Women's Basketball / March 20, 2014

Iowa, Marist to Meet in NCAA First Round

March 20, 2014

Iowa Game Notes: NCAA Tournament First Round

THE SETTING:
The 19th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team (26-8, 11-5), a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, will play 11th-seeded Marist (27-6, 18-2) from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference at approximately 7 p.m. (CT) on Sunday inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa received an at-large berth into the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships for the seventh-straight season.

The Iowa City First and Second round site is a part of the Louisville region. No. 3 Louisville will take on No. 14 Idaho in the first game on Sunday inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 4:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPN. The two winners will meet in the Second Round on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. (CT). The UI was one of 16 sites chosen to host First and Second Round Games, and 1-of-8 chosen to host in back-to-back years. Fans can order tickets by calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS, visiting the Carver-Hawkeye Arena ticket office, or by visiting hawkeyesports.com.

WATCH LIVE ON ESPN2:
ESPN2 will televise Sunday’s game between Iowa and Marist. Holly Rowe and Brenda VanLengen will call the action. The duo called the action last season at the Iowa City First and Second Round games.

QUICK HITS:
? Iowa is the only Big Ten team, and one of only 14 teams in the country, to have appeared in the last seven NCAA Tournaments.
? Iowa’s 26 wins mark the highest total under UI head coach Lisa Bluder, and the highest since Iowa finished 27-4 in 1995-96.
Iowa has won 20 or more games in six of the last seven seasons (the Hawkeyes won 19 in 2011-12).
? The Hawkeyes have won six of their last seven games entering the NCAA Tournament.
? The Iowa City First/Second Round site features the most combined wins of any of the 16 sites (108).
? Six of Iowa’s eight losses this season have come against ranked opponents.
? Junior Samantha Logic (unanimous first team), junior Bethany Doolittle (second team, All-Defensive team), and freshman Ally Disterhoft (honorable mention, All-Freshman team) earned All-Big Ten honors. The trio also earned Big Ten All-Tournament honors, leading the Hawkeyes to the title game.
? Junior Samantha Logic is the only player in the nation to average 13+ points (13.4), 6+ rebounds (6.6), and 7+ assists (7.5).
? Logic, the Big Ten leader in assists, has notched three triple-doubles this season, becoming the first Big Ten player to record three triple-doubles in a single season. The point guard is second nationally; Alyssa Thomas of Maryland has four this season.
? Logic is ninth in Big Ten history in career assists (609) and ninth in the NCAA in career assists among active players (trailing eight seniors).
? Freshman Ally Disterhoft has scored in double figures in 13 of her first 15 career starts. Iowa is 12-3 when Disterhoft starts.
? Iowa is the only Big Ten team with five players averaging double figures (Logic, Dixon, Doolittle, Disterhoft, and Taylor).
? Iowa has had three or more players score in double figures in each of the last 33 contests.
? Iowa is averaging 78.6 points and 18.2 assists per contest, leading the Big Ten in both categories. The Hawkeyes are 23rd nationally in scoring offense and ninth in assists per game.

AUDIO COVERAGE:
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call the action for the Hawkeye Radio Network. Hawkeye fans can listen to the contest on the Hawkeye Radio Network (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 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.

NCAA STREAK LEADS THE BIG TEN:
Iowa is the only Big Ten team, and one of only 14 teams in the country, to have appeared in the last seven NCAA Tournaments.

HAWKEYES AT CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA:
Iowa is 13-3 at home this season, and 88-22 in its last 110 games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes are 348-100 (.776) all-time inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and 10-5 in NCAA Tournament games.

MOST WINS SINCE 1995-96:
Iowa’s 26 wins mark the highest total under UI head coach Lisa Bluder, and the highest since Iowa finished 27-4 in 1995-96. Six of Iowa’s eight losses have come against ranked opponents. Iowa defeated Illinois inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 13 (69-55), earning its 20th win of the season and becoming the first Big Ten team to reach the mark. The Hawkeyes have won 20 games or more in a season eight times under Lisa Bluder, including six of the last seven seasons (Iowa finished 19-12 in 2011-12). Dating back to the 1984-85 season, Iowa has reached the 20-win mark 18 times. Iowa won its 20th game this season in its 26th contest, marking the fastest year to 20 wins under Bluder, and fastest since the 1995-96 season. That year, the Hawkeyes won their 20th in their 21st game under head coach Angie Lee. Iowa started 20-1 and finished 27-4 while advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

SCOUTING MARIST:
? Sunday’s First Round game marks the first meeting between Iowa and Marist.
? Marist has now appeared in nine-straight NCAA Tournaments.
? Marist is 27-6 overall, and finished 18-2 in the MAAC.
? Marist is coached by Brian Giorgis. Giorgis, in his 12th season at the helm, is the winningest head coach in program history.
? In its last contest, Marist captured its ninth-straight MAAC championship, and 10th in the past 11 years with a 70-66 victory over Quinnipiac on March 10.
? Marist and Iowa share one common opponent this season, Ohio State. The Red Foxes traveled to Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 23 as part of the Hall of Fame Challenge, dropping a 62-59 decision to the Buckeyes. Iowa went 3-0 this season against Ohio State, claiming both regular season matchups and downing Ohio State, 77-73, in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
? Marist and Iowa both have five players averaging double figures.
? The No. 11 seed is the third-best seed the Red Foxes have received in the past decade. In 2008 Marist was a No. 7 seed and in 2011 the Red Foxes earned a No. 10 seed.
? The Red Foxes have won four first round games in tournament history and five games overall.
? This is the third time and second-straight year Marist has played a team from the Big Ten in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Marist lost to Michigan State last year and defeated Ohio State in 2007.

TOUGH COMPETITION:
The Iowa City First/Second Round site features the most combined wins of any of the 16 sites (108). No. 3 seed Louisville enters the tournament at 30-4 and No. 14 seed Idaho is 25-8. The Hawkeyes, seeded sixth, are 26-8 while 11th-seeded Marist is 27-6.

NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES:
? This marks Iowa’s 23rd trip to the NCAA Tournament, including its seventh trip in a row. Iowa is 18-22 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes have advanced to the Sweet 16 five times, the Elite 8 three times and also played in the 1993 Final Four.
? Iowa’s 18 tournament wins are the fourth-most among any Big Ten team, and Iowa’s 23 NCAA Tournament appearances are the third-most.
? Iowa’s 23 NCAA Tournament appearances ties the Hawkeyes with LSU for 10th on the all-time list.
? Iowa is the only Big Ten team, and one of only 14 teams in the country, to have appeared in the last seven NCAA Tournaments. The other teams include Baylor, Fresno State, DePaul, Tennessee, Stanford, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Duke, Georgia, Marist, Texas A&M, Connecticut and Iowa State.
? Head coach Lisa Bluder has led the Hawkeyes to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances in her 14 years at Iowa.
? The 2014 NCAA Championships 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 1987-90, 1992-94, 1996, 1998, 2009, and 2013. The Hawkeyes hold a 10-5 record in NCAA Tournament games held in Iowa City.
? Iowa is a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. Iowa was last a No. 6 seed in 2011, falling at Gonzaga (92-86) in the First Round. The Hawkeyes were also a No. 6 seed in 1991. Iowa won at Montana in the First Round that year before falling to Washington in Seattle.
? Iowa is 9-6 in NCAA Tournament First Round games. Iowa defeated Miami last season in the First Round in Iowa City.

HAWKEYES FACE TOUGH SLATE:
Iowa faced nine teams that will participate in this year’s NCAA Tournament, finishing 6-6 against those teams. The Hawkeyes played five nonconference games against NCAA Tournament teams (Dayton, North Dakota, Syracuse, USC and Iowa State). Four other Big Ten teams were selected (Purdue, Penn State, Nebraska and Michigan State). The five Big Ten teams in the NCAA Championship field were each seeded sixth or higher in their respective regionals, making the Big Ten one of two conferences with five or more teams earning at least a No. 6 seed. Among the conferences with five or more teams selected to the field, the Big Ten carries the highest average seed at 4.4. Nine Big Ten teams earned postseason berths, equaling the most in conference history.

A RUN TO REMEMBER IN INDY:
Iowa enjoyed a run to remember on March 6-9 at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes knocked off Illinois (81-62), No. 16 Purdue (87-80), and Ohio State (77-73) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse before falling to 15th-ranked Nebraska in the title game (72-65). Iowa was forced to defeat the Illini and the Buckeyes after playing them a week earlier during the final week of the regular season. The Hawkeyes won all six meetings (three each) against Illinois and Ohio State. Defeating a team three times in one season is no easy feat, and Iowa did it twice during its run in the Circle City. In the quarterfinals, Iowa avenged its only meeting with the Boilermakers during the regular season: a heartbreaking 74-73 loss in West Lafayette. It also marked the end of Purdue’s quest for a three-peat at the Big Ten Tournament. Juniors Bethany Doolittle and Samantha Logic and freshman Ally Disterhoft were named to the all-tournament team.

LOGIC, DOOLITTLE, DISTERHOFT EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS:
Three University of Iowa women’s basketball players — Samantha Logic, Bethany Doolittle, and Ally Disterhoft — received All-Big Ten recognition. Logic was a unanimous first team selection by the coaches, and a first team selection by the media. Doolittle garnered second team honors from both the coaches and media, and was named to the All-Defensive team. Disterhoft was one of five league rookies named to the All-Freshman team, while also garnering honorable mention all-league accolades. Senior Theairra Taylor earned Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award nomination. Logic becomes the 18th Iowa player to garner first-team All-Big Ten honors, marking the most of any Big Ten program. Kachine Alexander was the last Hawkeye to earn first team honors (2010, 2011).

ANOTHER TOP ATTENDANCE YEAR:
Entering the NCAA Tournament, Iowa ranks 22nd in the country in attendance, averaging 4,312 fans per contest. This year marks the fourth-straight season that Iowa has ranked inside the top 25 in attendance. The Hawkeyes were 19th in attendance in each of the last two years, and were 13th in 2010. Last year, 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 the 2013 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships. Only Waco (9,540) and College Station (7,225) had a better attendance figure than Iowa City. Iowa City also had the sixth-best figure for Second Round games (4,942) and the fifth-highest total attendance (11,778).

MOST TRIPLE-DOUBLES IN A SINGLE SEASON:
Junior Samantha Logic has notched three triple-doubles this season, becoming the first Big Ten player to record three triple-doubles in a single season. The point guard is second nationally; Alyssa Thomas of Maryland has four this season. Entering the 2013-14 campaign, there had only been 11 seasons in NCAA history in which a player registered three or more triple-doubles. Nicole Powell of Stanford tallied five in 2002, Tasha Pointer of Rutgers notched four in 2001, and nine other players registered three. Logic has four career triple-doubles, the second most in Big Ten history, and the most while competing in the Big Ten. The total equals the seventh-highest total in NCAA history (Suzie McConnell, Penn State 7; Louella Tomlinson, St. Mary’s (CA) 7; Nicole Powell, Stanford 6; Joskeen Garner, Northwestern St. 5; Brittney Griner, Baylor 5; Shalee Lehning, Kansas State 5).

A NEW ALL-TIME ASSISTS LEADER:
Junior Samantha Logic (609 career assists) surpassed Cara Consuegra (1997-2001; 576) as Iowa’s all-time assists leader during the team’s win at Illinois on March 2 in the regular season finale. She finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Logic surpassed Stephanie White (Purdue) and Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota) for ninth in league history (578) during Iowa’s opening round win over Illinois. Ohio State’s Samantha Parahalis is first in league history with 901 career assists. Logic has 256 assists this season, setting a new school record. She topped her own mark of 217 set last season.

LOGIC BECOMES IOWA’S 31ST 1,000-POINT SCORER:
Junior guard Samantha Logic notched a game-high 19 points in Iowa’s win at Michigan on Feb. 22, becoming the 31st 1,000-point scorer in program history. She ranks 28th on Iowa’s all-time scoring list (1,067 points).

DAILY DOUBLE:
Four Hawkeyes have combined to register 16 double-doubles this season: Samantha Logic (11), Ally Disterhoft (three), Kali Peschel (one), and Bethany Doolittle (one). Logic is fifth in the Big Ten with 11 double-doubles this season. She has notched the second-most in league play (seven). Logic has 23 career double-doubles, the second most among active Big Ten players.

#thanksTheairra:
The University of Iowa women’s basketball program honored senior Theairra Taylor following Iowa’s win over Ohio State on Feb. 27. Taylor, Iowa’s lone senior, is a native of St. Paul, Minn. She suffered her third ACL injury in a 20-month span during preseason workouts in 2010, and missed a total of 53 games with ACL injuries from 2009 through 2011. Taylor has started 76 career games and played in 109. She has started every game since the start of last season, and was named Iowa’s Most Improved Player last year. Taylor, a 2013-14 team co-captain, has scored in double figures in 15 of the last 19 games, while scoring nine points twice. Join us in thanking Taylor by including #thanksTheairra in your social media posts.

IN THE RANKINGS:
The Hawkeyes are ranked 19th in the AP Top 25 poll and 23rd in the USA Today coaches poll. Five Iowa opponents are ranked in the latest Associated Press/USA Today polls: Nebraska (13/12), Penn State (14/15), Purdue (17/19), Michigan State (20/24), USC (25/RV), and Iowa State (–/23). In addition, Dayton is receiving votes.

BLUDER BECOMES IOWA’S ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH:
Lisa Bluder surpassed C. Vivian Stringer as Iowa’s all-time winningest coach on Feb. 10 as the Hawkeyes defeated Northwestern, 90-84. Bluder — one of 13 active Division I coaches with 600 or more wins — is 277-165 all-time as the Hawkeye head coach. Bluder scored the first points in a women’s game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as a student-athlete at Northern Iowa.

BLUDER SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION:
Head coach Lisa Bluder has agreed to a one-year contract extension that secures her as head coach of the women’s basketball program at the University of Iowa through the 2019 basketball season, UI director of athletics Gary Barta announced Dec. 26, 2013.

MOST B1G VICTORIES:
Head coach Lisa Bluder has 138 career Big Ten victories (136-92), surpassing former Ohio State head coach Jim Foster (136) for the fourth-most in league history. Rene Portland of Penn State has the most in conference history (176). Former Hawkeye head coach C. Vivian Stringer is second with 169 wins, and Karen Langeland of Michigan State has the third most (156).

LOGIC NAMED TO LIEBERMAN AWARD WATCH LIST:
Iowa junior point guard Samantha Logic has been named 1-of-22 watch list finalists for the 2014 Nancy Lieberman Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Feb. 24. The award recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. Candidates exhibit the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman. She is 1-of-2 league players named to the Watch List along with Northwestern’s Ashley Deary. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame became the new host of the Nancy Lieberman Award in October 2013 after the Rotary Club of Detroit managed it for several years. The Hall of Fame appointed a premier Selection Committee made up of top college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers to review the candidates. The list will be narrowed down to a final five by March and the winner will be announced during Final Four weekend activities. Previous winners of the Nancy Lieberman Award include last year’s recipient Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), Sue Bird (Connecticut), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut), Diana Taurasi (Connecticut), Lindsey Harding (Duke), Courtney Vandersloot (Gonzaga), Temeka Johnson (LSU), Kristi Toliver (Maryland), Ivory Latta (North Carolina) and Andrea Riley (Oklahoma State).

BALANCED ATTACK:
Five Hawkeyes are averaging double figures: Bethany Doolittle (14.2), Melissa Dixon (13.4), Samantha Logic (13.4), Ally Disterhoft (13.2), and Theairra Taylor (12.1). Iowa is the only Big Ten team with five players averaging double figures. Iowa has had three or more players score in double figures in each of the last 33 contests. The only game this season where Iowa did not have three or more in double figures came in the season-opening win over UC Riverside (70-65) on Nov. 8. Samantha Logic scored 28 points, and four other Hawkeyes scored seven or more points. Iowa is the only Big Ten team with four players averaging 13.0 or more points per game (Doolittle – 14.2, Logic – 13.4, Dixon – 13.4, Disterhoft – 13.0).

DISTERHOFT SHINES IN FIRST CAREER START(S):
Freshman Ally Disterhoft posted a double-double in her first career start at Ohio State on Jan. 19 (24 points, 10 rebounds, 12-of-12 from the line). She finished 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final 28 seconds. Her 12-for-12 mark from the line marks the third-best total (when shooting 100%) in the league this season, and the best performance from the line in conference only action. It also tied the program record for most free throws made (when making 100%) during a Big Ten game. Disterhoft has started the last 15 games (the first starts of her career), and Iowa is 12-3 (5-1 on the road). She has scored in double figures 14 times during that stretch.

FUN FACTS:
? Iowa leads the Big Ten in overall victories (26).
? Iowa, the Big Ten leader in assists/game (18.2) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3), is 24-2 when tallying as many or more assists than its opponents, and 19-4 when registering fewer turnovers.
? The Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten in scoring (78.6 points/game), averaging three more points than the second-highest average.
? Iowa is 22-1 when leading at the half.
? The Hawkeyes are 22-2 when holding their opponents to less than 80 points.
? Iowa is 10-1 when shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range, 12-1 when grabbing more rebounds, and 12-1 when shooting 80 percent or better from the free throw line.
? The Hawkeyes are 7-4 in road games this season and 13-5 overall away from Iowa City. Iowa is 6-2 in Big Ten road games, and 9-3 against Big Ten opponents away from Iowa City.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS:
? Samantha Logic (609 career assists) surpassed Cara Consuegra (1997-2001; 576) as Iowa’s all-time assists leader during Iowa’s win at Illinois on March 2 in the regular season finale. She ranks ninth in Big Ten history.
? Melissa Dixon is fifth in 3-pointers on Iowa’s all-time list (206). She surpassed Kristi Smith during Iowa’s game at Purdue on Feb. 16. Wendy Ausdemore is fourth all-time with 221.
? Bethany Doolittle is third all-time with 182 career blocks. She surpassed Megan Skouby who is now fourth with 150, during Iowa’s game against Nebraska on Feb. 1. Tangela Smith is second with 235.

IOWA HISTORY:
Iowa has played 1,166 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 718-448 (.613). That includes a 359-183 (.660) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 348-100 (.776) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

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

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