No. 20 Iowa Opens B1G Road Slate at No. 16 Rutgers

Jan. 1, 2015

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Game Notes: at Rutgers

THE SETTING:
The 20th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team (10-2, 1-0) travels to No. 16 Rutgers (10-3, 1-1) on Sunday for its Big Ten road opener. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. (CT) at the Rutgers Athletic Center (The RAC). Iowa enters the contest on a four game winning streak.

WATCH THE ACTION:
Sunday’s contest will be broadcast live on BTN and BTN2Go. Frank Hanrahan and Stephanie White will call the action.

AUDIO COVERAGE:
Brent Balbinot and Kelsey Cermak 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. Cermak was a four-year letterwinner for the Hawkeyes (2008-11).

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.

QUICK HITS:
? Iowa enters its Big Ten road opener on a four game winning streak.
? Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer coached at Iowa from 1983-95, while Rutgers assistant coach Tia Jackson and director of basketball operations Michelle Edwards both played at Iowa.
? Sunday’s contest features the two winningest coaches in Iowa history: Lisa Bluder (288 wins at Iowa) and C. Vivian Stringer (269 wins at Iowa).
? Iowa won the last meeting against Rutgers, 70-63, in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
? Iowa’s NCAA RPI is 14. The Hawkeyes are second among Big Ten teams (Nebraska is No. 5).
? Iowa is ranked No. 20 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 (41.8%). Melissa Dixon leads the nation in 3-pointers/game (3.9).
? 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 has made 15 total 3-pointers over the last two games after making five in Iowa’s win over Penn State on Dec. 28.
? Dixon is second in 3-pointers on Iowa’s all-time list (257). Lindsey Meder holds the school record (261) and ranks sixth 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 12th nationally this season (81.8).
? Ally Disterhoft has scored in double figures in 26 of her 29 career starts. Iowa is 23-6 when Disterhoft starts.
? Iowa senior Samantha Logic, the NCAA’s active career assists leader (696), ranks seventh in assists in Big Ten history. Nebraska’s Lindsey Moore is sixth with 699 career assists.
? 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.

SCOUTING RUTGERS:
? No. 16/17 Rutgers is 10-3 overall, and 1-1 in Big Ten play.
? The Scarlet Knights opened conference play with a win at Indiana on Dec. 28 (66-51) in their first ever Big Ten game.
? Rutgers dropped an 85-68 decision at Ohio State on Jan. 1.
? The Scarlet Knights went 9-2 in nonconference action, falling to No. 6 North Carolina (96-93) in double overtime, and No. 11 Tennessee (55-45).
? Rutgers is 4-2 at home.
? Three Scarlet Knights are averaging double figures: Tyler Scaife (16.3), Betnijah Laney (16.3), and Kahleah Copper (14.2).

SERIES HISTORY:
? Iowa is 1-2 all-time against Rutgers.
? Hawkeyes won the last meeting against Rutgers, 70-63, in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament in Stanford, California.
? Rutgers won at home during the 2006-07 season, 70-53, and won in Iowa City, 57-51, during the 2005-06 season.

MOST B1G VICTORIES:
Head coach Lisa Bluder has 139 career Big Ten victories (139-92), 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 170 wins, and Karen Langeland of Michigan State has the third most (156).

FAMILIAR FACES:
? The Scarlet Knights are coached by former Iowa coach C. Vivian Stringer. Stringer was Iowa’s head coach from 1983-95, posting a 269-84 overall record and a 169-45 Big Ten mark. Stringer led Iowa to two outright Big Ten titles and Iowa shared the Big Ten title on four occasions under her direction. She led Iowa to nine-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a Final Four berth in 1993. Stringer is a member of the UI Varsity Club Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

? Rutgers director of basketball operations Michelle Edwards is in her 12th season with the Scarlet Knights. Edwards, inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, is one of the most decorated players in Iowa women’s basketball history. The 5-9 guard, nicknamed “Ice,” amassed a career record of 102-22 from 1984-1988. During her four years, Edwards led the Hawkeyes to three NCAA Tournament appearances and two Big Ten titles. In 1988, she was named the Champion Products National Player of the Year, the highest honor in women’s collegiate basketball. Edwards garnered several other honors that year including being named a Kodak All-American, a Naismith All-American, a USBWA All-American, the Big Ten Player of the Year, and the University of Iowa Athlete of the Year. In her senior season, Edwards also led Iowa to its first ever national No. 1 ranking, along with a record of 29-2 overall and 17-1 in the Big Ten. She paced the Hawkeyes with an average of 20 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, 4.5 assists per game, and 2.9 steals per game. The three-time first team All-Big Ten selection is the only Hawkeye to have her jersey retired (No. 30).

? Rutgers assistant coach Tia Jackson is in her fourth year with the Scarlet Knights. A 1995 graduate of the University of Iowa, Jackson helped Iowa to a 27-4 record, a berth in the NCAA Final Four and was named to the NCAA Mideast Regional All-Tournament team as a junior. Jackson was honored as an All-Big Ten selection and a Street & Smith’s Preseason All-American twice.

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

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.

IOWA RANKED FOR THE 8TH-STRAIGHT WEEK THIS SEASON:
Iowa is No. 20 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 eight 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), week 7 (23/20), and week 8 (20/20).

In the AP Poll, Nebraska is the highest-ranked Big Ten team (No. 12), followed by Maryland (No. 14), Rutgers (No. 16), Iowa (No. 20), and Michigan State (No. 24). Northwestern is receiving votes and is ranked in the Coaches poll.

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.

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 (1,223 points) ranks 21st on Iowa’s all-time scoring list. Lisa Long is 20th (1,230).
? Senior Melissa Dixon (1,159 points) is 24th. Tia Jackson is 23rd (1,160).
? Senior Bethany Doolittle became the 33rd member of Iowa’s 1,000-point club in the Hawkeyes’ win over Penn State on Dec. 28. She has 1,005 career points.
? Sophomore Ally Disterhoft has 655 career points. She tallied 474 in 36 games as a freshman last year (13.2 per game), and is averaging 15.1 points per game this season.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS:
? Samantha Logic (696 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 second in 3-pointers on Iowa’s all-time list (257). Lindsey Meder holds the school record (261) and ranks sixth in Big Ten history.
? Bethany Doolittle is third all-time with 210 career blocks. Tangela Smith is second with 235.

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.

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.

IOWA HISTORY:
Iowa has played 1,180 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 729-451 (.617). That includes a 360-183 (.660) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 357-101 (.778) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

UP NEXT:
Iowa resumes action on the road at Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 8. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT).