Jan. 3, 2010
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by Sean Neugent
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — In a back-and-forth battle, Minnesota forced overtime with Iowa and went on to win in the extra minutes 72-69 on Sunday afternoon inside Williams Arena.
The Hawkeyes(8-7 overall, 1-3 Big 10) shot 21 of 54 (39 percent) from the field, 7 of 21 (33 percent) from three-point range and 20 of 21 (95 percent) from the line. Jamie Printy scorched the Golden Gophers for a game-high 26 points, but ran into foul trouble late in the game to slow her down. Kachine Alexander chipped in 15 points and Kelly Krei added 11 for the Hawkeyes. Alexander led Iowa with 11 rebounds. The Hawkeyes and Gophers (9-5, 2-1) had a tough time controlling the ball as Iowa had 26 miscues to Minnesota’s 23.
“We converted at the free throw line and did a lot of good things on the road in a pretty tough arena,” UI Head Coach Lisa Bluder said. “With a young team we competed the entire way and that is all we can ask.”
Both teams struggle to get on the board in the early minutes as the Gophers took an early 7-4 advantage. The Hawkeyes cut it to 9-8 before Kiara Buford drained a three-pointer from the left wing to give Minnesota a 12-8 lead. Brittany McCoy hit another three-pointer to take a comfortable 17-8 advantage.
Krei trimmed it to five when she hit back-to-back layups. A few possessions later Alexander faked a jumper and drove the lane hitting a layup and was fouled by Buford before she hit the free throw for the three point play. Printy hit two free throws on the next possession to trail 19-17 and she tied the game two possessions later with a short jumper.
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“We scored 42 points on them in the first half and in the second half we only scored 20. I really don’t think they did anything different, they just added more intensity and we became a little more passive when that happened. With a team that is really aggressive you need to attack and try and get to the rim or try to get to the free throw line. I thought we were just a little too passive in the second half.”
Lisa Bluder
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Krei was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Kamille Wahlin rebounded the ball and kicked it out to Printy for a three-pointer and the lead 22-19. After Minnesota knotted the score at 24-24, the Hawkeyes went on fire hitting three three-pointers in a row for a 34-25 advantage and a 14-5 run. Iowa walked into halftime leading 42-36 on the strength of 19 points from Printy.
Unlike the first half, both teams came out scorching in the second half. Printy hit a midrange jumper and assisted Krei from long range for a 49-41 lead with 17:39 remaining.
Minnesota’s Jackie Voigt hit a pair of free throws before Trisha Nesbitt hit Printy for the trifecta. The Gophers came surging back with six straight points to trail Iowa 52-51. With 12:15 remaining Gabby Machado fouled Voigt who hit a jumper and the free throw to take the first lead for Minnesota since the early minutes of the first half 54-52. Wahlin tied it with a mid-range jumper for her first points of the contest.
Printy remained hot after Voigt fouled her and hit both of her free throws to regain the lead for Iowa, but bad news came a few minutes later after she picked up her fourth foul on the game and would have to come out of the game for a few minutes. The Hawkeyes struggled from that point on to shoot in the second half.
“I think they really just intensified their defense,” Bluder said. “We scored 42 points on them in the first half and in the second half we only scored 20. I really don’t think they did anything different, they just added more intensity and we became a little more passive when that happened. With a team that is really aggressive you need to attack and try and get to the rim or try to get to the free throw line. I thought we were just a little too passive in the second half.”
With 2:41 remaining McCoy drilled a midrange jumper to tie the game at 62-62. The Gophers put the ball in Buford’s hands as time was running out and she missed a jumper as Krei pulled down the defensive board with 12-seconds remaining. Wahlin took the shot for Iowa, but could not hit as the game went to overtime.
“It is such a lost opportunity for us,” Bluder said. “I thought our kids played really gutsy. We had the opportunity to win in regulation, but the shot didn’t fall. We didn’t take care of the ball well enough, but Minnesota didn’t either. We had three more turnovers than they did and we had 26 overall which is way too much.” McCoy hit a jumper for the first points of overtime. Alexander answered with a three point play after she was fouled and drained her shot. The Gophers took a 68-65 lead after China Antoine hit a jumper with 1:48 remaining in overtime.
Printy had to force a three-pointer as the shot clock expired and it rimmed in-and-out. The Hawkeyes made a mistake and let 11-seconds run off the clock before they fouled to put Minnesota at the line and Antoine hit one of two free throws for a 69-65 advantage. Wahlin drained a jumper to cut it to two points, but that was as close as the Hawkeyes would get as the Gophers hit their free throws to close out the game.
The Hawkeyes will head to Ann Arbor to take on Big Ten foe Michigan on Thursday with a 6 p.m. tipoff. Iowa lost to the Wolverines earlier this season in a close battle at home 54-51.