May 19, 2011
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team will host Virginia Tech as part of the fifth annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The game will be held Wednesday, Nov. 30 in Iowa City.
The Hokies will have a new head coach for the 2011-12 season, as Dennis Wolff was hired March 22 to replace Beth Dunkenberger, who resigned at the end of last season. Wolff served as the Director of Men’s Basketball Operations and Assistant to the Head Coach at Virginia Tech during the 2010-11 season. Before arriving at Virginia Tech, Wolff was the head men’s basketball coach at Boston University from 1994-2009, winning three-straight conference titles (2002-04) and was named America East Coach of the Year three times.
Virginia Tech finished in 12th place in the ACC a year ago, collecting an 11-19 overall mark and a 1-13 record in ACC play. The Hokies return three starters, including leading scorer and rebounder Shanel Harrison, who averaged 12.2 points and 5.5 rebounds. Virginia Tech also returns its second and third best scorers in Alyssa Fenyn (9.4 ppg) and Monet Tellier (8.0 ppg).
Iowa and Virginia Tech have met twice, with each team winning a game. The most recent matchup came last year at the Caribbean Challenge in Cancun, Mexico. The Hawkeyes defeated Virginia Tech, 72-43, holding the Hokies to 15 first half points. Iowa’s Jaime Printy led all scorers with 15 points and also added six assists. Kelly Krei had 11 points and Kamille Wahlin chipped in 10. Morgan Johnson had a game-high nine rebounds. Virginia Tech was led by junior Aerial Wilson with 11 points and Porschia Hadley had eight boards.
The first matchup was a 2004 NCAA Tournament first round game held on the campus of Virginia Tech. The Hokies topped Iowa, 89-76.
“The Big Ten/ACC Challenge is a great event for women’s basketball,” Head Coach Lisa Bluder said. “We look forward to taking on a tough opponent from the ACC every season. Next year’s game versus Virginia Tech will be a chance for our fans to see a matchup against a team from one of the best women’s basketball conferences at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.”
Iowa is 0-4 in the Challenge. The Hawkeyes were defeated at home by Georgia Tech (2007) and Boston College (2009) along with road losses at Duke (2008) and North Carolina (2010). Virginia Tech is 1-3 in the Challenge. The Hawkeyes are 10-6 all-time vs. the ACC.
The ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge matches 12 teams from each conference in head-to-head competition. This will be the first year that all 12 ACC teams compete in the Challenge, as the Big Ten added Nebraska as its 12th member.
Last season, Big ten teams combined for a 5-6 mark against its ACC counterparts, marking the closest challenge margin in the event’s four-year history.
The Big Ten and ACC offices determine the 12-game schedule each season, and matchups may repeat from year-to-year in efforts to coordinate similar opponents and reach competitive equality.
The Big Ten and ACC have long been among the most dominant conferences on the women’s basketball scene. For the third time in the last four seasons, the Big Ten sent eight teams to the postseason in 2011, with five teams earning NCAA bids. The ACC was represented by eight overall postseason squads, including six NCAA bids.
Game times and television information will be released at a later date.
Wednesday, Nov. 30
Michigan at Maryland
Florida State at Ohio State
N.C. State at Northwestern
Nebraska at Georgia Tech
Virginia Tech at Iowa
North Carolina at Penn State
Boston College at Wisconsin
Thursday, Dec. 1
Purdue at Duke
Miami at Michigan State
Indiana at Virginia
Minnesota at Wake Forest
Illinois at Clemson