Jan. 31, 2010
Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
- Purchase Iowa Women’s Basketball Tickets
- Take the Hawkeyes With You: Iowa Podcasts
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
By Richie Zawistowski
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa pounded Purdue on Sunday afternoon in women’s basketball inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, thanks to a fantastic start that saw the Hawkeyes sprint out of the gates to a 19-1 lead. Iowa never looked back, and defeated Purdue, 70-50, to win its third straight, after dropping the previous four, including a 81-59 defeat at Purdue back on Jan 17.
“Mentally, we changed our focus after the Purdue loss,” said UI junior Kachine Alexander. “We knew we had to change mentally. We came together as a team and our leaders stepped up. When you get a win under your belt your confidence goes up. Then you get another, and another and it just keeps rolling.”
Iowa is now 11-10 overall, 4-6 in the Big Ten Conference; Purdue is 11-11, 6-5.
Alexander and Morgan Johnson led all scorers with 16 points, and both registered a double-doubles as Johnson snagged a game-high 11 boards, and Alexander hauled in 10. Johnson was on fire, hitting her first seven shots.
“This win feels very good for us,” said UI head coach Lisa Bluder. “To have the opportunity to play Purdue again on national television is good. The first time we played them we did not play well. I loved the balance we had today. We had five players in double figures, two players with double-doubles, and Gabby (Machado) was one rebound shy of a double-double.”
Iowa played a superb game defensively, as it shot 40-percent from the field and 24-percent from deep, yet it held Purdue to just 36-percent. Iowa also dominated the turnover battle, forcing 18 Purdue turnovers, to which the Hawkeyes turned into 17 points.
“I thought we did a great job defensively and on the boards,” said Bluder. “We didn’t shoot the ball all that well today, but I thought we just did a great job defensively and on the boards. I also thought the crowd was a huge factor, they really helped us with this victory.”
Iowa dominated the glass, as the Hawkeyes out-rebounded Purdue 49 to 35, which included 16 second-chance points for the Hawkeyes.
The first half was all Iowa, as the Hawkeyes took a commanding 33-20 lead into the half.
Purdue trimmed the lead to 10 in the second half, and later cut it to single digits, 38-30, with 13:45 left in the contest.
Machado would respond with an elbow jumper to bump the lead back into double digits at 40-30, and then hit a layup under the basket the next time down. Iowa then forced a traveling violation on Purdue’s next possession turning the ball over to Iowa. Machado finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Alexander gave Iowa a more comfortable lead after she got a runner to fall putting Iowa up 45-31 with 10:41 remaining.
Printy drove the baseline strong and finished, drawing a foul in the process. She would convert the and-one opportunity for a 53-37 Iowa lead with 7:20 left on the clock.
Iowa would destroy any and all hopes for a Purdue comeback during the remaining seven minutes of the game, as they pulled away for the 20 point victory.
Iowa will travel to take on Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 4, in Columbus with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
“We’re excited to play Ohio State,” Johnson said. “I think we’re ready to attack them and keep bringing it at them. We’re not scared.”