Incredible Hawkeye Ride Ends at Stanford

Stats

March 22, 2010

Box Score | Photo Gallery

• ‘Kash’ Alexander: All-America Candidate
• 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

STANFORD, Calif. — It took a wild shootout in northern California to halt a remarkable run by the University of Iowa women’s basketball team Monday in the second round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. No. 2 Stanford scored inside, outside and often during a 96-67 victory in Maples Pavilion.

The Hawkeyes, who received a career-high 27 points from junior guard Kachine Alexander, retire with a record of 20-14.

“Stanford executed its offense extremely well,” UI head coach Lisa Bluder said. “We didn’t do a good job defending them. A lot of that was us, but a lot of that was them as well. When (Stanford guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude) came out and hit those 3-pointers, you could tell that gave them a lot of confidence. You could tell they felt really good out there. I thought our defense could have played a lot better, but again, I think Stanford is a tremendous basketball team that we lost to tonight.”

Alexander made 11 of 16 shots from the floor, including a 2 for 3 effort from 3-point range. She also made 3 of 4 free throws with six rebounds and three assists. The Hawkeyes, who are unstoppable when they have multiple players score in double figures, didn’t have that luxury at Stanford. The second-leading scorer for Iowa was Jaime Printy and Gabby Machado with nine points apiece. Printy made 4 of 8 field goals and Machado was 4 of 6 from the floor.

“Coming into the NCAA tournament, you always want to win, but like coach said, they are a great team,” Alexander said. “We can’t really hang our head too low because we aren’t really graduating anyone. We’re adding people next year. There’s only more to look forward to next year. Now we know what we need to do in the summer to come back for next year.”

For the game, Iowa shot 44.3 percent from the field (27 of 61) with seven 3-pointers in 23 attempts. The Hawkeyes were 6 of 9 from the free throw line. Stanford cooled some over the final 20 minutes and finished with 36 field goals in 64 attempts (56.3) and made 11 of 18 3-pointers. The Cardinal shot 19 free throws, making 13.

Stanford also held an edge in rebounding (41-27) and assists (26-13). The Cardinal improved to 33-1 on the season.

It is the most points allowed by an Iowa team since a 101-94 double-overtime loss at Iowa State on Dec. 3, 2003.

Stanford posted some overwhelming numbers during the first 20 minutes when the Cardinal grabbed a 61-34 halftime lead. Stanford made 22 of 32 field goals (68.8 percent), 9 of 12 3-point field goals (75 percent) and 8 of 10 free throws (80 percent). The Hawkeyes attempted one more field goal in the first half, converting 14 times. Alexander scored 16 first-half points by making 7 of 10 shots from the floor. Still, at the break, Alexander was the third-leading scorer in the game behind Gold-Onwude (20 points) and Nnemkadi Ogwumike (17).

Alexander tied the game, 3-3, with a 3-point field goal on her second shot attempt at the 18:34 mark. A 3-pointer by UI junior Kelly Krei reduced the Stanford lead to 7-6, but then the Cardinal started to heat up. Back-to-back field goals by Alexander kept the Hawkeyes close at 16-14 with 14:44 left in the half.

Then there were a pair of scoring spurts, one favoring Stanford with an answer following from Iowa. The Cardinal went on a 29-4 run from 14:40 to 8:17 before the Hawkeyes mustered a 9-0 run featuring a 3-point field goal by freshman Trisha Nesbitt, two free throws by Morgan Johnson and back-to-back field goals by Alexander.

Alexander and Machado took over in the scoring column late in the game for the Hawkeyes. Alexander netted nine points over the final 10:07 and Machado scored six points.

Iowa finished the season with its third consecutive 20-win season. The Hawkeyes also qualified for three straight NCAA tournaments and won for the first time in the Big Dance since a 69-62 win over Virginia in 2002.