Iowa Hawkeyes
Big Ten (19-11, 11-5)
This season was a slight step backward for the Iowa women’s basketball program. After finishing 12-2 in the Big Ten Conference a year ago and going over 20 victories, Iowa slipped back with five losses in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes were beaten in the Big Ten quarterfinals by Nebraska, which finished just below Iowa in the conference. Despite that, Iowa finished tied for second in the league in the regular season, which is a good finish given how difficult the conference was. A critical injury could play into opponent’s hands as well.
Big Wins: 11/25 St. John’s (60-52), 1/28 Purdue (59-42), 2/16 at Michigan (58-57)
Bad Losses: 11/13 UNLV (59-69), 12/17 at Bradley (88-96), 3/2 vs Nebraska (68-80)
Coach: Lisa Bluder (12 years at Iowa)
Why They Can Surprise:
Iowa won many games this year thanks to a highly-charged perimeter offense, where four players (Jaime Printy, Kamille Wahlin, Melissa Dixon, Kelly Krei) shot 30 3-pointers or more. In fact, Wahlin had 63 threes, Printy had 45 and Krei drained 43. All told, Iowa had 207 threes, a strong number for a team on the bubble. Iowa could win a few tournament games if that shooting stays strong. But don’t get too excited about Printy… see why they can disappoint for the answer. Opposing offenses could be stymied if Morgan Johnson gets mad enough. Johnson had 68 of Iowa’s 139 blocked shots, a human dynamo when it came to stuffing point-scoring opportunities. Johnson had 14.9 points and 6.6 rebounds, and Wahlin had 12.8 points and a second-best 115 assists. It seems like the team has shooting experts, blocking experts, rebounding experts… that is a great combination because the Hawkeyes won’t rely on a one-trick pony.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Remember what we said about Printy above? You won’t see her on the court. Printy tore an anterior cruciate ligament early last month and was lost for the season, a big blow to the program. There was a reason why pollsters never gave Iowa a fair shake into the top 25. Iowa is 1-6 against top 25 teams this season, with the victory over Purdue in January the lone bright spot. The Hawkeyes are 5-7 away from the confines of Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, including a 1-2 mark at neutral sites. It seems like Iowa plays its best basketball at home, and that won’t be good enough in tournament play. Iowa has 482 turnovers compared to 496 assists, so a few too many cough-ups of the basketball and that could harm Iowa depending on the competition. Iowa has allowed 38.0 percent field-goal shooting all season, which is just below the top 150.
Probable Starters:
Kamille Wahlin, Senior, Guard, 12.8 ppg, 3.8 apg
Melissa Dixon, Freshman, Guard, 7.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg
Samantha Logic, Freshman, Guard, 9.4 ppg, 4.2 apg, 7.2 rpg
Kelly Krei, Senior, Forward, 6.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg
Morgan Johnson, Junior, Center, 14.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.3 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Trisha Nesbitt, Junior, Guard, 0.4 ppg
Bethany Doolittle, Freshman, Center, 3.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 71.4 (36th in country, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 64.8 (233, 8)
Field-Goal Percentage: 41.6 (62, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 38.0 (139, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.9 (24, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.6 (110, 6)
Free-Throw Percentage: 79.7 (4, 1)
Rebound Margin: 2.4 (108, 5)
Assists Per Game: 16.4 (18, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.2 (95, 4)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
Iowa 2011 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Gonzaga
Iowa 2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Rutgers
Iowa 2010 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Stanford
Iowa 2009 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Georgia Tech
Iowa 2008 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Georgia
Iowa 2006 NCAA Round of 64 loss to BYU
*all team stats through 3/1
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
