No. 18 Iowa Returns Home to Host Michigan

Jan. 21, 2015

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Game Notes: Michigan

THE SETTING:
The 18th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team (14-3, 5-1) hosts Michigan (12-5, 4-2) on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

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.

PROMOTIONS:
? Bethany Doolittle Bobblehead Night – Free Bethany Doolittle bobbleheads for the first 1,000 fans
? Four Pack Night – Purchase four tickets, four hot dogs, and four drinks for only $35 (must be ordered prior to game day)
? Hawkeye Pet Night – Free Hawkeye tennis balls for the first 250 fans to show a photo of their Hawkeye pet (in ticket lobbies)
? Alumni Association Night – Discounted tickets available for UI Alumni Association members
? Penn Elementary Night

WATCH LIVE ON BTN:
Thursday’s contest will be broadcast live on BTN. Lisa Byington and Brenda VanLengen 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.

QUICK HITS:
? Iowa is ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
? Iowa’s NCAA RPI is 13.
? The Hawkeyes have won 8-of-9 games overall since Dec. 7.
? Iowa is 10-0 at home this season, and 24-4 at home since the start of last season.
? Iowa enters Thursday’s action tied with Minnesota for second in the conference at 5-1 in league play. Maryland is in first with a 6-0 mark. Iowa’s next two opponents, Michigan and Nebraska, are both 4-2.
? The Hawkeyes last started 5-1 in Big Ten play during the 1997-98 season.
? The Hawkeyes are 14-1 this season when three or more players score in double figures.
? Iowa ranks 10th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (38.5%), while Michigan is fifth nationally (39.3%).
? Melissa Dixon leads the nation in 3-pointers/game (3.94), while the Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game (8.0).
? 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 16th nationally this season (78.2).
? Ally Disterhoft has scored in double figures in 31 of her 34 career starts. Iowa is 27-7 when Disterhoft starts.

BEST BIG TEN START SINCE 1998:
The Hawkeyes are 5-1 in Big Ten play for the first time since the 1997-98 season when Iowa started 6-1 in league action. Iowa last started 14-3 overall during the 2010-11 season. The Hawkeyes opened last year at 13-4 through their first 17 games.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN:
? Michigan is 12-5 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play following a 73-66 win at Northwestern on Jan. 17.
? The Wolverines are 1-4 on the road this season.
? Cyesha Goree (14.7), Shannon Smith (14.3) and Siera Thompson (11.5) average double figures for the Wolverines.
? Kim Barnes Arico is in her third year as head coach at Michigan.

SERIES HISTORY:
? Iowa leads the all-time series, 45-15.
? Thursday marks the only regular season meeting between the two schools.
? The Hawkeyes won at Michigan last season in the only meeting, 74-70.
? Iowa is 7-3 against the Wolverines in the last 10 meetings in Iowa City.

LOGIC NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD MIDSEASON TOP 20:
Iowa senior Samantha Logic has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Midseason Top 20 list, comprised of the front-runners for college basketball’s most prestigious individual honor. The list is chosen by a poll of national women’s college basketball media members. Logic is the only player from the Big Ten on the midseason list.

FUN FACTS:
? Iowa is 41-12 overall since the start of last season (27-9 last year; 14-3 this year).
? The Hawkeyes enter Thursday ranked No. 13 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 1-3 when failing to reach the 70-point plateau.
? The Hawkeyes are 11-0 when registering more steals than their opponent this year, and 10-1 when recording fewer turnovers.
? Iowa ranks 25th nationally in assists. The Hawkeyes are 10-1 when notching more assists than their opponent.
? The Hawkeyes are 10th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (38.5%), 16th in scoring offense (78.2), 18th in 3-pointers per game (8.0), and 29th in field goal percentage (44.9%).

THE NATION’S LEADING 3-POINT SHOOTER:
? Iowa senior Melissa Dixon leads the nation in 3-point shooting, averaging 3.94 3-pointers per game, nearly one more 3-pointer than any other player. Kelsey Mitchell of Ohio State is second (3.74).
? 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 277 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 (1,273 points) ranks 17th on Iowa’s all-time scoring list. Necole Tunsil is 16th (1,283).
? Senior Melissa Dixon (1,248 points) is 19th. Jamie Cavey is 18th (1,265).
? 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 1,071 career points.
? Sophomore Ally Disterhoft has 726 career points. She tallied 474 in 36 games as a freshman last year (13.2 per game), and is averaging 14.8 points per game this season.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS:
? Samantha Logic (737 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 (277). 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. 20 in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa has been ranked in each of the first 11 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), week 10 (22/21), and week 11 (20/18).

In the AP Poll, Maryland is the highest-ranked Big Ten team (No. 7), followed by Nebraska (No. 14), Iowa (No. 20), Minnesota (No. 21), and Rutgers (No. 25).

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.

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 359-101 (.780) all-time inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and 11-6 in NCAA Tournament games. Iowa went 14-4 at home last season, and is 99-23 in its last 122 games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes are 10-0 at home this season.

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.

IOWA HISTORY:
Iowa has played 1,185 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 733-452 (.617). That includes a 364-184 (.660) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 359-101 (.780) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

UP NEXT:
Iowa hosts Nebraska on Monday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. (CT) on BTN.