WBB Notebook: Iowa at Puerto Rico Clasico

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team plays in the Puerto Rico Clasico against Cincinnati, Towson, and Washington at the Puerto Rico Clasico at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamón Pueblo, Puerto Rico.
 
Cincinnati — Wed., Nov. 27 at 1:30 p.m. (CT)
Towson — Thurs., Nov. 28 at 11 a.m. (CT)
Washington — Sat. Nov. 30 at 11 a.m. (CT)
 
WATCH/FOLLOW ALONG
All three games will be streamed live on FloHoops (subscription required). Links are available on the Iowa women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.
 
AUDIO COVERAGE

• Jamie Cavey Lang and Jim Albracht will call the action on the Hawkeye Radio Network. A link to the broadcast is available on the women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.
• Lang is in her fourth year as Iowa’s color commentator. She lettered at Iowa from 2002-05. Lang finished her Hawkeye career with 1,265 points and 506 rebounds. She was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.

 
SCOUTING CINCINNATI

• Cincinnati is 3-2 on the season with wins over Utah, Ball State, and Chattanooga.
• Cincinnati played its last contest on Nov. 19 — a 72-53 win over Chattanooga.
• The Bearcats will play two games in the Puerto Rico Clasico against Iowa and Bucknell.
• Junior forward Ilmar’l Thomas leads Cincinnati with 20.4 points per game. Senior guard Antoinette Miller also averages double figures with 18.0 points per game.
• Thomas leads the Bearcats in rebounds with 9.6 per game, and is followed by senior forward Angel Rizor with 7.6.
• As a team, Cincinnati is averaging 65.2 points per game and holding opponents to 61.8.
• Michelle Clark-Heard was named the ninth University of Cincinnati women’s basketball coach in March 2018. In her first season at the helm at UC in 2018-19, Clark-Heard led the Bearcats to 24 wins — the most victories in a head coach’s first season in program history, and the most triumphs in 17 years.

 
SCOUTING TOWSON

• Towson is 2-3 on the season with wins over Mount St. Mary’s and American
• Towson’s played its last contest on Nov. 24 — a 63-60 win over American. 
• The Tigers will play two games in the Puerto Rico Clasico against Iowa and Iona.
• Four Tigers are averaging double figures including redshirt junior guard Kionna Jeter (16.2), senior forward Nuliya Mayo (15.6), redshirt senior guard Q. Murray (11.0), and sophomore guard Myasia Jones (10.8).
• Mayo leads the Tigers in rebounds with 8.2 per game, and is followed by Jeter with 6.4.
• As a team, Towson is averaging 69.4 points per game, while opponents are averaging 70.2.
• Diane Richardson is in her third year leading the Towson University women’s basketball program. Last season, Richardson led Towson to its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship in program history and its first NCAA Tournament berth.

 
SCOUTING WASHINGTON

• Washington is 3-1 on the season with wins over California State-Bakersfield, Weber State, and Seattle.
• The Huskies played their last contest on Nov. 23 — a 78-46 win over Seattle.
• Washington will play three games in the Puerto Rico Clasico against Iona, Howard, and Iowa.
• The Huskies share the ball evenly with sophomores Haley Van Dyke (12.3) and Darcy Rees (10.0) averaging double figures, and senior Amber Melgoza (9.8), senior Mai-Loni Henson (9.5), junior Missy Peterson (9.0), and freshman Ali Bamberger (8.3) right behind.
• Van Dyke leads the Huskies in rebounds with 7.3 per game, and is followed by Melgoza and Henson with 5.5 each.
• Van Dyke has also recorded 15 steals on the season and only fouled once in four games.
• As a team, Washington is averaging 78.5 points per game and holding opponents to 50.0.
• Jody Wynn is in her third season as the head coach at the University of Washington. Under Wynn’s direction, the Huskies have steadily improved while rebuilding over the last two years. The 2018-19 season saw the Huskies record an 11-21 overall record, while playing the 14th-toughest schedule based on average opponent winning percentage.

 
IOWA DOWNS PRINCETON IN OVERTIME, 77-75

• Iowa was down by 10 at the half against Princeton, but the Hawkeyes didn’t let up. With 0.8 second left in regulation, the Hawkeyes were up 67-64. A 3-pointer from the Tiger’s Julia Cunningham tied it up, but the Hawkeyes were up for a fight and came out on top, 77-75.
• Senior Amanda Ollinger pulled in 13 rebounds and kept Bella Alarie away from the board, allowing only one offensive rebound by Princeton’s 6-4 senior.
• Senior Kathleen Doyle posted 21 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.
• Senior Makenzie Meyer and sophomore Monika Czinano scored in double figures, tallying 19 and 10 points, respectively.

 
ON THE SEASON

• Iowa is 3-1 on the season with wins over Florida Atlantic, North Alabama, and Princeton.
• Senior guard Kathleen Doyle is leading the Hawkeyes in points per game (16.3), closely followed by senior Makenzie Meyer (15.3). Sophomore Monika Czinano is also averaging in double figures (12.0).
• Senior Amanda Ollinger leads the Hawkeyes in rebounds, averaging 8.3 per game. Ollinger recorded a career-high 13 rebounds against Princeton on Nov. 20.
• Iowa sophomore Monika Czinano recorded career-high 13 points, shooting a perfect 9-for-9 from the field in the Hawkeyes, 86-81, win over North Alabama on Nov. 14.
• Czinano is leading the Hawkeyes in shooting percentage (.808), missing five shots in four games.

 
B1G HONOR ROLL

• University of Iowa senior Kathleen Doyle was named to the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Honor Roll, the conference announced Monday.
• Doyle earned the Hawkeyes’ first honor of the year and her first Big Ten Weekly honor.
• The La Grange Park, Illinois, native challenged for a triple-double in the Hawkeyes’ overtime win over Princeton on Nov. 20. She finished the game with 21 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.

 
WELCOME TO THE 1,000-POINT CLUB

• Senior Kathleen Doyle scored her 1,000th-career point in Iowa’s 85-53 win over Florida Atlantic.
• Doyle put up seven points in the first quarter to break into the 1,000-point club. She is the 37th Hawkeye to reach 1,000 points and now ranks 36th all-time at Iowa (1,058).

 
PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN

• Senior Kathleen Doyle earned unanimous preseason All-Big Ten recognition, the conference office announced Oct. 21.
• Doyle, a 2018-19 first team All-Big Ten selection (coaches), earns the second preseason honor of her career. The LaGrange Park, Illinois, native finished last season ranked 15th nationally in assists per game (5.9) and tied for 31st in total assists (170). The senior led the Big Ten with 6.3 assists per game in conference action last season. She scored in double figures 20 times in 29 games, and dished out five or more assists on 21 occasions.

 
2018-19 RECAP

• The Hawkeyes won their first Big Ten Tournament Title since 2001 and advanced to their first Elite Eight since 1993.
• Iowa tied the highest win total in program history (29 wins, 1987-88).
• The Hawkeyes went undefeated in Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the first time since 2014-15 (18-0).
• Last season, Iowa registered seven wins over ranked opponents (No. 20 West Virginia, No. 20 Minnesota, No. 14 Rutgers, No. 21 Michigan State, No. 7 Maryland, No. 8 Maryland, and No. 10 NC State).
• The Hawkeyes set the Big Ten record for assists in a single-season with 775 assists, crushing the previous record of 694 set by Maryland in 2016-17.
• Iowa set a Big Ten record with 392 assists in conference play, topping Ohio State’s mark of 356 set in 1984-85.
• The Hawkeyes averaged 21.8 assists per game during Big Ten contests, passing Iowa’s own Big Ten record of 20.8 assists per game during the 2000-01 season.
• Iowa set new school assists records in back-to-back games, dishing out 34 assists against Western Kentucky (Nov. 13), before besting that mark with 36 against N.C. Central (Nov. 17).
• The Hawkeyes finished the 2018-19 season with a 29-7 overall record.
• Iowa registered its 13th upper division finish in conference, placing second.
• Iowa has advanced to the postseason in 12 consecutive seasons (10 NCAA and two WNIT).
• The Hawkeyes finished the 2018-19 season ranked first nationally in field goal percentage (51.5), second in assists per game (21.5), third in total assists (775), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.55), 12th in free throw percentage (77.3), 13th in fewest fouls per game (13.6), and 14th in scoring offense (78.4).

 
ROSTER AT A GLANCE

• The Hawkeyes return nine letterwinners, including two starters in All-Big Ten selection Kathleen Doyle and Makenzie Meyer. Alexis Sevillian made 12 starts last season.
• Doyle led the team last season in assists, averaging 5.9 per game – a mark that led the Big Ten and ranked 15th nationally. She also led in steals, averaging 2.3 per contest – the second-best mark in the Big Ten. She ranked third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.0 points per game.
• Meyer led the team with 62 3-pointers made and recorded 143 assists.
• Guard Megan Meyer enters her freshman season after averaging 24.9 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists as a senior. Meyer is a four-time all-state honoree and two-time Globe Gazette Player of the Year (2017, 2018).
• Guard/forward McKenna Warnock joins the squad from Monona Grove where she was the all-time leading scorer (boys and girls) and all-time leading rebounder.
• Guard Gabbie Marshall enters her first year after leading Mount Notre Dame to a 2019 Ohio State Championship title, recording 73 steals and shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range.
• Edwardsville, Illinois, native, Kate Martin will make her debut after redshirting last season with a knee injury. The first-team all-state honoree averaged 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.1 steals per game as a senior.

 
GUARDS ON DUTY

• The Hawkeyes are experienced at the guard position, returning seniors Kathleen Doyle, Makenzie Meyer, and junior Alexis Sevillian.
• Together, the trio accounted for 131 of Iowa’s 201 3-pointers made (65 percent) and collectively averaged 78.9 percent from the free-throw line last season.

 
MEET THE CAPTAINS

• For the third consecutive year, senior Kathleen Doyle has been named captain by her teammates along with senior Makenzie Meyer and junior Alexis Sevillian.
• Doyle, a first team All-Big Ten selection, returns for her senior season after leading the Big Ten with 6.3 assists per game in conference play.

 
RECORD WATCH

• Head coach Lisa Bluder is one win away from the 400-win mark at Iowa.
• Senior Kathleen Doyle is 36 assists from ranking second all-time at Iowa. Doyle has 540 total assists. Cara Consuegra is in currently in second with 576 assists.

 
UP NEXT
Iowa hosts Clemson as a part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on December 4. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. (CT), and the game will be on BTN.