Nov. 8, 2011
- IowaWomensBasketball.com
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
THE SETTING
The University of Iowa women’s basketball team opens the 2011-12 season Saturday against Harvard in the annual Hawkeye Challenge. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Admission for Saturday’s game is free to the general public. Season ticket holders can use Saturday’s ticket for free admission for a friend to any other home game on the 2011-12 schedule.
AUDIO COVERAGE
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call Saturday’s 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 WHO in Des Moines or on the Hawkeye All-Access page of hawkeyesports.com. Balbinot is in his eighth season as Iowa’s play-by-play voice, while Till is in her seventh providing analysis.
ON YOUR COMPUTER
Saturday’s contest vs. Harvard will be streamed live on hawkeyesports.com via the BTN Digital Network. Hawkeye All-Access subscribers can watch live video streams of UI events on the BTN Digital Network at no extra charge.
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 1,067 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 652-415 (.611). That includes a 329-165 (.666) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 309-89 (.776) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
SCOUTING HARVARD
The Harvard Crimson return 10 letterwinners, including three All-Ivy League icks, from last year’s team that finished 18-10 overall and placed second in the Ivy League.
Harvard was picked to finish second behind Princeton in the Ivy League this season.
Brogan Berry led the team in scoring last season at 13.9 points per game. Victoria Lippert was next at 13.5 points per game, while Christine Clark was fourth at 12.1 points per game and second in rebounding at 4.7 boards per contest.
SCOUTING BUTLER
The Butler Bulldogs are coming off four-straight 20 win seasons and three-straight WNIT appearances. Butler returns seven letterwinners from a 20-14 team a year ago.
Butler lost its top three scorers from last year. The team’s top returning scorer, Terra Burns, averaged 8.5 points per game. Burns only played in six games before suffering a season-ending injury.
The Bulldogs defeated St. Francis, 76-59, in an exhibition last Sunday. Sophomore Sarah Hamm scored 22 points in the win.
SCOUTING UNLV
The UNLV Rebels were picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West Conference and Jamie Smith was named a preseason All-Mountain West selection.
UNLV returns all five starters from last year’s team that went 11-20 overall and 4-12 in league play.
Kelli Thompson led the team in scoring a year ago with 14.1 points per game. Next was Lenita Sanford at eight points per contest, followed by Smith at 7.6 per game.
UNLV defeated Notre Dame de Namur, 74-57, in an exhibition Monday night. Thompson and Markiell Styles had 13 points. Four players scored double figures.
HAWKEYES IN SEASON OPENERS
Iowa is a perfect 11-0 in season openers under Head Coach Lisa Bluder. Saturday will mark the ninth time in Bluder’s 12 years that the Hawkeyes will open the season at home. Saturday will be fifth time since 2000, and the first since 2009, that the Hawkeye Challenge will serve as Iowa’s season opener.
HAWKEYE CHALLENGE NOTE
Iowa has won 20 of the previous 25 tournaments it has hosted, and holds an impressive 44-6 record in Hawkeye Challenge contests.
Tournament records for the Hawkeye Challenge can be found in the back of the game notes pack.
IOWA IN THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes are receiving votes in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today preseason Top 25.
Three Iowa opponents are also ranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls: Penn State (12/14), Purdue (17/21) and St. John’s (25/RV). Iowa could potentially face defending NCAA champion Texas A&M in the Junkanoo Jam over Thanksgiving. The Aggies are ranked sixth in both polls.
In addition, Ohio State, MIchigan State, Iowa State and Kansas State are receiving votes.
LAST YEAR IN THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes spent 14 weeks ranked in the Associated Press poll and 13 weeks in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll last season. The last time Iowa appeared in either poll for 13 or more weeks was 1995-96 (18 weeks in both polls). Iowa finished the season ranked No. 25 in the AP poll and receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll.
Iowa’s No. 14 ranking in the Associated Press poll was the highest ranking for a Hawkeye team under Head Coach Lisa Bluder and the highest since Nov. 17, 1997 (11th). Bluder led Iowa to a No. 16 ranking in the AP poll in 2001.
The No. 13 ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll ranking was also the highest under Bluder (previous high was No. 17 in 2005). The No. 13 ranking was the highest Iowa has been ranked in the coaches poll since a No. 12 preseason ranking in 1997.
HAWKEYES RECORD WIN OVER WINONA STATE IN EXHIBITION
Iowa defeated Winona State, 65-51, Sunday in an exhibition at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Hawkeyes struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just .258 (8-31), including .143 (2-14) from the field. Iowa came out of the locker room firing in the final 20 minutes to run away with the game, recording a .559 (19-34) shooting percentage in the second half.
Freshman Samantha Logic led the team in points (16), assists (6), steals (6) and tied for the team lead in rebounds (4). Senior Kamille Wahlin had 10 points, along with three assists and zero turnovers. Junior Morgan Johnson also added 10 points.
HAWKEYES PICKED TO FINISH THIRD
The Iowa women’s basketball team was picked to finish third by both the league coaches and media. Penn State was chosen as the favorite in both polls.
Junior Jaime Printy was a preseason all-Big Ten selection by both the league media and coaches.
PRINTY NAMED TO WATCH LISTS
Junior Jaime Printy 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.
PRINTY NOTES FROM LAST SEASON
? Became the youngest player in school history to earn All-America honors, taking home Associated Press honorable mention accolades as a sophomore. She is the only returning All-American in the Big Ten this season.
? Became the first player in school history to reach the 1,000 career point milestone as a sophomore.
? Earned second team All-Big Ten honors by the coaches and was a third team pick by the media.
? One of eight Hawkeyes named Academic All-Big Ten.
? Named Big Ten Player of the Week once.
? Started all 31 games and led the Hawkeyes with 16.8 points per game.
? Tied school record for free throw percentage in a single game (10-10, 1.000 vs. Indiana), three-pointers attempted in a single game (15 vs. Michigan) and three-pointers made in an NCAA Tournament game (5 vs. Gonzaga).
AWARD WINNERS RETURNING
? Jaime Printy was named honorable mention All-America by the Associated Press. She was also a second team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and a third team pick by the media. She was also named Big Ten Player of the Week once.
? Kamille Wahlin was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by the league coaches and media. Wahlin was named a National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American. She also earned all-tournament honors at the Islander Tip-Off Tournament and the Caribbean Challenge.
? Morgan Johnson was named the KCRG-TV9 All-Tournament team.
SUCCESS UNDER BLUDER
Last season marked the eighth time in 11 seasons under head coach Lisa Bluder that Iowa has been selected for the NCAA Tournament, including each of the last four 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 10th time in 11 seasons under Bluder. Iowa’s tie for third place in the Big Ten is also the eighth time, under Bluder, the Hawkeyes recorded an upper-division finish in the conference.
Iowa also tallied its sixth 20-win season under Bluder, including each of the last four seasons.
JUMP IN ATTENDANCE LAST SEASON
The University of Iowa had the second-largest increase in attendance from the previous season among Division I women’s basketball programs, according to data released by the NCAA. Lisa Bluder’s squad also finished the 2010-11 season ranked 13th nationally in average attendance, the highest ranking since the 1997-98 season when the UI ranked ninth.
Iowa jumped from an average of 3,488 fans during the 2009-10 season to 5,823 fans for the 2010-11 season, a boost of 2,335 fans. Louisville was the only other school to see a larger increase, adding 4,462 fans.
Iowa’s total attendance figure of 81,528 is the third-highest in school history, while the average of 5,823 is the fourth best in school history.
Iowa’s top crowd of the season came on Jan. 8 vs. Ohio State, when 9,865 fans saw the Hawkeyes knock off the 20th-ranked Buckeyes. That crowd was the 11th-largest single-game crowd in women’s basketball history.
MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS
Four Hawkeyes are currently working their way up the career records lists at Iowa.
? Kamille Wahlin ranks fourth in career three-pointers made (167), 11th in career assists (308) and 25th in career scoring (1,084). She needs 19 more three-pointers to move past Kristi Smith into third place, 20 more assists to move past Lisa Anderson for 10th place and 17 more points to move into 23rd place.
? Morgan Johnson ranks second in career blocks (155) and needs 81 more to move past Tangela Smith for first place.
? Jaime Printy ranks sixth in career three-pointers made (152) and 29th in career scoring (1,021). She needs six more three-pointers to move past Leah Magner for fifth place and five more points to move into 26th place.
? Kelly Krei ranks 11th in career three-pointers made (116) and needs two more to move past Nadine Domond into ninth place.
NEW HAWKEYES RANK HIGH
Iowa’s freshmen class was tabbed as the 11th best recruiting class of 2011 by ESPNHoopGurlz.com. The class includes five players, one at each position.
Included in the class is guard Samantha Logic, who is the third McDonald’s High School All-American to commit to the University of Iowa under Head Coach Lisa Bluder.
TOUGH SCHEDULE IN 11-12
The Hawkeyes are scheduled to face 14 teams who advanced to postseason play a year ago, including 10 NCAA Tournament teams.
Iowa will play six non-conference games on the road, with two of those matchups coming in the Bahamas at the Junkanoo Jam. Iowa will face St. John’s in the first round and could potentially play the defending NCAA national champions in Texas A&M in the final game.
WELCOME TO THE BIG TEN
Nebraska, the newest member of the Big Ten Conference, and Iowa have played 11 times since 1977. Iowa leads the all-time series, 7-4.
The Hawkeyes won the last meeting, 71-67 in Lincoln March 21, 2005 in WNIT second round action.
TWO PLAYERS OUT FOR THE SEASON
Senior Megan Considine and sophomore Jade Rogers will both miss the entire 2011-12 season.
Considine suffered a torn Achillies tendon during preseason workouts. Rogers had surgery to repair an injured knee.
PLENTY OF NATIONAL EXPOSURE
The Hawkeyes will make a total of 25 appearances on ESPN2, BTN, FSN, Mediacom or BTN.com.
Iowa will appear in HD on BTN six times during the conference season, will make one appearance on ESPN2 (at Penn State) and will have one game on FSN Kansas City (at Kansas State).
Six games (four home contests) will be televised on Mediacom, while 13 games are slated for BTN.com webstreams. All four Mediacom games at home will also be streamed via BTN.com.
Iowa’s final two games of the season will either be televised on BTN or streamed at BTN.com. Those decisions will be made at a later date.
PERFECT 3-0 ON FOREIGN TOUR
The Hawkeyes spent 12 days (Aug. 8-20) on a foreign tour, visiting Prague, Bratislava, Vienna and Paris. Iowa played three exhibition games against European club teams and left with a perfect 3-0 mark.
Iowa’s first game came against BC Strakonice in the Czech Republic. The game was tied with 20 seconds left, but Samantha Logic hit a pull-up jumper in the lane with five seconds remaining for the win. Logic finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Next was a game against BKZ Levice in Slovakia. Morgan Johnson led Iowa with 25 points in a 90-53 victory.
The third and final game was played in France against BC Franconville. Six players scored double figures en route to a 109-63 win.
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 and Kamille Wahlin registered 17 assists with just two turnovers.
HAWKEYES LAUNCH NEW FAN WEBSITE
Fans of the University of Iowa women’s basketball team now have another site to follow the Hawkeyes. www.IowaWomensBasketball.com gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the program and will also feature exclusive videos during the season.
IOWA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL AND SOCIAL MEDIA
The Hawkeye women’s basketball has four different social media outlets. Check out the Iowa women’s basketball Facebook page or the University of Iowa Athletics Facebook page. Fans can also follow @TheIowaHawkeyes or @goiowa on Twitter.
UP NEXT
Iowa will take on either Butler or Harvard in the second day of action at the Hawkeye Challenge. Iowa will play at 2:30 p.m. (CT) Sunday.