No. 17 Iowa Set to Travel to Illinois

Jan. 7, 2015

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Game Notes: Illinois

THE SETTING:
The 17th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team (11-2, 2-0) resumes Big Ten action on the road Thursday at Illinois (10-4, 1-1). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT) at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. Iowa enters the contest on a five game winning streak.

QUICK HITS:
? Iowa enters Thursday’s contest on a five game winning streak.
? Iowa is ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
? Iowa’s NCAA RPI is 10. The Hawkeyes are the highest-ranked league team in the RPI.
? The Hawkeyes swept all three meetings against the Illini last season, winning in Iowa City (69-55), in Champaign (81-56), and in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament (81-62).
? Iowa has won eight of the last nine meetings in Champaign.
? The Hawkeyes have won 17 of the last 19 meetings against Illinois, dating back to the 2003-04 season.
? Illinois native Melissa Dixon was named to this week’s Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll (along with Jacqui Grant of Illinois) after making six 3-pointers (6-of-10) in the win at No. 16 Rutgers on Sunday. She surpassed Lindsey Meder (261) for the most 3-pointers in program history (263) and moves to sixth in Big Ten history. She has made 21 3-pointers over the last three contests.
? Iowa ranks second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (42.1%). Melissa Dixon leads the nation in 3-pointers/game (4.1).
? 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.
? 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 ninth nationally this season (81.5).
? Ally Disterhoft has scored in double figures in 27 of her 30 career starts. Iowa is 24-6 when Disterhoft starts.
? Iowa senior Samantha Logic, the NCAA’s active career assists leader (702), ranks sixth in assists in Big Ten history. Penn State’s Jess Strom is fifth with 776 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.

WATCH THE ACTION:
Thursday’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 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.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS:
? Illinois is 10-4 overall, and 1-1 in Big Ten play.
? The Fighting Illini dropped a 62-55 decision to Purdue on Dec. 28 in their Big Ten opener, before winning at Penn State on Jan. 4, 91-76.
? Illinois finished 9-3 in nonconference action, including a 77-71 victory over ninth-ranked Kentucky.
? Illinois is 6-1 at home this season.
? Three Illinois players are averaging double figures: Ivory Crawford (17.0), Chatrice White (15.1), and Jacqui Grant (10.1).
? The Fighting Illini are second in the conference in steals (10.8) and first in turnover margin (+6.0)

SERIES HISTORY:
? Iowa is 52-17 all-time against Illinois.
? The Hawkeyes swept three meetings against the Illini last season, winning in Iowa City (69-55), in Champaign (81-56), and in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament (81-62).
? The Hawkeyes have won 17 of the last 19 meetings against Illinois, dating back to the 2003-04 season.
? Iowa has won eight of the last nine meetings in Champaign.

IOWA PREVAILS AT RUTGERS IN MATCHUP OF TOP-20 TEAMS:
? Iowa won at No. 16 Rutgers on Jan. 4, 79-72, to move to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play. Iowa led for over 33 minutes.
? Melissa Dixon made six 3-pointers (6-of-10), surpassing Lindsey Meder (261) for the most in Iowa history (263).
? Dixon has converted 21 3-pointers over the last 3 games (10 at Drake, 5 vs. Penn State, 6 at Rutgers).
? Samantha Logic recorded six assists, giving her 702 for her career, surpassing Nebraska’s Lindsey Moore for sixth in Big Ten history.
? The matchup featured the two winningest coaches in Iowa history, Lisa Bluder and C. Vivian Stringer.

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 (1,240 points) ranks 19th on Iowa’s all-time scoring list. Kristi Faulkner is 18th (1,242).
? Senior Melissa Dixon (1,180 points) is 23rd. Crystal Smith is 22nd (1,193).
? 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 1,019 career points.
? Sophomore Ally Disterhoft has 669 career points. She tallied 474 in 36 games as a freshman last year (13.2 per game), and is averaging 15.0 points per game this season.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS:
? Samantha Logic (702 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, during the 2013-14 regular season finale. She ranks sixth in Big Ten history. Jess Strom of Penn State (776) is fifth, while Helen Darling of Penn State is fourth (791).
? Melissa Dixon is Iowa’s career record holder for 3-pointers (263). She ranks sixth in Big Ten history. Caity Matter of Ohio State is fifth (270), Amber Moore of Illinois is fourth (293), and Lindsay Bowen of Michigan State is third (294). Kelly Mazzante of Penn State is second (357), while Maggie Lucas of Penn State is the Big Ten record holder (365).
? Bethany Doolittle is third all-time in program history with 212 career blocks. Tangela Smith is second with 235.

IOWA RANKED FOR THE 9TH-STRAIGHT WEEK THIS SEASON:
Iowa is No. 17 in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa has been ranked in each of the first nine 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), week 8 (20/20), and week 9 (17/17).

In the AP Poll, Maryland is the highest-ranked Big Ten team (No. 12), followed by Iowa (No. 17), Nebraska (No. 19), Minnesota (No. 23), and Rutgers (No. 24). Northwestern and Ohio State are 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.

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.

MOST B1G VICTORIES:
Head coach Lisa Bluder has 140 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).

DIXON SETS 3-POINT RECORD IN WIN AT DRAKE:
? 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.

ANOTHER TOP ATTENDANCE YEAR:
Iowa ranked 22nd in the country in attendance last season, averaging 4,395 fans per contest. Last 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 previous two years, and were 13th in 2010. Iowa currently ranks 19th in average attendance (4,546).

IOWA HISTORY:
Iowa has played 1,181 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 730-451 (.617). That includes a 361-183 (.660) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 357-101 (.778) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

UP NEXT:
Iowa returns home to host Purdue on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. (CT) on BTN.