Iowa Travels to Louisville for ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Dec. 2, 2014

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Game Notes: at #7 Louisville

THE SETTING:
The 19th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team (6-1) travels to Louisville to face the seventh-ranked Cardinals (7-0) on Thursday at 6 p.m. (CT) at the KFC Yum! Center in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

WATCH THE ACTION:
Thursday’s top-25 matchup can be seen on ESPN3.

AUDIO COVERAGE:
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call the game for the Hawkeye Radio Network. Hawkeye fans can listen to the contest on AM-800 KXIC in Iowa City, AM-600 WMT in Cedar Rapids, AM-1040 WHO in Des Moines (and other Hawkeye Radio Network stations), or on the Hawkeye All-Access page of hawkeyesports.com. Balbinot is in his 11th season as Iowa’s play-by-play voice, while Till is in her 10th providing analysis.

FOLLOW THE ACTION:
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.

SCOUTING LOUISVILLE:
? Louisville begins a new era as a first-year member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
? The Cardinals are 7-0 this season and 5-0 at home.
? Louisville is coached by Jeff Walz. Walz enters his eighth year at the helm of the program in 2014-15. In his first seven seasons, he has guided the Cardinals to two Final Four appearances, National Runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2013, and five Sweet 16 appearances. Louisville advanced to the Elite Eight last year before falling to Maryland.
? The Cardinals returned two starters and eight letterwinners from last year’s team that finished 33-5 overall and 17-1 at home.

ALL-TIME SERIES / LAST MEETING:
? This will mark the second meeting between the Hawkeyes and Cardinals, and the second in as many years. Fourth-ranked Louisville defeated Iowa in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on March 25 in Iowa City, 83-53.

IOWA VS. THE ACC:
? Iowa is 2-5 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge after defeating another first-year ACC member, Syracuse, last year. The Hawkeyes defeated the 22nd-ranked Orange, 97-91, inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 5.
? Iowa is 14-8 all-time against ACC opponents, including a 2-0 record last season. The Hawkeyes defeated Boston College on Nov. 29, 2013, in the Cancun Challenge (78-68), before downing the Orange six days later in last year’s Challenge.

HAWKEYES 22/19 IN RANKINGS:
Iowa is No. 22 in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 19 in the USA Today Preseason Coaches poll.

In the AP Poll, Nebraska is the highest-ranked Big Ten team (No. 12), followed by Maryland (No. 15), Michigan State (No. 16), Rutgers (No. 18) and Iowa (No. 22). Northwestern and Minnesota are receiving votes.

Iowa has been ranked in each of the first four weeks this year: preseason (19/19), week 2 (18/18), week 3 (17/16), and week 4 (22/19).

The Hawkeyes finished the 2013-14 season ranked 19th in the AP Top-25 poll, and 26th (receiving votes) in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa was ranked for eight weeks last season in the AP poll, and received votes in nine additional weeks.

ANOTHER TRIPLE-DOUBLE:
Senior Samantha Logic notched her fifth career triple-double on Nov. 22, tallying 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead Iowa over Dayton in the Hawkeye Challenge title game. She is tied for the fifth-most triple-doubles in NCAA history, and has the most of any player as a member of the Big Ten. Suzie McConnell of Penn State (1985-88) and Louella Tomlinson of St. Mary’s (CA) (2008-11) hold the career record with seven. Stanford’s Nicole Powell (2001-04) and Alyssa Thomas of Maryland (2011-14) both posted six in their careers. Logic, Joskeen Garner (Northwestern State, 1993-96), Shalee Lehning (Kansas State, 2006-09), and Brittney Griner (Baylor, 2010-13), all have five career triple-doubles.

LOGIC NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD / WADE WATCH LIST:
Samantha Logic, named Preseason All-Big Ten and preseason All-America by ESPN, has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Preseason Top 30 list, comprised of the early front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. The list is chosen by a preseason poll of national women’s college basketball media members.

She has also been named a 2014-15 “Wade Watch” list candidate for the prestigious award (The Wade Trophy), the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced.

Logic, the NCAA’s active career assists leader (659), ranks seventh in assists in Big Ten history. She leads the NCAA in the category this season (9.3), while also averaging 10.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

1,000-POINT CLUB:
Four members of this year’s team have reached, or have the potential to reach 1,000 career points this year. Senior Samantha Logic (1,172 points) ranks 22nd on Iowa’s all-time scoring list. Crystal Smith is 21st (1,193). Senior Melissa Dixon (1,072 points) is 29th. Shanda Berry is 28th (1,100). Senior Bethany Doolittle has 947 career points. She needs 53 points to become the 33rd career member of the 1,000-point club. Sophomore Ally Disterhoft has 586 career points. She tallied 474 in 36 games as a freshman last year (13.2 per game), and is averaging 16.0 points per game this season.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS:
? Samantha Logic (668 career assists) surpassed Cara Consuegra (1997-2001; 576) as Iowa’s all-time assists leader during Iowa’s win at Illinois on March 2, 2014, in the regular season finale last season. She ranks seventh in Big Ten history. Nebraska’s Lindsey Moore is sixth with 699 career assists.
? Melissa Dixon is third in 3-pointers on Iowa’s all-time list (235). Jaime Printy is second with 252. Lindsey Meder holds the school record (261).
? Bethany Doolittle is third all-time with 196 career blocks. Tangela Smith is second with 235.

TOUGH SCHEDULE:
Iowa’s schedule this season features 29 regular season games (18 conference, 11 nonconference). Of those 29 contests, 20 will come against teams that played in a postseason tournament last season. Seventeen-of-24 teams the Hawkeyes play this season reached a postseason tournament a year ago.

During the 2014 postseason, Big Ten programs combined for 15 NCAA Tournament and WNIT victories, tied for the most postseason wins in conference history.

WATCH THE HAWKEYES:
Twenty-six of Iowa’s 29 regular season contests can be seen on BTN, BTN Plus, ESPN2, ESPN3, or MC22 (Mediacom Connections). Seventeen games will appear on BTN or digitally on BTN Plus, and two additional regular season contests will be televised by ESPN2. All 18 of Iowa’s league games can be seen on one of the BTN or ESPN platforms, and the Hawkeyes’ home nonconference contest against Iowa State on Dec. 11 will be televised by BTN at 7 p.m. (CT).

HAWKEYES SET SCHOOL RECORD IN OPENER:
The Hawkeyes defeated USC Upstate in the season-opener on Nov. 14, 107-56, setting a new school record for points in a game. The previous record was 106 against North Carolina in 1990 and Northern Iowa in 1978.

Iowa is leading the Big Ten in scoring offense (94.8).

NCAA STREAK BEST IN BIG TEN:
Iowa is the only Big Ten team, and one of only 14 teams in the country, to appear in the last seven NCAA Tournaments. There are 343 Division I teams.

Iowa is 1-of-21 teams to advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons. The Hawkeyes, a No. 6 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, defeated 11th-seeded Marist in the First Round, 87-65, marking the fourth-largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game in program history.

SEASON IN REVIEW:
The University of Iowa women’s basketball team finished the 2013-14 campaign with a 27-9 overall record, including an 11-5 mark in Big Ten play. Iowa finished tied for fourth in the league with Purdue.

The Hawkeyes were an at-large selection for the NCAA Tournament, earning a No. 6 seed and hosting the First and Second rounds. Iowa defeated No. 11 seed Marist, 87-65, in the First Round, marking the fourth-largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. The Hawkeyes fell to No. 3 seed and fourth-ranked Louisville, 83-53, in the Second Round.

UP NEXT:
Iowa hosts Colorado on Sunday at 2 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.