Iowa Edges Drake In Des Moines

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Dec. 20, 2010

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DES MOINES, Iowa — It wasn’t easy, but the Iowa women’s basketball team got head coach Lisa Bluder her 200th win in Black and Gold, downing Drake, 75-71, on Monday night at the Knapp Center.

“In the end, they (Drake) got too many offensive rebounds and three point plays out of those rebounds to get them back in the game,” said Bluder, who is just the second Hawkeye coach to reach the 200-win milestone. “I feel very fortunate to have come out with a win in this game.”

After trailing by six points at the break, Iowa fought back to even the game at 46 four minutes into the second half. The Hawkeyes then appeared to take control of the contest with a 15-4 run to take an 11-point advantage with 9:36 remaining. Jaime Printy opened the scoring with a three-pointer before Kachine Alexander netted 10 of the team’s next 12 points to open up a 61-50 advantage.

The Bulldogs, however, wouldn’t go away. Trailing by 10 (66-56) with 8:05 to play, Drake grabbed the momentum behind the play of Rachael Hackbarth and Kristin Turk. Back-to-back three point plays by the duo quickly trimmed the UI lead to 66-62 before a Hackbarth jumper trimmed the lead to 66-64.

After a pair of Morgan Johnson free throws made the score 68-64, Turk answered with a jumper, pulling Drake to within two at 68-66. Alexander followed with a steal and a lay-up to put Iowa up four before Kelly Krei made 1-of-2 free throws to give the Hawkeyes the 71-66 lead with 2:44 left.

Drake kept battling, as Hackbarth knocked down a jumper and she was fouled at the 1:13 mark to cut the margin to three (71-68). After missing the free throw, the Bulldogs’ Angela Christianson corralled the offensive rebound, scored and was fouled before making a free throw to complete the three-point play to even the tally at 71.

“When they got to the 71 tie, Kamille and I got together and we were like “hey, don’t worry about it,” said Alexander, who paced the Hawkeyes with a season-high 26 points. “We’re going to get through this and we just kept going.”

On the ensuing possession, Iowa’s Kamille Wahlin took control, as she drove to the basket, spun to her right and knocked down a jumper in the lane to give the Hawkeyes the 73-71 lead.

“That was a Kamille shot,” said Alexander with a laugh. Wahlin then added. “When I was bringing the ball down, I just tried to read to see if I had a drive and work the ball a little bit to see if I could get a good shot.

“When we get in those situations the main thing is to stay mentally tough, composed and confident and not let something bad not let you move onto the next play. I just saw an open lane, and I felt I could get a spin-around and get my body against her so she couldn’t get a hand on the ball.”

Drake missed a three point attempt on its next possession, sending the game to the free throw line. Printy made 1-of-2 for the Hawkeyes with the miss being her first in 32 chances, but Drake came up empty on its end before Iowa went on to claim the hard fought four point win.

In the first half, the Hawkeyes started the game strong, jumping out to a 16-8 lead behind three pointers from Wahlin (2) and Alexander. Twelve first half Iowa turnovers kept Drake in the game, as the Bulldogs scored 15 points off of the Hawkeye miscues to take a 39-33 lead into the break.

Hackbarth and Turk were lights out for the Bulldogs, accounting for 44 of the team’s 71 points. Hackbarth connected on 12-of-17 attempts for a game-high 27 points, while Turk – the Missouri Valley Conference’s leading scorer – finished with 17 points.

The Hawkeyes (11-1) will close out the nonconference portion of their schedule on Wednesday night when they welcome in-state rival Northern Iowa to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a 7 p.m. tip. The first 3,000 fans in attendance will get a Coach Bluder bobblehead.