Dec. 3, 2011
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By ADAM MEIER
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Three days after capturing a victory in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the University of Iowa women’s basketball team traveled to Manhattan, Kan., on a quest for a win in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge.
The Hawkeyes (5-3) put forth a valiant effort at Bramlage Coliseum, but came up just short, falling to Kansas State (4-2) in overtime, 81-78.
Junior Jaime Printy led Iowa in scoring with 21 points while dishing out six assists. Morgan Johnson was once again very assertive, scoring 17 points and grabbing six rebounds. Seniors Kamille Wahlin and Kalli Hansen each scored in double digits. Wahlin had 13 points, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and Hansen provided a huge boost off the bench, scoring a career-high 11 points.
“Kalli played really well for us,” said UI head coach Lisa Bluder. “I liked the way she was rebounding too. She had six rebounds for us. I thought she played some good defense, and it was nice to see her hitting those 3’s.”
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Both teams shot the ball well from the field, particularly in the second half. Iowa shot 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) in the first half but caught fire in the second half, going 14-of-25 (56 percent). For the game, the Hawkeyes connected on 25-of-54 attempt (46.3 percent) from the field, including 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from 3-point distance. Kansas State finished the game shooting 28-of-57 (49.1 percent).
With the game tied 32-32 at the break, the Wildcats stormed out the locker room and grabbed a double-digit lead. Kansas State started the half with an 18-5 run that put Iowa in a 50-37 hole with 14:57 left to play.
“Kansas State came out really aggressive in the beginning of the second half,” Bluder said. “Obviously, we dug ourselves a big hole going 13 down. But there was a lot of time left, and we kept telling that to our players. We just had to start playing defense. They came out and shot lights out. I think they were shooting about 90 percent in the first five minutes.”
The Hawkeyes were quickly able to climb back within single-digits by way of five straight Johnson points and a 3-pointer by Hansen with 12:35 remaining to bring the deficit to 54-47.
Iowa continued to close the gap on Kansas State with a stretch of hot shooting by Printy. Printy capped a run of scoring 11 points in a row for the Hawkeyes with a 3-pointer that brought the scored to 62-58. Wahlin then followed suit with her own long-range basket to cut the Kansas State lead to one with 8:48 to play.
With 5:05 remaining, the Hawkeyes grabbed their first lead of the second half courtesy of two Wahlin free throws. Shortly after, Hansen nailed a clutch 3-pointer in transition to give Iowa a 73-69 lead with 3:45 left in the game.
After the Hawkeyes failed to hold onto their late lead, the squad had a chance for the win with eight seconds to play and the score tied at 74. Printy’s long 3-pointer fell just short, and the game headed to overtime, where the Iowa offense was shut down and the Wildcats scored enough to win.
“This was our second road game,” said Bluder. “Hopefully we’re getting into that routine of how to play on the road; how we have to mentally prepare to handle playing on the road.”
The Hawkeyes travel to Ames to battle in-state foe Iowa State on Wednesday night. Tip-off for the Iowa Corn CyHawk Series match-up is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT), and will be televised live on Mediacom.