Women's Hoops Opens Big Ten Play at Indiana

Jan. 1, 2014

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Iowa Game Notes: at Indiana

THE SETTING:
The 22nd-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team (12-2) opens Big Ten play at Indiana (13-0) on Thursday. Tip is set for 6 p.m. (CT) at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.

The Hawkeyes have won 8-of-9 overall. Iowa is one of 14 teams nationally with 12 or more wins, and is tied for the second-highest win total in the country this season.

NONCONFERENCE RECAP:
Iowa’s 12 wins prior to the start of conference play equal the most in a season under head coach Lisa Bluder. Iowa finished 12-1 in its pre-conference slate during the 2010-11 campaign. The Hawkeyes were 11-3 prior to the start of league play last season, and 11-0 in 2004-05.

AUDIO COVERAGE:
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call the action 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, 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:
Fans can watch live on the Big Ten Digital Network (video.BTN.com). 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. Follow @IowaWBB on Twitter for game updates.

IOWA HISTORY:
Iowa has played 1,146 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 704-442 (.613). That includes a 348-178 (.662) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 343-97 (.776) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

IOWA-INDIANA NOTES:
? Thursday’s contest marks the 61st meeting between Iowa and Indiana.
? Iowa leads the all-time series, 45-15.
? The Hawkeyes have won the last seven in the series, including the last three at Indiana.
? Iowa and Indiana last met in Bloomington in 2011-12. The Hawkeyes won, 83-64.

THE LAST MEETING:
Iowa defeated Indiana, 75-70, on Feb. 28, 2013 in its Big Ten home finale last year inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It marked the only meeting between the two league foes last season. On a night when the UI program honored seniors Morgan Johnson, Trisha Nesbitt, and Jaime Printy, a sophomore sharpshooter came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points and help dig the Hawkeyes out of an 18-point hole. Melissa Dixon made 5-of-13 3-point field goals — four coming in the first half — as she all but cemented the Big Ten Conference Sixth Player of the Year Award. Iowa outscored the Hoosiers 22-0 in bench points, and all 22 came from Dixon. Indiana scored 14 of the game’s first 16 points and led by 18 with 6:16 left in the first half. The Hoosiers led 44-34 at halftime. Iowa outscored Indiana in the second half, 41-26.

SCOUTING INDIANA:
? Indiana defeated Xavier on the road on Dec. 29, 62-55, to give IU its best start in program history at 13-0.
? The 13-game winning streak is the longest ever in school history.
? Indiana ended nonconference play without a loss for the fourth time ever.
? Indiana’s 13 nonconference regular season victories are the most ever in program history.
? The Hoosiers at 7-0 at home this season.
? Indiana is coached by Curt Miller. In his first season at the helm of the Indiana program last year, Miller led the Hoosiers to their most wins in three years, nearly doubling the program’s win total from the year prior to his arrival. The Hoosiers finished 11-19 overall, and 2-14 in league play.
? Freshman Larryn Brooks leads the Hoosiers in scoring at 18.7 points per game.

HAWKEYES DOWN NORTH DAKOTA FOR 12TH WIN:
A balanced scoring effort sent the No. 21/25 University of Iowa women’s basketball team to its 12th victory of the season Dec. 28 on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes used a 43-10 run spanning halves to cruise to an 88-62 victory over North Dakota in their nonconference finale.

Junior Samantha Logic led a group of six Hawkeyes in double digits, netting 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting and a 9-of-12 performance from the charity stripe. She also had eight assists and seven rebounds.

Senior Theairra Taylor scored 14 points and had six rebounds, junior Melissa Dixon had 13 points, junior Bethany Doolittle and freshman Ally Disterhoft netted 12 points apiece and freshman Alexa Kastanek added 11 points. Sophomore Kali Peschel had a game-high 10 rebounds.

IN THE RANKINGS:
Iowa is ranked 22nd in The Associated Press Top 25 poll this week, and sits 23rd in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Six Iowa opponents are also ranked in the Associated Press/USA Today polls: Colorado (12/14), Iowa State (14/10), Penn State (15/17), Purdue (17/19), Nebraska (18/15), and Syracuse (20/24), In addition, Dayton and Indiana are receiving votes.

HAWKEYES IN BIG TEN PLAY:
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder, the dean of Big Ten coaches, is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2001, 2008 and 2010). She has guided Iowa to nine upper-division finishes in the Big Ten in 13 seasons. Iowa won a share of the Big Ten regular season championship in 2008 and finished in a three-way tie for second in 2009.

BALANCED ATTACK:
Five Hawkeyes are averaging double figures: Melissa Dixon (15.2), Samantha Logic (14.2), Bethany Doolittle (13.4), Ally Disterhoft (11.9), and Theairra Taylor (10.4). Iowa has had three or more players score in double figures in each of the last 12 contests, including six in the win over North Dakota (Logic 21, Taylor 14, Dixon 13, Doolittle 12, Disterthoft 12, Kastanek 11). The six players in double figures matched a season high (Dayton).

CLIMBING TO THE TOP:
Lisa Bluder needs seven wins to surpass Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer (269) as Iowa’s all-time winningest coach. Bluder — one of 13 active Division I coaches with 600 or more wins — is 263-159 all-time as the Hawkeye head coach.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS:
? Samantha Logic is second in career assists (449). Cara Consuegra (1997-2001) is Iowa’s all-time assists leader (576).
? Melissa Dixon has 156 career 3-pointers, equaling Leah Magner for seventh on Iowa’s all-time list. Kelli Krei is sixth with 162.
? Bethany Doolittle is fifth all-time with 121 career blocks. Toni Foster is fourth with 145.

B1G HONOR ROLL:
? Two Hawkeyes — Samantha Logic and Melissa Dixon — have been named to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll in the last six weeks. Iowa has had a player named to the Honor Roll or be named Player of the Week in five of the last six weeks.
? Logic was named to the Honor Roll on Nov. 25 after averaging 21.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals as Iowa split a pair of road contests at No. 16 Colorado and UNI.
? Dixon was honored Dec. 2 after being named MVP of the Cancun Challenge Mayan Division, where she averaged 22.3 points per game, including a career-high 32 against UNC-Wilmington.
? Dixon was honored again on Dec. 9, after helping Iowa to wins over No. 22 Syracuse and Idaho State last week, averaging 25.5 points per game, while converting 13-of-21 three-point attempts.
? Logic was to the Honor Roll on Dec. 31. She finished with 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals while shooting 60 percent from the floor in a win over North Dakota.
? Logic was named Big Ten Player of Week on Nov. 12 for her efforts in Iowa’s wins against UC Riverside and No. 14 Dayton, and on Dec. 23 following her triple-double against Drake.

DIXON CATCHING FIRE:
? Junior guard Melissa Dixon finished with six 3-point field goals in Iowa’s win over Idaho State on Dec. 7 – one shy of her personal record and the school record (seven – accomplished five times, twice by Dixon).
? After converting seven 3-pointers total during the first six games of the season (7-of-46), Dixon has made 36 over the last eight games (36-of-81).
? Prior to the Cancun Challenge, Dixon was averaging 9.7 points per game. She is now Iowa’s leading scorer, averaging 15.2 points per outing.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES:
Check out the Iowa women’s basketball Facebook page or the University of Iowa Athletics Facebook page (/iowawomenshoops). Fans can also follow @IowaWBB or @TheIowaHawkeyes on Twitter.

UP NEXT:
The Hawkeyes host No. 15 Penn State in their Big Ten home opener on Sunday at 2 p.m. (CT). The contest can be seen live on Mediacom (MC22).