Nov. 4, 2010
- ‘Kash’ Alexander: All-America Candidate
- Women’s Basketball – W.I.N. Video
- Buy Women’s Basketball Tickets
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
IOWA CITY, Iowa – THE SETTING
The University of Iowa women’s basketball team will host Concordia-St. Paul in an exhibition game Sunday at 1 p.m.
Tickets are $5 for adults and free for youth (18 and under) and UI students. Any fan who purchases a ticket for the women’s game is invited to stay for the men’s exhibition game, which tips off 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women’s game.
SEASON TICKETS
Season ticket prices are $70 for adults, $56 for UI faculty and senior-citizens and $15 for youth (18 and under). UI students are admitted free with student I.D.
Single-game tickets are $9 for adults. Youth (18 and under) are admitted free for weekday games and are $5 for weekend games.
ON TELEVISION
Sunday’s exhibition game against Concordia-St. Paul will be televised to a cable audience on Mediacom Connections. Rob Brooks and Mac McCausland will call the action.
ON THE RADIO
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call Sunday afternoon’s exhibition game for the Hawkeye Radio Network. Hawkeye fans can listen to the contest on AM-800 KXIC in Iowa City, AM-600 WMT in Cedar Rapids, AM-1040 in Des Moines or on the Hawkeye All-Access page of hawkeyesports.com. Balbinot is in his seventh season as Iowa’s play-by-play voice, while Till is in her sixth providing analysis.
Hawkeye fans can also follow the game via live stats (Gametracker). The “GT” link can be accessed under the “Calendar” tab on the front page of hawkeyesports.com or on the women’s basketball schedule page.
IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 1,036 games, since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 630-406 (.608). That includes a 318-158 (.668) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 297-87 (.773) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
PROMOTIONS
Iowa’s annual “Buck Night” will be Sunday, Dec. 5 as the Hawkeyes host Kansas State in the first annual Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge. Girl Scout Day will be Saturday, Jan. 8 when Iowa hosts Ohio State. That game will be nationally televised on CBS. The annual “Pink Zone’ game is set for Wednesday, Feb. 16 when the Hawkeyes take on Wisconsin.
Iowa women’s basketball bobbleheads will also be given out at three different games. Fans can pick up a Coach Bluder bobblehead at Iowa’s game against Northern Iowa Wednesday, Dec. 22. Kachine Alexander bobblehead night is Saturday, Jan. 8 against Ohio State and Kelsey Cermak bobblehead night is Thursday, Feb. 10 against Minnesota.
SCOUTING CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
The Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears are a Division II opponent out of the NSIC Conference. The Golden Bears were recently picked to finish third in the NSIC Conference, after winning the league title last season and compiling a 26-6 overall record. Concordia-St. Paul has won conference championships in three of the last four years and has made seven NCAA Tournament appeareances since the 2002-03 season.
The Golden Bears are sitting just outside the preseason ESPN/USA Today Division II Top 25. CU is ranked 27th in the preseason poll after finishing last season ranked 19th.
CU returns three of its top four scorers from a year ago, including All-American honorable mention honoree Jineen Williams. She started every game for the Golden Bears last season, averaging 13.3 points, 5.9 rebound and three assists per game.
Paul Fessler is in his 11th season at CU and has an impressive 199-78 record at the school. His career record stands at 300-96. Fessler is the ninth winningest active coach in NCAA Division II.
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL VS. IOWA NOTES
? CU Head Coach Paul Fessler is a native of Calumet, IA and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa. He began coaching at the middle school and high school level in Cedar Falls.
? Golden Bear assistant coaches Drew and Angie Woods both served as current Iowa senior Kachine Alexander’s AAU coaches.
? CU senior Zoraa Quoie played one season (2006-07) at Iowa before transfering to Concordia-St. Paul.
? Iowa has four players from the state of Minnesota (Wahlin – Crookston, Alexander – Minneapolis, Taylor – St. Paul, Draxten – Fergus Falls). Concordia-St. Paul has 10 players from its home state, including two from Minneapolis. Alexander attended Benilde-St. Margarets High School while CU’s Maurika Hickman went to North High School and Carissa Wolyniec attended DeLaSalle High School.
IOWA IN THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes are ranked in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today preseason Top 25. Iowa is No. 22 in the AP poll and No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
This season marks the first time since the 2000-01 season that Iowa has appeared in the AP Top 25 and the first time since 2004-05 the Hawkeyes are in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
Four Iowa opponents are also ranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls: Ohio State (7/7), North Carolina (15/18), Iowa State (20/17) and Michigan State (25/24).
In addition, Iowa was tabbed 19th in Lindy’s Sports preseason rankings.
HAWKEYES PICKED TO FINISH SECOND
The Iowa women’s basketball team was picked to finish second by both the league coaches and media. Ohio State was chosen as the favorite in both polls.
Senior Kachine Alexander was a preseason all-Big Ten selection by both the league media and coaches. She was a unanimous selection by the coaches.
ALEXANDER ON WATCH LISTS
Senior Kachine Alexander has been named to both the “Wade Watch” and Wooden Award Watch Lists. The “Wade Watch” List is made up of the top 25 preseason women’s basketball players while the Wooden Award includes 30 student-athletes.
The Wade Trophy and Wooden Award are considered the two most prestigious awards in NCAA women’s college basketball.
Alexander is one of 30 Division I women’s basketball players nationally to be selected as a candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible, the candidates must show excellence in four categories: community, classroom, character and competition.
KASH IN THE BANK
? As a 5-9 guard, junior Kachine Alexander ranked second in the Big Ten and 23rd nationally with 10.4 rebounds per game last season.
? Alexander claimed the Big Ten rebounding title, averaging 11.1 boards per game in league games.
? Alexander was the top rebounding guard in the country under 5-10, and was one of only two guards in the entire country to average a double-double (16 points, 10.4 rebounds per game). She was also one of only three Big Ten players to average a double-double, with the other two being post players.
? Alexander had 15 double-doubles this season and has 24 in her career, which ties Amy Herrig for fourth most in school history.
? Alexander scored double figures in 22 of 27 games played, including eight 20-plus point performances. She had 10 or more rebounds in 17 of those games, with an impressive 10 games with 12 or more boards.
? Alexander averaged more rebounds than nine of the 10 players selected to the Division I State Farm Coaches’ all-America Team. She averaged the same amount of rebounds (10.4) as Nebraska’s Kelsey Griffin.
? Alexander had more double-doubles than seven all-Americans, despite playing between 12 and 14 fewer games than most of the honorees.
EVERYBODY BACK
Iowa returns all but one player who logged significant minutes from last year’s team that finished in a tie for third place in the Big Ten, earned a berth in the Big Ten Tournament championship game and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after knocking off Rutgers in the first round (Gabby Machado – transfer).
SUCCESS UNDER BLUDER
Last year marked the seventh time in 10 seasons under Head Coach Lisa Bluder that Iowa has been selected for the NCAA Tournament, including each of the last three seasons. The Hawkeyes have participated in postseason play in all but one season under Bluder (two WNIT appearances).
In addition, Iowa finished with a winning record for the ninth time in 10 seasons under Bluder. Iowa’s third place finish in the Big Ten is also the seventh time under Bluder the Hawkeyes recorded an upper-division finish in the conference.
Iowa also tallied its fifth 20-win season under Bluder, including each of the last three seasons.
AWARD WINNERS RETURNING
Several Hawkeyes earned numerous awards during the 2009-10 season.
? Head Coach Lisa Bluder was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the third time in 10 seasons at Iowa.
? Kachine Alexander was named honorable mention All-America by the Associated Press and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Alexander was also selected All-Region by the WBCA. She also earned All-America honors by the National Strength and Conditioning Assocation (NSCA). Alexander was named first team all-Big Ten by the coaches, second team all-Big Ten by the media and was one of five players named to the Big Ten all-Defensive Team. She was also selected to the Big Ten Tournament all-tournament team, named the MVP of the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge and was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Week.
? Jaime Printy was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was a unanimous pick for the Big Ten all-Freshmen team. Printy also earned second team all-conference honors from the media and third team all-league honors by the coaches. Printy was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week four times. She was named second team Freshman all-American by Full Court Press.
? Kamille Wahlin was a third team all-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media. She was also named to the Big Ten Tournament, KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge and Nugget Classic all-tournament teams.
? Kelly Krei was named to the Big Ten Tournament all-tournament team.
? Morgan Johnson earned a Big Ten Freshman of the Week award.
LEADING THE LEAGUE
Several Hawkeyes led the Big Ten in different statistical categories (both overall and league games only) last season.
? Junior Kachine Alexander claimed the Big Ten rebounding crown, averaging 11.1 boards per contest in league games. She also finished first in defensive rebounds (8.12 per game), in Big Ten games only. Alexander led the entire conference in offensive rebounds for all games (3.11).
? Sophomore Kamille Wahlin led the conference in three-pointers made per game for overall games (2.55) and league games only (2.59).
? Freshman Morgan Johnson led the Big Ten in field goal percentage, in conference games (.508).
? As a team, the Hawkeyes led the conference in free throw percentage (.771) and three-pointers made per game (7.91). In Big Ten games only, Iowa led the league in three-pointers made per game (7.72).
INJURY UPDATE
Iowa sophomores Theairra Taylor and Trisha Nesbitt are both sidelined with injuries.
Taylor suffered her third ACL tear in the last 20 months during preseason practice and will miss the entire season.
Nesbitt partially ruptured the plantar fascia in her right foot and will be out indefinitely. A timetable for Nesbitt’s return has not been established.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF FREE THROWS
Iowa, under Head Coach Lisa Bluder, is proving to be one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country.
The Hawkeyes have ranked in the top 10 in the nation three of the past four seasons. Iowa finished the 2005-06 season ranked 10th (.760), ranked fifth (.788) in 2006-07 and also ranked fifth (.792) last season.
The 2009-10 campaign was no different. Iowa ranked sixth in free throw percentage across the NCAA (.771).
WELCOME ABOARD
Iowa has two new faces on its roster this year in Jade Rogers and Kalli Hansen.
Rogers is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and prepped at Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School. She was a four-time all-state selection, including first team honors as a sophomore, junior and senior. She was also a four-time first team all-metro, all-district and all-conference pick. Rogers was a two-time conference Player of the Year and was also the metro Player of the Year as a senior.
Hansen is from Olin, Iowa and spent the last two years at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. She helped lead Kirkwood to back-to-back NJCAA national championships. Kirkwood compiled an impressive 75-2 record during her two seasons. She was a first team All-American and all-region selection while at Kirkwood.
TOUGH SCHEDULE IN 10-11
Iowa’s schedule features 15 opponents who participated in postseason play last year (nine NCAA teams, five WNIT teams and one WBI team). The Hawkeyes will take on six 2010 NCAA Tournament teams before conference play.
Seven of Iowa’s 12 non-conference games will be on the road, including two neutral site games at the Islander Tip-Off Tournament (Corpus Christi, TX) and the Caribbean Challenge (Cancun, Mexico). The Hawkeyes will also face South Dakota State, North Carolina and Drake on the road.
HAWKEYE CHALLENGE GAME TIMES STILL TBA
Game times for the Saturday matchups at the annual KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge are still listed as TBA. Start times for the women’s basketball games Saturday will be based on kickoff of the Ohio State vs. Iowa football game at Kinnick Stadium that same day.
Start times for both Saturday and Sunday’s women’s basketball games will be announced once the footbal start time is set.
PLENTY OF NATIONAL EXPOSURE
The Hawkeyes will have 23 of their 30 games this season appear on either CBS, ESPN2, Big Ten Network, Mediacom or BigTenNetwork.com.
The Hawkeyes will appear seven times in HD on the Big Ten Network, starting Jan. 2 at home vs. Michigan. Other BTN telecasts include Jan. 13 at Michigan State (5:30 p.m.), Jan. 16 at home versus Indiana (1 p.m.), Feb. 3 at Purdue (5:30 p.m.), Feb. 10 at home versus Minnesota (8 p.m.), Feb. 24 at home versus Illinois (7:30 p.m.) and Feb. 27 at Indiana (1 p.m.). In addition, the entire 2011 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
Iowa will face Ohio State twice on national television. The first matchup is scheduled for Jan. 8 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and will be aired live on CBS (3 p.m.). The rematch is slated for Jan. 24 in Columbus and will be televised on ESPN2 (6 p.m.).
Mediacom will televise four Iowa home games, including Nov. 7 vs. Concordia-St. Paul (1 p.m.), Nov. 16 vs. Bradley ( 5 p.m.), Dec. 9 vs. Iowa State (7 p.m.) and Dec. 22 vs. Northern Iowa (7 p.m.).
The Hawkeyes are scheduled to have 10 games webcast on BigTenNetwork.com. A complete list of those games can be found by clicking on the schedule link above. Fans can log on to BigTenNetwork.com and click on the “Live Streams” tab to get more information on costs and package options.
Iowa will have 15 of its 16-game Big Ten Conference slate air on CBS, ESPN2, Big Ten Network or BigTenNetwork.com.