Hawkeyes Return Home to Face Minnesota

Feb. 7, 2012

Iowa Game Notes vs. Minnesota

IOWA CITY, Iowa — THE SETTING
The University of Iowa women’s basketball returns to Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the first time since Jan. 28 to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. This is the only regular season meeting between the two teams.

Tickets are $9 for adults. Youth (18 and under) and UI students (with valid student ID) are admitted free.

PROMOTIONS
Thursday is Iowa’s annual WBCA Play4Kay event. Iowa will be wearing pink Nike uniforms and any fan wearing pink will receive $2 off admission. The UI Department of Athletics will also donate $2 from every ticket sold on the day of the game to the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Thursday is also Kelly Krei bobblehead night. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Kelly Krei bobblehead.

AUDIO COVERAGE
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call Thursday’s game for the Hawkeye Radio Network. Hawkeye fans can listen to the contest on AM-800 KXIC in Iowa City, AM-1360 KMJM in Cedar Rapids or on the Hawkeye All-Access page of hawkeyesports.com.

ON YOUR COMPUTER
Thursday’s contest vs. Minnesota 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 1,091 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 666-424 (.610). That includes a 335-170 (.663) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 319-91 (.778) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are 12-13 overall and 4-7 in Big Ten play.

In its last game, Minnesota was defeated at home by Penn State, 68-65. The Golden Gophers led, 32-24 at half, but were outscored by 11 (44-33) in the final 20 minutes. Kiara Buford had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Rachel Banham had 14 points. Kionna Kellogg had 11 points and Brianna Mastey added 11 points off the bench.

Banham leads the team with 15.8 points per game and is shooting 43.8 percent (39-of-89) from 3-point range. Buford is next at 13.8 points per game. Katie Loberg is third in scoring at 10 points per contest and leads the team on the glass with 6.8 boards per contest.

As a team, the Golden Gophers are shooting 39.9 percent (590-of-1478) from the field, including 35 percent (86-of-246) from 3-point distance.

MINNESOTA VS. IOWA NOTES
? Iowa leads the all-time series, 44-22. The Hawkeyes have won seven of the previous nine matchups against the Golden Gophers. The Hawkeyes are 24-7 in games played in Iowa City, and have won the last four meetings at home.

? Iowa’s Theairra Taylor and Minnesota’s Kiara Buford are from the same hometown (St. Paul, Min.) and attended the same high school (St. Paul Central).

? Iowa’s Trisha Nesbitt and Minnesota’s Kionna Kellog are both from Ames, Iowa and were high school teammates at Ames High School.

? Iowa has three players from Minnesota on its roster: Kamille Wahlin (Crookston), Theairra Taylor (St. Paul) and Bethany Doolittle (Oakdale). Student-assistant coach Hannah Draxten is also from Minnesota (Fergus Falls). The Golden Gophers have nine players from Minnesota on their roster.

LAST MEETING
Kachine Alexander’s layup with five seconds remaining gave Iowa a 64-62 win over Minnesota (Feb. 10, 2011), giving the Hawkeyes a regular season sweep over the Golden Gophers.

In a game that saw nine ties and nine lead changes, Jaime Printy buried a long-distance three-pointer with 45 seconds left to give Iowa a 62-59 lead. Minnesota responded with a three-pointer by China Antoine with 24 seconds to go, tying the score at 62. Iowa called a timeout with 10 seconds remaining, and Alexander took the ball off the in-bounds play, drove to the hoop and converted a layup for the two-point advantage. Minnesota hustled past half court, but a Kamille Wahlin steal sealed the Iowa victory.

Alexander led the way with a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Jaime Printy netted 13 points, nine of which came in the final 3:20. Kelly Krei added 12 points.

OPPONENTS IN THE RANKINGS
Five Iowa opponents are ranked in the AP or ESPN/USA Today polls: Ohio State (10/10), Nebraska (13/15), Texas A&M (15/14), Purdue (16/19) and Penn State (18/21).

In addition, Kansas State and St. John’s are receiving votes.

HAWKEYES HANDLE HOOSIERS IN BLOOMINGTON
Iowa used a hot shooting performance in the second half to run past Indiana, 83-64 (Feb. 5).

The Hawkeyes held a four-point lead at the half but shot 70 percent (21-of-30) from the field in the second half, including 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) from 3-point distance. Iowa converted 20 Indiana turnovers into 28 points and netted 13 fastbreak points.

Four Hawkeyes hit double figures, led by Kamille Wahlin’s 22 points. She also added six assists and four rebounds. Melissa Dixon had 19 points, Morgan Johnson had 12 and Kelly Krei had 10.

DIXON SHINES IN FIRST CAREER START
Freshman Melissa Dixon recorded her first career start at Indiana (Feb. 5) in place of the injured Jaime Printy and recorded career-highs in nearly every statistical category.

Dixon finished with career bests in points (19), field goals made (7), 3-pointers made and attempted (5-for-10), steals (3) and minutes played (28).

CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Junior Morgan Johnson needs 19 more points to become the 32nd player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Johnson would be the third active Hawkeye to score 1,000 career points, joining Kamille Wahlin and Jaime Printy.

MORE MILESTONES COMING FOR WAHLIN
Senior Kamille Wahlin needs just four more assists to become the first player in school history to record 400 career assists and 200 made 3-pointers.

With four more assists, Wahlin would become just the fourth player in Iowa history to collect 400 career assists. She is one of only three players to have 200 career 3-pointers, reaching the mark at Penn State this season (Jan. 22).

STAT SHEET STUFFER
Freshman Samantha Logic has contributed in numerous areas during her first season at Iowa.

? Logic has grabbed at least five rebounds in 17 games, including 12 games with at least three offensive rebounds.

? She has dished out at least four assists in 13 games.

? Logic has scored 10 or more points seven times.

IOWA GUARDS LIKE TO SHARE
Iowa is the only team to have three players ranked inside the top 15 in assists in the latest Big Ten statistics.

Jaime Printy (sixth – 4.2), Samantha Logic (eighth – 3.8) and Kamille Wahlin (ninth – 3.7) are all ranked.

In the latest NCAA statistics, Iowa ranks 22nd in assist/turnover ratio (1.) and 23rd in assists per game (16.3).

IOWA RANKS HIGH IN FREE THROW PERCENTAGE
Iowa is shooting 79.8 percent (356-of-446) from the free throw line, which leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth in the NCAA.

The Hawkeyes haven’t missed more than 10 free throws in any game this year and have attempted at least 10 in all but one contest, including 10 games with 20 or more attempts.

HAWKEYES IN CONFERENCE ONLY STATS
? Iowa leads the Big Ten in assists per game (16.1) and assist/turnover ratio (1.0). The Hawkeyes rank second in free throw percentage (.757) and field goal defense (.363).

? Morgan Johnson leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.579) and is second in blocks per game (2.4).

JOHNSON FROM THE FIELD
Junior Morgan Johnson leads the Big Ten and is 14th in the nation with a 54.4 (136-of-250) field goal percentage.

Johnson has atttempted at least 10 shots in 12 of Iowa’s 23 games this season. In nine of those games, Johnson has shot 50 percent or better.

Johnson was 5-of-10 (.500) vs. Harvard, 9-of-13 (.692) at Northern Iowa, 6-of-11 (.545) at Kansas State, 5-10 (.500) at Iowa State, 13-20 (.650) at Bradley, 11-16 (.688) at Ohio State, 5-of-10 (.500) vs. Illinois, 9-of-14 (.643) vs. Nebraska and 12-of-20 (.600) at Wisconsin.

WAHLIN IMPROVING IN BIG TEN PLAY
Iowa senior Kamille Wahlin’s numbers have improved greatly since entering Big Ten play.

Wahlin is averaging 14.8 points per game in 11 conference games, compared to 9.5 points during Iowa’s 13 nonconference contests. She has also earned 29 trips to the free throw line in Big Ten play, converting 27 attempts. In the 13 nonconference games, Wahlin was 16-of-20 from the stripe.

Wahlin has already made 25 triples in Big Ten play after making 19 in the nonconference portion of the schedule.

WAHLIN AND PRINTY ARE BEST ACTIVE 3-POINT SHOOTERS
Iowa senior Kamille Wahlin and junior Jaime Printy rank first and second among active Big Ten players in career 3-pointers made.

Wahlin’s 211 career 3-pointers ranks first, while Printy’s 197 rank second. Michigan’s Carmen Reynolds is third with 189, Purdue’s Brittany Rayburn is fourth with 183, Ohio State’s Samantha Prahalis is fifth with 175 and Penn State’s Maggie Lucas is sixth with 169.

HAWKEYE 3-POINT SHOOTERS IN ELITE COMPANY
Iowa is the only Big Ten school, and just one of three in the nation, to boast three players inside the top 10 in career 3-point shooting in school history.

Kamille Wahlin (third), Jaime Printy (fourth) and Kelly Krei (seventh) all rank inside the top 10 in career 3-pointers made at Iowa. Only Oral Roberts and Miami (Fla.) have three players inside its respective top 10.

PRINTY AND WAHLIN SCORING NOTES
Junior Jaime Printy became just the 13th player in school history to score 1,300 career points in Iowa’s game vs. Nebraska (Jan. 8), and senior Kamille Wahlin joined the 1,300 point club in Iowa’s game at Penn State (Jan. 22).

Printy also became just the 10th player in Iowa history to hit the 1,400 point mark in Iowa’s win over Purdue (Jan. 28).

Printy cracked the top 10 on Iowa’s career scoring list against Wisconsin (Jan. 19). She entered the game needing five points to pass Wendy Ausdemore for 10th place, and she netted 25.

OVERTIME NOTES
Iowa is now 2-1 in overtime this season, defeating Illinois and Wisconsin and falling at Kansas State. The three overtime games in a single season ties the school record (2009-10, 2003-04, 1997-98).

PRINTY SUFFERS TORN ACL
Iowa’s leading scorer, Jaime Printy, suffered a torn ACL in her left knee in Iowa’s win at Wisconsin (Feb. 2). Printy underwent successful surgery on Feb. 7 and will miss the rest of the 2012 season.

Printy has started every game since her freshman season, totaling 88 starts/games played.

WAHLIN DELIVERS IN THE CLUTCH
Iowa’s game against Illinois (Jan. 5) marked the seventh time in Kamille Wahlin’s four-year career that she hit a shot in the final 1:05 of a game or overtime to either tie the game or give the Hawkeyes a lead.

Year – Opponent – Time Remaining – Type of Shot – Result
Sr. – Illinois – 10 seconds – 3-pointer – Tied game
Sr. – UNI – 31 seconds – 3-pointer – 2 pt. lead
Jr. – Michigan St. – 10 seconds – 3-pointer – Tied game
Jr. – Drake – 50 seconds – 2-pointer – 2 pt. lead
So. – Michigan St. – 1:04 – 3-pointer – 3 pt. lead
So. – Wisconsin – 35 seconds in OT – 3-pointer – 5 pt. lead
So. – Columbia – 16 seconds – 3-pointer – 3 pt. lead

REACHING DOUBLE FIGURES
Iowa’s game at Indiana (Feb. 5) marked the 15th time this season that at least three players have scored 10 or more points.

The Hawkeyes had all five starters score double figures against Mississippi Valley State. Four players hit double figures against Northern Iowa, Kansas State, Western Illinois, Northwestern and at Indiana. Three players reached double digits against Harvard, Albany, Ohio State, Illinois, Nebraska, at Purdue, vs. Wisconsin, at Nebraska and at Wisconsin.

LOGIC AND JOHNSON AMONG BEST IN THEIR CLASS
? Morgan Johnson now holds the Iowa record for blocks by a junior with 55. The previous record was 47 by Toni Foster during the 1991-92 season.

? Samantha Logic ranks third in Iowa freshman assists with 90. Jaime Printy holds the record with 99. She is also third in steals with 36 and Johanna Solverson holds the record with 57.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS
Four Hawkeyes are currently working their way up the career records lists at Iowa.

? Kamille Wahlin ranks third in career 3-pointers made (211), fourth in career assists (396) and 11th in career scoring (1,370). She needs 11 more 3-pointers to move past Wendy Ausdemore into second place, 17 more assists to move past Kristi Smith for third place and 40 more points to pass Jaime Printy for 10th place.

? Morgan Johnson ranks second in career blocks (210), 15th in career rebounds (587) and 32nd in career scoring (981). She needs 26 more blocks to move past Tangela Smith for first place, 28 more rebounds to move past Lynn Kennedy for 14th place and 44 more points to pass Tiffany Gooden for 31st place.

? Jaime Printy ranks fourth in career 3-pointers made (197), 10th in career scoring (1,409) and 12th in career assists (304). She needs 15 more 3-pointers to move past Wahlin for third place, 31 more points to move past Megan Skouby for ninth place and 19 more assists to move past Lisa Anderson for 11th place.

? Kelly Krei ranks seventh in career 3-pointers made (151) and 18th in career rebounds (524). She needs six more 3-pointers to move past Leah Magner into sixth place and 13 more rebounds to pass Kim Howard for 17th place.