Women's Hoops Set to Host Hawkeye Challenge

Nov. 7, 2013

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Hawkeye Challenge Notes

Hawkeye Challenge Central

THE SETTING:
The University of Iowa women’s basketball team opens the 2013-14 season this weekend, hosting the Hawkeye Challenge on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa faces UC Riverside on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT), before hosting No. 14 Dayton on Sunday at 1 p.m. UC Riverside and Dayton will meet Saturday at 2 p.m. Both Iowa contests are a part of women’s/men’s doubleheaders.

Tickets are $10 for adults. Youth (18 and under) and UI students are admitted free. Tickets can be purchased online at hawkeyesports.com, over the phone at 1-800 IA-HAWKS, and at the UI Athletics Ticket Office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

PROMOTIONS:
Free posters, schedule cards, magnets, schedule key tags, basketball key chains will be available while supplies last. Women’s basketball season ticket holders can also pick up their “Bluder’s Bunch” t-shirt (must have t-shirt ticket from season tickets). Sunday is Veterans Appreciation Day. Mini United States flags will be provided for the first 1,000 fans, and U.S. Veterans can purchase tickets for $5 by contacting the UI Athletics Ticket Office or by presenting an ID at the ticket windows on the day of the game.

AUDIO COVERAGE:
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call the action for the Hawkeye Radio Network. Hawkeye fans can listen to the contests on AM-800 KXIC in Iowa City, AM-1360 KMJM in Cedar Rapids, AM-1040 WHO in Des Moines or on the Hawkeye All-Access page of hawkeyesports.com. Balbinot is in his 10th season as Iowa’s play-by-play voice, while Till is in her ninth providing analysis.

FOLLOW THE ACTION:
Hawkeye fans can also follow the action 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. Fans can watch live on the Big Ten Digital Network.

SEASON TICKETS:
Season tickets are on sale for the 2013-14 Iowa women’s basketball season. General public season tickets are $85. UI faculty/staff can purchase tickets for $68. Seniors (50 and older) are also $68, while youth season tickets (18 or younger) are $20. UI students are admitted free to women’s basketball games.

IOWA HISTORY:
Iowa has played 1,132 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 692-440 (.611). That includes a 348-178 (.662) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 335-97 (.775) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

HAWKEYES IN SEASON OPENERS:
Iowa is a perfect 12-0 in season openers under Head Coach Lisa Bluder. Friday will mark the 11th time in Bluder’s 14 years that the Hawkeyes will open the season at home.

IOWA IN THE RANKINGS:
The Hawkeyes are receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Seven Iowa opponents are also ranked in the Associated Press/USA Today polls: Nebraska (17/12), Penn State (13/15), Dayton (14/16), Michigan State (20/18), Colorado (19/19), Iowa State (23/20), and Purdue (18/23). In addition, Syracuse and Minnesota are receiving votes.

SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE:
UC Riverside downed Cal Baptist, 91-56, in an exhibition on Nov. 2. Six players finished in double-digit scoring, as the team shot 48.5 percent from the field. Brittany Crain paced the Highlanders with 16 points. Crain, the 2012-13 Big West Freshman of the Year, was selected to the 2013-14 Big West Preseason All-Conference Team. Last season, she averaged 14.3 points and 5.6 rebounds. The Highlanders finished 11-18 overall last season, with a 4-14 conference mark. UC Riverside is coached by John Margaritis. He has been at the helm of the program since 2004, coaching the Highlanders to three NCAA Tournaments and two WNIT appearances. Margaritis was the 2007 Big West Coach of the Year.

SCOUTING DAYTON:
The 14th-ranked Flyers were ranked No. 18 at the end of the 2012-13 season, finishing with a 28-3 mark overall. Dayton averaged 75.9 ppg, which was first in the Atlantic 10 and sixth in the NCAA. The defending A-10 regular season champions were selected to finish first in the 2013-14 A-10 conference preseason poll. The Flyers are coached by Jim Jabir — a two-time A-10 Coach of the Year — who is the program’s all-time wins leader. Dayton has made four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Dayton defeated the University of Indianapolis, 84-58, in an exhibition on Nov. 1 at UD Arena. Sophomore Amber Deane posted a double-double and finished with team-highs in scoring (19) and rebounding (13). Five players scored in double digits.

HAWKEYES TOP CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL IN EXHIBITION:
The Hawkeyes defeated Concordia-St. Paul, 92-68, last Sunday in an exhibition, making 36-of-63 (57.1%) from the field with 26 assists. Nine of 11 Hawkeyes who saw playing time compiled assists, led by senior Theairra Taylor with six and junior Samantha Logic with five. Iowa had three players score in double figures, led by junior center Bethany Doolittle with 20 points. She made 10-of-16 field goals with five rebounds. Junior guard Melissa Dixon added 18 points by making 6-of-8 field goals — four of those coming from 3-point range. Thirty-three seconds into the game, Dixon had two 3-point baskets and the Golden Bears were forced to call a timeout, already in a 6-0 hole. The Hawkeyes limited the Golden Bears to a 38.9 shooting percentage from the field.

IOWA IN THE HAWKEYE CHALLENGE:
Iowa has won 20 of the previous 26 tournaments it has hosted, and holds an impressive 45-7 record in Hawkeye Challenge contests. No Hawkeye Challenge was held in 2012, as Iowa competed in the preseason WNIT.

CLIMBING TO THE TOP:
Lisa Bluder needs 19 wins to surpass Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer (269 wins) as Iowa’s all-time winningest coach. Bluder is 251-157 all-time as the Hawkeye head coach.

LOGIC NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN:
Junior Samantha Logic was named Preseason All-Big Ten by league media, the conference office announced Thursday. Logic, a junior from Racine, Wis., started all 34 games last season and was a third team All-Big Ten selection. The 5-foot-9 guard set school records for single-season assists (217) and single-game assists (14 vs. Texas, Dec. 28). Logic tallied five double-doubles, and led the Big Ten and ranked 15th in the NCAA in assists per game (6.4).

NCAA STREAK LEADS THE BIG TEN:
Iowa is the only Big Ten team, and one of only 13 teams in the country, to have appeared in the last six NCAA Tournaments.

IOWA SELECTED TO HOST NCAA 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS:
The University of Iowa and Carver-Hawkeye Arena have been selected by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee to serve as one of 16 hosts for the first and second rounds of the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. Iowa is 1-of-8 schools chosen to host first/second round games for the second-straight year. The 2014 NCAA Championship will mark the 13th time the University of Iowa has served as a host. Iowa hosted its first NCAA action in 1986 when it was one of four regional final sites. Carver-Hawkeye Arena also hosted from 1986-90, 1992-94, 1996-98 and in 2009 and 2013. Carver-Hawkeye Arena has hosted the regional finals four times and first and/or second round games 11 times.

Iowa hosted first and second round games in 2009. Despite having late afternoon and evening games on a Sunday in March of 2009, Iowa’s site recorded the fourth-highest first round attendance (5,615). In 2013, the first round of the Iowa City Regional drew 6,836 fans, which was the third-best attended site among the 16 host sites. In addition, Iowa City had the sixth-best figure for second round games (4,942) and the fifth-highest total attendance (11,778).

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS:
? Samantha Logic is tied for 10th in career assists (353). She needs five more assists to move past Nadine Domond for ninth place.
? Melissa Dixon ranks 12th in career 3-pointers (113). She needs four more 3-pointers to move past Crystal Smith for 11th place.

RETURNING ALL-BIG TEN HONOREES:
Two Hawkeyes that earned Big Ten honors return in 2013-14:
? Sophomore Melissa Dixon was named Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year. She is the second Hawkeye in school history to earn the award (Megan Skouby, 2008).
? Sophomore Samantha Logic was a third team All-Big Ten selection by the media and an honorable mention pick by the coaches. She was a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2012.

BLUDER GETS WIN NO. 600:
Head coach Lisa Bluder became the 42nd coach in NCAA women’s basketball history (all divisions) and only the 25th Division I head coach (minimum 10 years at a DI school) to collect 600 wins Jan. 20 vs. Purdue. Bluder is one of 13 active Division I coaches with 600 or more wins.

UP NEXT:
The Hawkeyes return to action Nov. 13, hosting Arkansas-Pine Bluff inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT). The contest can be seen live on the Big Ten Digital Network.