes a 310-152 (.671) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 291-86 (.772) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Iowa leads the all-time series, 41-21. The Hawkeyes have won four of the previous five games, with their only loss during that stretch coming at Minnesota last season. The Hawkeyes won 20-straight games over the Golden Gophers between 1983-94. Iowa is 16-12 in games against the Golden Gophers played in Minneapolis.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are 8-5 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play. In its last game, Minnesota was defeated by Purdue, 51-43 in West Lafayette, IN. The Golden Gophers were led by China Antoine, who scored a career high 17 points, and also tied for the team lead with Kiara Buford with six rebounds. Minnesota suffered from a poor shooting night, finishing the game at .291 from the field, including .250 from distance.
Buford leads the team with 14.1 points per game, while Ashley Ellis-Milan is at 10.8 points per contest. Ellis-Milan is the team’s leading rebounder, at 5.8 boards per contest. As a team, Minnesota is shooting .384 from the field and .333 from three-point range.
MINNESOTA VS. IOWA NOTES
? Minnesota and Iowa share two common non-conference opponents. Both schools played Iowa State and Santa Clara. The Hawkeyes opend the season with a 67-51 win over Santa Clara, and was defeated 85-66 by Iowa State. Minnesota knocked off Santa Clara Santa Clara, 91-51, and lost to Iowa State, 77-60.
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).
LAST MEETING
Iowa defeated Minnesota, 79-64, to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament last season.
The Hawkeyes shot 30-60 from the field, including 6-16 from distance. Wendy Ausdemore poured in a team-high 25 points, while Kachine Alexander added a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
HAWKEYES PICK UP FIRST BIG TEN WIN
Iowa defeated Wisconsin, 61-51, on New Year’s Eve for its first Big Ten win of the season.
The Hawkeyes won the game, despite shooting just 9-21 from the field in the second half. Iowa did not score a field goal from the 14:30 mark to the 0:26 mark in the second period, but still out-scored the Badgers by one point (34-33) in the frame.
Kachine Alexander led Iowa with a double-double, netting 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Alexander scored 10 of her points from the charity stripe in the second half. Kamille Wahlin scored 13 points, while Jaime Printy added 12 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
Four Hawkeyes played 30 or more minutes against Wisconsin, inlcuding Wahlin and Printy (35), Alexander (34) and Kelly Krei (32).
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Junior Kachine Alexander collected her fourth double-double of the season Thursday against Wisconsin. Alexander scored 21 points and recorded 10 rebounds. It was also Alexander’s 13th career double-double.
Alexander had double-doubles in each of Iowa’s first three games, before missing the next seven games with a stress fracture.
STEALING AWAY FROM THE BADGERS
Sophomores Kelly Krei and Kamille Wahlin both set career highs in steals against Wisconsin.
Krei finished with six steals, while Wahlin swiped four. The two combined for 10 of Iowa’s 12 total steals. Krei had all six of her steals in the first half, while three of Wahlin’s four came in the second period.
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 eight contests.
Johnson notched her first career double-double in Iowa’s win over Columba, 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 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 (110, 7.86) and rank second in free throw percentage (.746) and three-point percentage (.367).
Individually, sophomore Kamille Wahlin is leading the conference in three-pointers made (3.0 per game) and minutes played (36.6). She also ranks fifth in scoring (16.4).
Freshman Morgan Johnson is fifth in the Big Ten in blocked shots (2.1 per game) and tied for sixth in rebonding (6.9 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 87 percent of the teams’ points, 62 percent of rebounds, 86 percent of minutes played, 85 percent of assists, 83 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 minute so far.
Three players have played over 30 minutes a game. Kamille Wahlin is playing 36.6 minutes per game, Jaime Printy is playing 32.5 minutes and Kelly Krei is at 31.7.
PLAYING THEM ALL
Despite the injuries, six Hawkeyes have managed to play in all 14 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 14 games, while Krei has started 13. 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).
EXPANDED MEDIA COVERAGE
Iowa fans will have a chance to see 21 of the 29 regular season games, either on television or webstream.
The Hawkeyes will have 13 games televised by either the Big Ten Network, KCRG TV-9, Mediacom or ESPN2. In addition, 12 games will be streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com.
All Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament games will be televised, as well.
HAWK TALK WITH Lisa Bluder
“Hawk Talk With Lisa Bluder” is the weekly radio call-in show of Iowa’s head women’s basketball coach. Hosted by Brent Balbinot, the radio voice of the Hawkeyes, “Hawk Talk With Lisa Bluder” is 60 minutes of discussion about Iowa women’s basketball. All shows begin at 6 p.m. and originate from Bob’s Your Uncle restaurant on North Dodge Street (Highway 1) in Iowa City, and are open to the public. Everyone who attends receives a free game ticket and discounts on “Show Night Specials” on the Bob’s Your Uncle menu.
Dates are listed below.
January 4, 11, 18 and 25, February 1, 8, 15 and 22 and March 1.
ON THE HORIZON
The Hawkeyes travel will take on Michigan in Ann Arbor Jan. 7 at 6 p.m.