Dec. 8, 2010
- ‘Kash’ Alexander: All-America Candidate
- Vote ‘Kash’ For Premier Player Award
- 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
PARDON OUR PROGRESS! As friends of the UI and fans of the Hawkeyes know, the UI Athletics Department is well into a multi-million dollar revitalization of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This important and exciting project has reduced for this season the number of ticket windows that are operational on game nights. Fans attending the home events of the 2010-11 UI men’s basketball, women’s basketball and wrestling teams are invited to avoid game night delays by purchasing their event tickets online or in advance of game day. If your schedule doesn’t allow for an advance purchase, we recommend you consider arriving at the Arena a little earlier than originally planned. Go Hawks!
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Players are taught to put both wins and losses in the rearview mirror. But when an in-state rival puts it to you – like Iowa State did to the Iowa women’s basketball team a season ago – it’s more difficult to remove it from your mind.
Heading into Thursday’s showdown against the Cyclones at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa keeps drifting back to Dec. 10, 2009, when Iowa State ran away from the Hawkeyes in an 85-66 victory at Hilton Coliseum.
“That’s always in our brains from last year, how we went out there and got smoked” said sophomore Jaime Printy, who is Iowa’s leading scorer at 15.6 points per game. “That’s definitely in our minds, but we just have to look at it as another game.”
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“It wasn’t any fun at all,” said Printy, when recalling last year’s loss in Ames. “As a Hawkeye, you always want to beat Iowa State, but then again, we have another chance this year and we’re ready for it.”
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The Cyclones rode a career-night by Kelsey Bolte in pulling out the 19-point victory. The guard made eight three pointers in the contest to help Iowa State win for the fourth time in five meetings. The Hawkeyes will need to keep an eye on Bolte in 2010 as well, as the Ida Grove native is the team’s leading scorer at 17.3 points per contest.
“Kelsey Bolte impresses me watching her on film, as she’s got such a quick three-point shot,” said UI head coach Lisa Bluder. “We’ve got to keep our eyes on her at all times because she is such an integral part of their offense, and is somebody they look to when things are not going well.”
When cuing up a game plan to slow down Bolte, Printy is quick to mention a wild card in her back pocket. “We’ll put Kash on her. Kash is a great defender, so hopefully she can shut her down.”
Printy is referring to senior guard Kachine Alexander, who missed last season’s game due to a stress fracture in her right leg.
“Kachine didn’t have an opportunity to play in her junior year,” said Bluder. “I know she’s excited about this game and having an opportunity to finish her senior year hosting Iowa State in Carver.”
There will be two evenly matched teams playing on the court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, as both teams enter Thursday’s tilt among the top-20 in the national rankings. It will be the first time in 40 all-time meetings that both team’s enter the contest nationally-ranked, which begs the question, is this the biggest Iowa/ISU game thus far?
“I guess on paper it is, but they always are,” said Bluder. “Every year is an important match-up. Every year each team is extremely excited to play it. This year both being ranked makes it extra special.
“I think it is pretty amazing that a state this size, this low in population, can have two schools ranked in the top-20. That’s pretty amazing.”
There’s no question, players, coaches and fans remember the details of certain games more vividly than others. That’s 10-fold when rivalry games are at stake.
“It wasn’t any fun at all,” said Printy, when recalling last year’s loss in Ames. “As a Hawkeye, you always want to beat Iowa State, but then again, we have another chance this year and we’re ready for it.”