No. 21 Iowa, Michigan State to Meet Sunday in East Lansing

Jan. 16, 2015

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Game Notes: Michigan State

THE SETTING:
The 21st-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team (13-3, 4-1) travels to East Lansing, Michigan, this weekend to face Michigan State (9-8, 1-5). Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. (CT) on Sunday at the Breslin Center.

WATCH LIVE ON ESPN2:
Sunday’s contest will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Brenda VanLengen and Katie Smith will call the action.

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 (Gametracker). The link can be accessed on the women’s basketball schedule page of hawkeyesports.com. Follow @iowawbb on Twitter for live game updates.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE:
? Michigan State is 9-8 overall and 1-5 in Big Ten play following a 63-56 win at home over Illinois on Thursday night.
? The Spartans are 7-3 at home this season.
? Aerial Powers leads the team in scoring, and ranks tied for second in the league, at 21.3 points per game.
? Tori Jankoska (17.4) and Becca Mills (10.4) are also averaging double figures.
? Suzy Merchant is in her eighth season as head coach at Michigan State.

SERIES HISTORY:
? Iowa leads the all-time series, 34-26.
? Sunday marks the only regular season meeting between the two schools. Iowa and Michigan State have only played once each of the last three years.
? Michigan State won last season in Iowa City, 88-72, and two years ago in East Lansing, 65-54.
? Iowa won during the 2011-12 season in Iowa City, 74-57.

FUN FACTS:
? Iowa is 40-12 overall since the start of last season (27-9 last year; 13-3 this year).
? The Hawkeyes enter the weekend ranked No. 14 in the NCAA RPI. Iowa is the second-highest ranked Big Ten team in the RPI; Maryland is No. 5.
? Iowa is 13-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points, and 0-3 when failing to reach the 70-point plateau.
? The Hawkeyes are 10-0 when registering more steals than their opponent this year, and 9-1 when recording fewer turnovers.
? Iowa ranks 20th nationally in assists. The Hawkeyes are 10-1 when notching more assists than their opponent.
? The Hawkeyes are third nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (39.8%), 13th in 3-pointers per game (8.3), 13th in scoring offense (79.8), and 20th in field goal percentage (45.6%).

THE NATION’S LEADING 3-POINT SHOOTER:
? Iowa senior Melissa Dixon leads the nation in 3-point shooting, averaging 4.13 3-pointers per game, nearly one more 3-pointer than any other player. Sophie Bikofsky of Brown is second (3.46).
? Dixon has drained 34 3-pointers over the last six games (10 at Drake, 5 vs. Penn State, 6 at Rutgers, 8 at Illinois, 2 vs. Purdue, 3 vs. Northwestern).
? Dixon made six 3-pointers (6-of-10) in the win at Rutgers on Jan. 4, surpassing Lindsey Meder (261) for the most in Iowa history.
? Dixon ranks fifth in Big Ten history with 276 career 3-pointers.
? She scored 31 points in Iowa’s win at Drake on Dec. 21, making 10 3-pointers (10-of-14), 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.

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 (1,260 points) ranks 18th on Iowa’s all-time scoring list. Jamie Cavey is 17th (1,265).
? Senior Melissa Dixon (1,235 points) is 21st. Kachine Alexander is 20th (1,239).
? 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 1,069 career points.
? Sophomore Ally Disterhoft has 714 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 (733 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 (276). She ranks fifth in Big Ten history. 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 223 career blocks. Tangela Smith is second with 235.

IOWA RANKED FOR THE 10TH-STRAIGHT WEEK THIS SEASON:
Iowa is No. 22 in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa has been ranked in each of the first 10 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), week 9 (17/17), and week 10 (22/21).

In the AP Poll, Maryland is the highest-ranked Big Ten team (No. 8), followed by Nebraska (No. 17), Iowa (No. 22), 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 142 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 172 wins, and Karen Langeland of Michigan State has the third most (156).

IOWA HISTORY:
Iowa has played 1,184 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 732-452 (.617). That includes a 363-184 (.660) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 359-101 (.780) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

UP NEXT:
Iowa returns home to host Michigan on Thursday, Jan. 22. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (CT) on BTN.