No. 20 Iowa to Host Penn State in B1G Opener

Dec. 24, 2014

THE SETTING:
The 20th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team (9-2) hosts Penn State (3-8) on Sunday in its Big Ten opener. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

QUICK HITS:
? Bethany Doolittle needs seven points (993) to become the 33rd 1,000 career point scorer in program history, and the third member of this team to score 1,000 career points.
? The Hawkeyes won at No. 9 Penn State on Feb. 6, 2014, 73-70, in the last meeting between the two teams.
? Iowa’s NCAA RPI is 11. The Hawkeyes are second among Big Ten teams (Nebraska is No. 7).
? Iowa is ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
? Iowa ranks second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (41.9%). Melissa Dixon is fifth in 3-pointers/game (3.8).
? Dixon made 10 3-pointers (10-of-14) in Iowa’s 100-98 win at Drake on Dec. 21, setting a new school record. The previous school record was seven, accomplished five times in program history, twice by Dixon. The NCAA and Big Ten record for 3-pointers in a single game is 12.
? Dixon is tied with Jaime Printy for second in program history with 252 3-pointers. Lindsey Meder is first (261). Printy and Dixon are tied for the seventh most in Big Ten history.
? Iowa set the school record for scoring offense (78.2) last season, leading the league in scoring while notching the second-most points in a season in Big Ten history (2,814). The Hawkeyes rank 14th nationally this season (82.2).
? Ally Disterhoft has scored in double figures in 25 of her 28 career starts. Iowa is 22-6 when Disterhoft starts.
? Iowa senior Samantha Logic, the NCAA’s active career assists leader (691), ranks seventh in assists in Big Ten history.
? 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 349 Division I teams.
? Iowa was picked to finish third behind Maryland and Michigan State in the Coaches Big Ten preseason rankings.

TICKETS:
Single game women’s basketball tickets are $12 for adults. Youth — high school-aged and younger — are admitted free to all weekday games, including Friday night games. Youth tickets for weekend games cost $8. Youth — five years old and younger — are admitted free to all games. UI students are admitted free with student ID. Tickets are available by visiting the ticket office at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS, or online at hawkeyesports.com.

WATCH THE ACTION:
Sunday’s contest can be seen on BTN Plus.

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 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. The link can be accessed on the women’s basketball schedule page of hawkeyesports.com.

HAWKEYES IN BIG TEN PLAY:
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2001, 2008 and 2010). She has guided Iowa to 10 upper-division finishes in the Big Ten in 14 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. The Hawkeyes clinched a share of the title in 2008 with a win at Wisconsin in the regular season finale (March 2, 2008).

Since the 2008 season, Iowa has finished first once, second twice, third twice, fourth once, and seventh once.

SCOUTING PENN STATE:
? Penn State is 3-8 on the season, and 0-2 on the road, falling at Syracuse (61-39) and at Hartford (62-57).
? Three Nittany Lions are averaging double figures: Lindsey Spann (15.6), Sierra Moore (12.6), and Candice Agee (11.2).
? Penn State has won three-straight Big Ten titles, and reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last season.
? The Nittany Lions are coached by Coquese Washington. She is in her eighth season.

SERIES NOTES:
? Penn State leads the all-time series, 26-18.
? Iowa’s last win over Penn State in Iowa City came during the 2008-09 season, when the Hawkeyes won 97-89 in three overtimes.

THE LAST MEETING — IOWA WINS AT NO. 9 PENN STATE:
? The Hawkeyes won at No. 9 Penn State on Feb. 6, 73-70, giving UI head coach Lisa Bluder her 269th career win at Iowa, tying her with C. Vivian Stringer as the all-time winningest coach in program history.
? The win marked Iowa’s first victory over a top-10 foe since defeating No. 10 Michigan State, 66-64, on Jan. 27, 2011.
? The victory marked the Hawkeyes’ first over a top-10 team away from Iowa City since defeating No. 7 Purdue, 75-70, in the 2001 Big Ten Tournament title game (March 4, 2001), and Iowa’s first in a true road game since winning at No. 9 Southern California, 50-49, on Dec. 30, 1993.
? Samantha Logic finished with her second triple-double of the season, and third of her career (14 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists).
? Ally Disterhoft equaled a career high with 24 points, missing only one shot (8-of-9 field goals, 3-of-3 3-pointers, 5-of-5 free throws).
? Melissa Dixon (13 points) and Theairra Taylor (10 points) also finished in double figures.
? Iowa and Penn State both finished with 30 points in the paint. The Nittany Lions opened the game with a 12-0 advantage.
? The Hawkeyes led 63-58 with 8:16 to play, before Penn State went on a 10-0 run to grab a 68-63 lead with 4:26 remaining. Iowa answered, as Theairra Taylor converted a layup and Ally Disterhoft nailed a 3-pointer to even the score at 68 with 3:32 to play.
? Iowa ended the game on a 10-2 run over the final 4:26.

IOWA PICKED 3RD; LOGIC NAMED ALL-BIG TEN:
Iowa has been picked to finish third behind Maryland and Michigan State in the 2014-15 Coaches Big Ten preseason rankings, while senior Samantha Logic has been named preseason All-Big Ten by league media and coaches.

Logic earned honorable mention All-America honors from the Associated Press and the WBCA as a junior last year. The Racine, Wisconsin, native was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches, and a first team selection by the media to become the 18th Iowa player to garner first team All-Big Ten honors — the most of any Big Ten program.

THE STATE SWEEP:
? The Hawkeyes finished 3-0 this season against in-state rivals, and are 20-4 against Drake, Iowa State and UNI since the start of the 2007-08 season.
? Iowa defeated UNI on Nov. 25 in Iowa City, 73-45.
? The Hawkeyes downed Iowa State on Dec. 11, 76-67, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
? Iowa won at Drake, 100-98, on Dec. 21.

DIXON SETS 3-POINT RECORD IN WIN AT DRAKE:
? Senior Melissa Dixon made 10 3-pointers (10-of-14) in Iowa’s 100-98 win at Drake on Dec. 21, setting a new school record. The previous school record was seven, accomplished five times in program history, twice by Dixon. The NCAA and Big Ten record for 3-pointers in a single game is 12. She finished with 31 points.
? Dixon was named to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll.
? Dixon is tied with Jaime Printy for second in program history with 252 3-pointers. Lindsey Meder is first (261). Printy and Dixon are tied for the seventh most in Big Ten history.

1,000-POINT CLUB:
? Four members of this year’s team have reached, or have the potential to reach 1,000 career points this season.
? Senior Samantha Logic (1,215 points) ranks 21st on Iowa’s all-time scoring list. Lisa Long is 20th (1,230).
? Senior Melissa Dixon (1,138 points) is 25th. Cara Consuegra is 24th (1,147).
? Senior Bethany Doolittle has 993 career points. She needs seven points to become the 33rd career member of the 1,000-point club.
? Sophomore Ally Disterhoft has 644 career points. She tallied 474 in 36 games as a freshman last year (13.2 per game), and is averaging 15.5 points per game this season.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS:
? Samantha Logic (691 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 tied for second in 3-pointers on Iowa’s all-time list (252) with Jaime Printy. Lindsey Meder holds the school record (261).
? Bethany Doolittle is third all-time with 204 career blocks. Tangela Smith is second with 235.

IOWA RANKED FOR THE 7TH-STRAIGHT WEEK THIS SEASON:
Iowa is No. 23 in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa has been ranked in each of the first seven weeks this year: preseason (19/19), week 2 (18/18), week 3 (17/16), week 4 (22/19), week 5 (24/24), week 6 (23/24), and week 7 (23/20).

In the AP Poll, Nebraska is the highest-ranked Big Ten team (No. 12), followed by Maryland (No. 15), Rutgers (No. 17), Michigan State (No. 20), and Iowa (No. 23). Northwestern is receiving votes.

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.

MOST B1G VICTORIES:
Head coach Lisa Bluder has 138 career Big Ten victories (138-92), 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 and current Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer is second with 169 wins, and Karen Langeland of Michigan State has the third most (156).

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.

PESCHEL NAMED TO ALLSTATE GOOD WORKS TEAM:
Junior Kali Peschel has been nominated for the 2015 Allstate WBCA Good Works Team®. This prestigious community service award recognizes a distinguished group of student-athletes who have demonstrated a commitment to enriching the lives of others and contributing to the greater good in their communities.

Peschel, a junior from Sauk Centre, Minnesota, has played in every game for the Hawkeyes the last two seasons, making 22 starts. She was a 2014 Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

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 349 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.

HAWKEYES AT CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA:
The Hawkeyes are 356-101 (.778) all-time inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and 11-6 in NCAA Tournament games. Iowa went 14-4 at home last season, and is 96-23 in its last 119 games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa’s 14 home wins a year ago equaled the second-highest single-season total in program history. The 14 wins were the most in Iowa City since the Hawkeyes finished 14-0 in the 1995-96 season. Iowa also won 14 home games in 1988-89 (14-0), 1987-88 (14-0), 1986-87 (14-1), 1985-86 (14-1). The program record for home wins is 15, as the Hawkeyes finished 15-0 in 1992-93. Iowa advanced to the NCAA Final Four that season.

UP NEXT:
Iowa travels to Rutgers for its Big Ten road opener on Jan. 4 at 11 a.m. (CT). The contest can be seen live on BTN.