No. 16 Iowa Hosts Wisconsin Thursday

Feb. 25, 2015

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Game Notes: Wisconsin

THE SETTING:
The 16th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team (21-6, 12-4) returns home to host Wisconsin (8-18, 4-12) on Thursday. TIpoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

WATCH THE ACTION:
Thursday’s contest can be seen for a fee on BTN Plus via BTN2Go.

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 10th ninth 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:
? Head coach Lisa Bluder, the 2015 Carol Eckman Award winner, has 299 career wins at Iowa.
? The Hawkeyes are 14-0 at home this season. The program record for wins at home in a single season is 15, when Iowa finished 15-0 during the 1992-93 season. Iowa has finished perfect at home in four different seasons.
? Iowa is ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa has been ranked in all 16 weeks this season.
? Iowa’s NCAA RPI (Feb. 25) is No. 8. Iowa is 11-5 against teams in the top 55 of the RPI.
? Iowa is in second place in the Big Ten at 12-4, one game ahead of Northwestern, Rutgers, and Ohio State (11-5).
? Iowa has won the last 14 meetings against Wisconsin, including an 87-75 win in Madison on Feb. 8.
? Iowa senior and Wisconsin native Samantha Logic scored a career-best 30 points in the win earlier this season in Madison.
? Logic, the NCAA’s active career assists leader (831), is third all-time in assists in Big Ten history. Logic is only the 28th player in NCAA history to record 800 assists or more in her career.
? Logic is the first player in NCAA history to record at least 1,400 career points, 800 rebounds, 800 assists, and 200 steals.
? 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 (79.4).
? 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’s Melissa Dixon leads the nation in 3-point field goals per game (3.77), while Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell is second (3.74).
? Ally Disterhoft has scored in double figures in 39 of her 43 career starts. Iowa is 34-9 when Disterhoft starts. She made her first career start in Iowa’s 81-74 win last year at Ohio State (24 points, 10 rebounds).
? Iowa is 48-14 overall and 18-1 in games aired on BTN since the start of last season.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN:
? Wisconsin is 8-18 overall and 4-12 in Big Ten play.
? The Badgers are 5-8 on the road this season, and 2-7 on the road in league play.
? Last time out, Wisconsin fell in overtime to Northwestern, 86-83.
? Three Badgers are averaging double figures: Nicole Bauman (15.0), Michala Johnson (12.8), and Dakota Whyte (10.9).
? Wisconsin is coached by Bobbie Kelsey. She is in her fourth season.

SERIES HISTORY/NOTES:
? Iowa leads the all-time series, 44-20.
? The Hawkeyes are 23-5 all-time against Wisconsin at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
? Iowa has won the last 14 meetings overall, including an 87-75 win in Madison on Feb. 8.
? Senior Samantha Logic is a native of Racine, while freshman Carly Mohns hails from Brodhead, Wisconsin.
? Iowa’s Melissa Dixon is 10th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (44.1%), while Wisconsin’s Nicole Bauman is third (46.6%).
? The Hawkeyes lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage (38.7%), while Wisconsin is fourth (36.5%).

APPROACHING 300 AT IOWA:
? Head coach Lisa Bluder has led the Hawkeyes to 299 wins in her 15 seasons at the helm of the program.
? Two other coaches have won 300 or more games while at a Big Ten school (as a member of the conference): Karen Langeland, Michigan State (376 wins) and Rene Portland, Penn State (335 wins).
? Iowa logged its 20th victory of the season on Feb. 12 at Nebraska. It is the team’s quickest 20-win season since 1995-96.
? Bluder has led Iowa to three consecutive 20-win seasons and eight overall. Iowa has won at least 20 games in seven of the last eight years.
? Bluder owns a 299-172 (.637) mark at Iowa and a 655-314 (.677) overall record in 31 seasons as a head coach.

HAWKEYES AT CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA:
The Hawkeyes are 363-101 (.781) all-time inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and 11-6 in NCAA Tournament games. Iowa went 14-4 at home last season, and is 103-23 in its last 126 games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes are 14-0 at home this season, with two regular season home dates remaining. Iowa has won 17-straight regular season home games dating back to last year. Iowa last finished undefeated at home during the 1995-96 season (14-0). The Hawkeyes have finished undefeated at home four times (1987-88, 14-0; 1988-89, 14-0; 1992-93, 15-0; 1995-96, 14-0).

Iowa’s 14 home wins a year ago and this season equal the second-highest single-season total in program history. The 14 wins equal 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.

LOGIC NAMED LIEBERMAN AWARD FINALIST FOR 2ND-STRAIGHT YEAR:
? Senior point guard Samantha Logic has been named a finalist for the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Feb. 23. It marks the second-straight year Logic has been named a finalist.
? The award recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. Candidates exhibit the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.

WBCA HONORS BLUDER WITH 2015 CAROL ECKMAN AWARD:
? Lisa Bluder is the winner of the 2015 Carol Eckman Award, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced Feb. 19.
? The Carol Eckman Award is presented annually to an active WBCA member coach who exemplifies Eckman’s spirit, integrity and character through sportsmanship, commitment to the student-athlete, honesty, ethical behavior, courage and dedication to purpose. The award is named in honor of the late Carol Eckman, the former West Chester State College coach, who is considered the “Mother of the Women’s Collegiate Basketball Championship.” Eckman organized the first women’s basketball championship at West Chester in 1969, and continued to garner recognition and support for the women’s game until her death from cancer in 1985.

BEST START SINCE…:
The Hawkeyes have enjoyed their best start in Big Ten play since the 1997-98 season, and their best start overall since the 1995-96 season. The Hawkeyes finished 27-4 overall and 15-1 in Big Ten action that year while advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.

#LOGICALCHOICE:
? Hawkeye guard Samantha Logic was named one of 10 finalists for the 2014-15 Senior CLASS Award on Feb. 12.
? Nationwide fan voting has begun to select the winner at seniorclassaward.com. Fans can vote for Logic — the #LogicalChoice — once per day on every device until March 23.
? The Racine, Wisconsin, native is the lone finalist from the Big Ten Conference.
? 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 athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
? To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be classified as NCAA Division I seniors and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

NAISMITH TROPHY LIST NARROWS, LOGIC MAKES THE CUT:
? Samantha Logic remains in the running for the Naismith Trophy, appearing on the Midseason 30 list released by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Feb. 11.
? Logic is one of three players from the Big Ten Conference to appear on list, joining sophomore Lexi Brown of Maryland and sophomore Tyler Scaife of Rutgers.
? The award is given to the women’s college player of the year in early April.

DISTERHOFT, LOGIC NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT:
? Ally Disterhoft and Samantha Logic have been named Capital One Academic All-District first team honorees for their combined performance athletically and in the classroom.
? The Hawkeye duo will advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second-, and third-team All-America honorees will be elected later this month.
? Disterhoft, a business major, and Logic, a health and human physiology and sports studies major, account for half of the Big Ten honorees.
? Iowa is the only Division I school in the nation to have two honorees.

FUN FACTS:
? Iowa is 48-15 overall since the start of last season (27-9 last year; 21-6 this year).
? The Hawkeyes enter Thursday’s game ranked No. 8 in the NCAA RPI.
? Iowa is 11-5 against teams in the top 55 of the RPI.
? Iowa is 19-3 this season when scoring 70 or more points, and 2-3 when failing to reach the 70-point plateau.
? The Hawkeyes are 14-1 when registering more steals than their opponent this year, and 15-3 when recording fewer turnovers.
? Iowa ranks seventh nationally in assists per game. The Hawkeyes are 14-2 when notching more assists than their opponent.
? The Hawkeyes are fourth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (38.7%), ninth in field goal percentage (45.7%), ninth in scoring offense (79.4), ninth in assist to turnover ratio (1.33), and 19th in 3-pointers per game (8.1).

THE TOP 3-POINT SHOOTER IN THE LAND:
? Iowa senior Melissa Dixon is leading the nation in 3-point field goals per game, averaging 3.7, along with Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell.
? Dixon is second in the Big Ten and 10th nationally in 3-point percentage (44.1%).
? Dixon has made 100 in 27 games, while Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell has made 104 in 28 games. No other player in the country has converted more than 85. Dixon has attempted 227 3-pointers this year, and Mitchell has attempted 275.
? Dixon is third in Big Ten history with 310 career 3-pointers.
? 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.
? 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 (1,436 points) ranks 13th on Iowa’s all-time scoring list. Megan Skouby is 12th (1,439).
? Senior Melissa Dixon (1,382 points) is 14th.
? 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 1,235 career points to rank 22nd. Kachine Alexander is 21st (1,239).
? Sophomore Ally Disterhoft has 890 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 (831 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 is third in assists in Big Ten history. Nancy Kennelly of Northwestern is second (892) and Ohio State’s Samantha Prahalis is first (901).
? Melissa Dixon is Iowa’s career record holder for 3-pointers (310). She is third in Big Ten history. Kelly Mazzante of Penn State is second (357), while Maggie Lucas of Penn State is the Big Ten record holder (365).
? Bethany Doolittle is second all-time in program history with 249 career blocks. Morgan Johnson is first with 293.

IOWA RANKED FOR THE 16TH-STRAIGHT WEEK THIS SEASON:
? Iowa is No. 17 in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa has been ranked in each of the first 16 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), week 12 (20/17), week 13 (16/17), week 14 (14/13), week 15 (13/11), and week 16 (17/16).
? It marks the longest Iowa has been ranked since being ranked for 18-straight weeks during the 1995-96 season.
? Iowa’s No. 11 ranking during week 15 marked its highest in the USA Today Coaches poll since the 1996-97 season.
? In the AP Poll, Maryland is No. 5, followed by Iowa (No. 17), Rutgers (No. 20), and Northwestern (No. 25). Minnesota, Nebraska, 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.

CAREER NIGHT FOR LOGIC:
? Samantha Logic scored a career-high 30 points in her home state in Iowa’s 87-75 win at Wisconsin on Feb. 8.
? Her previous career-high of 28 points was set against UC Riverside on Nov. 8, 2013.
She added four assists in the game, which tied her for fourth all-time in Big Ten history with 791 career assists (matching Helen Darling of Penn State).
? The Racine, Wisconsin, native has excelled on the road at Wisconsin in her career, posting the following numbers in her four games played in Madison.
? 2015 – 87-75 Iowa win: 30 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
? 2014 — 82-65 Iowa win: 16 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists
? 2013 — 65-56 Iowa win: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists
? 2012 — 85-79 Iowa win: 20 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists

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 150 career Big Ten victories (150-96), surpassing former Ohio State head coach Jim Foster (136) for the fourth-most in league history. Karen Langeland of Michigan State has the third most (156), while Rene Portland of Penn State is second (176). Former Hawkeye head coach and current Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer is first with 180 wins. She won 169 at Iowa.

TOUGH SCHEDULE:
Iowa has played the 16th toughest schedule in the country this season. Iowa’s schedule this season features 29 regular season games (18 conference, 11 nonconference). Of those 29 contests, 20 will come against teams that played in a postseason tournament last season. Seventeen-of-24 teams the Hawkeyes play this season reached a postseason tournament a year ago.

With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers to the Big Ten, the 14 league teams will compete in an 18-game conference schedule, playing five teams both home and away and eight teams once. Each team will play four of its single-play opponents at home and four on the road. Iowa plays Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, and Wisconsin twice, while playing the other eight league teams 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.

ANOTHER TOP ATTENDANCE YEAR:
Iowa currently ranks 15th in average attendance (4,939) and 14th in total attendance (69,144). Iowa ranked 22nd in the country in attendance last season, averaging 4,395 fans per contest. Last year marked 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 HISTORY:
Iowa has played 1,195 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 740-455 (.620). That includes a 371-187 (.667) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 363-101 (.781) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

UP NEXT:
The Hawkeyes conclude the regular season on Sunday, hosting Minnesota at 2 p.m. (CT) for Senior Day. The game will be broadcast live on BTN.