Aug. 19, 2011
Iowa vs. BC Franconville Box Score
FRANCONVILLE, France — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team wrapped up its trip to Europe with a 109-63 victory over BC Franconville in France Friday night. Six players scored in double figures and all 11 players that saw action scored.
The Hawkeyes shot an impressive .526 (40-76) from the field, including .484 (15-31) from three-point distance. Iowa tallied 20 offensive rebounds and scored 31 second chance points.
Morgan Johnson led Iowa in scoring for the second-straight game, registering 18 points (7-14 FG’s) along with eight rebounds. Kamille Wahlin scored 16 points (6-7 FG’s, 3-4 3PT FG’s) and had eight assists with zero turnovers. Kelly Krei chipped in 13 points (5-6 FG’s, 3-4 3PT FG’s), Melissa Dixon had 11 points (3-4 3PT FG’s) and Samantha Logic and Kalli Hansen added 10 points.
“We had great balance, both in minutes and scoring,” Head Coach Lisa Bluder said. “Everyone played a similar amount of minutes, but everyone contributed as well. Everyone that saw the court looked to score and made an impact. We were really happy with our team on this trip.”
Logic had her second double-double of the trip, adding 10 rebounds with her 10 points. Virginia Johnson also had 10 boards.
With a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter, Bluder elected to have all five freshmen on the court at the same time. Bluder said it was fun to have her new group play on the court together in an organized game.
“It was fun to have all five freshmen in at the same time,” Bluder said. “Everybody was excited. The coaches and the players on the bench thought it was neat that all five were on the court together. They are the future of the team and they played well. It was really rewarding for them.”
Iowa led for all but 30 seconds in the game and enjoyed large leads for the entire contest.
Wahlin did an exceptional job running the point for Iowa over the three-game stretch, recording 17 assists to just two turnovers. Wahlin said she settled in to the European style early and credits her teammates with getting open.
“I really liked the way our team was able to push the pace in all of our games,” Wahlin said. “European basketball is up-tempo and we dictated the tempo. This was a great chance for us to gel together on the court. We found each other in open spots and shot the ball well.”
Morgan Johnson led the team in scoring during the European tour with 15 points per game on 19-36 (.528) shooting. Jaime Printy averaged 13 points and Kelly Krei had 11.3 points per game. Krei shot 12-20 (.600) from the field and .615 (8-13) from three-point distance. As a team, the Hawkeye averaged 91.3 points per game.
Logic averaged a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds per contest. Logic isn’t one to look at the stat sheet and just enjoyed finishing the trip with a perfect record.
“To leave Europe with a 3-0 record feels great,” Logic said. “Nobody on the team likes to lose, even if these are just exhibitions. Tonight was a lot of fun. Everyone scored and I thought Virginia Johnson had a monster game on the boards.”
One former Hawkeye, Kachine Alexander, may not have played on the trip but deserves an assist for helping keep statistics during all three games. Her elephant-like memory made it possible for Hawkeye fans to keep track of game statistics during the trip.
The Hawkeyes start their trek back to the United States Saturday morning. The team will fly from Paris to Chicago, then bus to Iowa City.
Be sure to check hawkeyesports.com and the Iowa women’s basketball Facebook page next week for a complete wrap-up of the trip. Exclusive photo galleries and stories will be posted once the team returns.