Dec. 21, 2014
By DARREN MILLER
hawkeyesports.com
DES MOINES, Iowa — Senior All-American Samantha Logic drained a runner with :03 remaining to give the No. 23 University of Iowa women’s basketball team a 100-98 victory against Drake on Sunday at the Knapp Center.
“We worked on late-game situations the last couple weeks,” Logic said. “Coach (Lisa) Bluder drew it up, we worked on it a couple times, and we’re glad the shot went in. We’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss.”
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While Logic provided the game-winner, another UI senior guard — Melissa Dixon — turned in a performance for the record book. Dixon made 10-of-14 3-point field goals and finished with a team-high 31 points. The previous record for 3s in a game was seven by Dixon, Jaime Printy (2012), Kamille Wahlin (2009), and Lindsey Meder (2000).
“Iowa basketball is built on being unselfish and finding that one more pass,” Dixon said. “Today I was able to benefit from that.”
The Hawkeyes (9-2 overall), overcame 10 days off, finals week, and their second true road test to defeat the Bulldogs (5-6).
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“This is a great win going forward for us,” UI head coach Lisa Bluder said. “Now we’re going into Big Ten play. We have a good road win and believe me, Drake is better than a 5-6 team. They are playing confident and if you shoot the ball like they did, they are going to win a lot of games. We beat a very good team.”
Iowa trailed by as many as seven points in the first half and was behind 48-43 at halftime. Freshman guard Whitney Jennings put the Hawkeyes ahead 64-63 with a layup at the 13:41 mark of the second half. Senior center Bethany Doolittle made a layup with 9:49 left in the game to give Iowa a 73-72 advantage; the Hawkeyes would not trail again, although the game was tied with :09 remaining. Six seconds later, Logic banked in an eight-footer from the right wing allowing the Hawkeyes to prevail.
“It looked like an NBA game out there today,” Bluder said. “Whoever was in charge of defense for both teams ought to be fired. Defense wasn’t there, but offense was terrific. Great job by Melissa Dixon today and Sam with a double-double.”
Thirty of Dixon’s points came from beyond the 3-point arc. She was 1-of-2 from the free throw line. Logic finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Sophomore Ally Disterhoft scored 18 points, freshman Whitney Jennings had 16, and Doolittle added 15.
Both teams made better than half their field goal attempts — Iowa was 35-of-64 (54.7 percent) and Drake was 36-of-71 (50.7). The Hawkeyes made 13-of-22 3-point attempts, while Drake was 13-of-32.
“It was a great game,” Dixon said. “Drake played amazing and playing on the road is always difficult. We found a way to win which is important going into the Big Ten season.”
Drake sophomore Lizzy Wendell scored a game-high 43 points in defeat. UI junior Kali Peschel made 1-of-2 field goals and accounted for all of the Hawkeye’s bench scoring. Three Bulldog reserves combined for 17 points.
Iowa finished its nonconference portion with three consecutive wins. The Hawkeyes open Big Ten play against Penn State (3-8) on Sunday, Dec. 28, on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
