Top Big Ten Teams Collide Sunday in College Park

Jan. 31, 2015

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Game Notes: at Maryland

THE SETTING:
The 17th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team (17-3, 8-1) travels to No. 5 Maryland (18-2, 9-0) on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (CT) at the XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland. The Terrapins lead the Big Ten at 9-0, while the Hawkeyes sit a game behind Maryland at 8-1.

WATCH LIVE ON ESPN2:
Sunday’s contest can be seen live on ESPN2. Tiffany Greene and LaChina Robinson will call the action.

QUICK HITS:
? Iowa is ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
? Iowa’s NCAA RPI (Jan. 30) is No. 5, while Maryland is No. 4.
? The Hawkeyes have won 11-of-12 games overall, and six straight.
? Iowa is in second place in the Big Ten at 8-1, one game behind Maryland (9-0).
? The Hawkeyes last started 8-1 or better in Big Ten play during the 1995-96 season.
? Iowa is off to its best start through 20 games (17-3) since the 1995-96 season (19-1).
? Last time out: Iowa won at Northwestern on Jan. 29, 102-99, setting program records for 3-pointers in a game (19) and assists (32).
? The Hawkeyes are 17-1 this season when three or more players score in double figures.
? 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 (79.3).
? Ally Disterhoft has scored in double figures in 34 of her 37 career starts. Iowa is 30-7 when Disterhoft starts.
? Iowa senior Samantha Logic, the NCAA’s active career assists leader (768), 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 is 44-12 overall since the start of last season.

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.

BEST START SINCE 1996:
? The Hawkeyes are 8-1 in Big Ten play for the first time since starting 11-0 during the 1995-96 season.
? Iowa is off to its best start (17-3) through 20 games since the 1995-96 season when it opened 19-1, and eventually 20-1. The Hawkeyes finished 27-4 overall and 15-1 in Big Ten action that year while advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.

SCOUTING MARYLAND:
? Maryland, in its first season in the Big Ten, is 18-2 overall and 9-0 in conference action.
? The Terrapins have won 12-straight games. Their losses this season have come to Notre Dame and Washington State.
? Maryland is 10-0 at home this season.
? Four Terrapins are averaging double figures: Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (14.3), Laurin Mincy (14.1), Lexie Brown (12.4) and Brionna Jones (12.4).
? Maryland is coached by Brenda Frese, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is in her 13th year at Maryland. Frese led the Terrapinds to the 2006 NCAA Championship and an NCAA Final Four appearance last season.

SERIES HISTORY:
Iowa has won the only meeting in the series, winning at Maryland during the 1992-93 season, 53-50.

LOGIC NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD MIDSEASON TOP 20:
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.

RECORD-SETTING WIN:
? Iowa won at Northwestern on Jan. 29, 102-99.
? The two teams combined for 32 3-pointers, setting a new NCAA record for combined 3-pointers in a game. The previous record was 31.
? Iowa converted 19 3-pointers, setting a new program and Big Ten record for 3-pointers by a team in a single game. Previous record (17): Iowa vs. Idaho State (Dec. 7, 2013); Ohio State vs. Penn State (Feb. 7, 2010).
? Senior Melissa Dixon made nine 3-pointers, finishing 9-of-10.
? Iowa finished with 32 assists on 33 field goals, setting a new program record.

LOGIC NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE:
Senior point guard Samantha Logic is one of 30 NCAA Division I women’s basketball players to be named a candidate for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award®. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Logic is one of two candidates from the Big Ten, joining Nicole Elmblad of Michigan.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

The two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, and Dean’s List member is active in the eastern Iowa community, volunteering with numerous charities, organizations, and local elementary schools.

FUN FACTS:
? Iowa is 44-12 overall since the start of last season (27-9 last year; 17-3 this year).
? The Hawkeyes enter Sunday’s game ranked No. 5 in the NCAA RPI. Maryland is No. 4
? Iowa is 16-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points, and 1-3 when failing to reach the 70-point plateau.
? The Hawkeyes are 12-0 when registering more steals than their opponent this year, and 12-1 when recording fewer turnovers.
? Iowa ranks 17th nationally in assists per game. The Hawkeyes are 12-1 when notching more assists than their opponent.
? The Hawkeyes are third nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (40.3%), ninth in scoring offense (79.3), 11th in field goal percentage (46%), 17th in assist to turnover ratio (1.24), and 14th in 3-pointers per game (8.3).

THE NATION’S LEADING 3-POINT SHOOTER:
? Iowa senior Melissa Dixon leads the nation in 3-point field goals, averaging 3.95 per game.
? Dixon is first in the Big Ten and fourth nationally in 3-point percentage (47.9%).
? 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 289 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.
? Dixon finished 9-of-10 from 3-point range in Iowa’s 102-99 win at Northwestern (Jan. 29).

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 (1,312 points) ranks 16th on Iowa’s all-time scoring list. Amy Herrig is 15th (1,319).
? Senior Melissa Dixon (1,300 points) is 17th.
? 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 1,122 career points.
? Sophomore Ally Disterhoft has 782 career points. She tallied 474 in 36 games as a freshman last year (13.2 per game), and is averaging 15.4 points per game this season.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS:
? Samantha Logic (768 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 (289). 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 232 career blocks. Tangela Smith is second with 235. Morgan Johnson is first with 293.

IOWA RANKED FOR THE 12TH-STRAIGHT WEEK THIS SEASON:
Iowa is No. 20 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 12 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), week 11 (20/18), and week 12 (20/17).

In the Coaches Poll, Maryland is No. 5, followed by Iowa (No. 17), Nebraska (No. 19), and Rutgers (No. 23).

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.

UP NEXT:
Iowa returns home to host Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. (CT) in Iowa City.