Bluder and Printy Earn Top Big Ten Honors

March 1, 2010

Complete All-Big Ten Awards

IOWA CITY – The 2009-10 all-Big Ten awards were announced Monday, with Head Coach Lisa Bluder, freshman Jaime Printy, junior Kachine Alexander and sophomore Kamille Wahlin taking home honors.

Bluder was named Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media, while Printy was tabbed Big Ten Freshman of the Year by both the league coaches and media. Printy was also a media second team all-Big Ten pick, a third team coaches all-Big Ten selection, and was a unanimous selection on the coaches all-Freshmen team.

Alexander was a first team all-Big Ten pick by the coaches and a second team all-Big Ten honoree by the league media. Alexander was also selected to the coaches’ all-Defensive team. Wahlin was a third team all-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media.

This is the third time Bluder has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year, after winning the award in 2001 and 2008. Bluder turned the Hawkeyes around from a 1-6 start in conference play, to a third place finish at 10-8, despite losing three starters to season ending injuries and fielding the youngest starting lineup in the Big Ten. She helped the Hawkeyes to an upper-division finish in the Big Ten for the seventh time in 10 seasons. Bluder has now coached 24 players to all-Big Ten honors, including nine first team picks, seven second and eight third team selections.

Printy is the fifth player in school history to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, joining Lisa Becker (1984), Franthea Price (1987), Tiffany Gooden (1995) and Megan Skouby (2006). The Marion, IA, native led Big Ten freshmen in scoring (15.8) and free throw percentage (.836) in Big Ten games. For all games, Printy led the entire league in free throw percentage (.873) and ranked second in three-pointers made per game (2.45). She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week four times. She also broke Iowa’s freshmen scoring and three-pointers made records.

Alexander becomes the 18th player in Iowa history to be named first team all-Big Ten. The Minneapolis, MN, native earned the Big Ten rebounding crown, finishing the conference season at 11.1 rebounds per game. She was one of only three players in Big Ten games to average a double-double, scoring 15.5 points along with 11.1 rebounds per game. Alexander also leads the conference in overall rebounding at 11.3 boards per contest. She has 14 double-doubles this season, and 23 for her career.

Alexander is just the second Hawkeye to earn all-Defensive team honors, joining Crystal Smith, who was a member of the first all-Defensive team in 2006.

Wahlin had a breakout sophomore season and led the conference in three-pointers made per conference game (2.59) and (2.68). The native of Crookston, MN, also ranked 15th in scoring and three-point percentage in Big Ten games. Wahlin was clutch in Iowa’s win at Wisconsin, scoring a game-high 20 points, including a three-pointer with 35 seconds left in overtime to seal the victory.