NorthCarolina12

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- THE SETTING
The University of Iowa women's basketball team hosts North Carolina in the Preseason WNIT championship Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Adult tickets are $5, while youth (18 and under) and UI students are free.

ON YOUR TELEVISION
Sunday's Preseason WNIT championship will be televised to a national audience on CBS Sports Network. Thad Anderson, Ceal Barry and Taylor Rooks will call the action.

CBS Sports Network can be found on DirecTV (613), Dish Network (158) and Mediacom (171 or 762 - HD). For other local listings, visit cbssportsnetwork.com.

AUDIO COVERAGE
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call Sunday's game for the Hawkeye Radio Network. Hawkeye fans can listen to the contest on 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 ninth season as Iowa's play-by-play voice, while Till is in her eighth providing analysis.

ON YOUR COMPUTER
Hawkeye fans can follow the game via live stats (Gametracker). The "GT" link can be accessed under the "Calendar" tab on the front page of hawkeyesports.com or on the women's basketball schedule page.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 1,101 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa's overall record is 674-427 (.612). That includes a 340-170 (.667) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 336-91 (.787) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

PRESEASON WNIT INFORMATION
• The Preseason WNIT is in its 19th year and is one of the longest-running preseason women's basketball tournaments. Teams are selected based on expected success for that season, relevant past, conference standing, fan base and geographical location.

• The official tournament website is womensnit.com. Fans can also follow the WNIT on Facebook and on Twitter (@womensNIT). The official Twitter hashtag of the tournament is #WNIT.

IOWA IN THE PRESEASON WNIT
The Hawkeyes are participating in the Preseason WNIT for the second time. Iowa's only other Preseason WNIT appearance was in 1996. The Hawkeyes, ranked No. 6 in the country, defeated Illinois State (66-41) in first round action, but were upset by No. 20 Notre Dame (60-51) in the second round. Both games were played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
The North Carolina Tar Heels are 3-0 overall after home wins over Davidson (70-59), Duquesne (62-58) and Gerogetown (63-48). Sunday will be North Carolina's first road game of the season.

Tierra Ruffin-Pratt leads the Tar Heels with 15 points per game. Waltiea Rolle (10.7), Xylina McDaniel (10.7) and Brittany Rountree (10) are all averaging double figures. Krista Gross is averaging 12.3 rebounds per contest. As a team, North Carolina is scoring 65 points per game and holds a +10 scoring margin.

Rountree had 22 points to lead North Carolina over Georgetown in the Preseason WNIT semifinals. Megan Buckland added 13, while Gross grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.

North Carolina returns two starters from last year's team that was 20-11 overall and 9-7 in ACC play. Rountree was an ACC All-Freshman team selection.

NORTH CAROLINA VS. IOWA NOTES
• Iowa leads the all-time series, 2-1. Sunday is the first time the two teams will face off in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes won the first meeting, 106-81, in the Hilton Head Island Shootout in Hilton Head, SC, during the 1989-90 season. The second matchup was a 73-64 victory for the Hawkeyes over then-No. 16 ranked North Carolina in Myrtle Beach, SC, at the Carolinas Holiday Beach Classic during the 1995-96 season.

• North Carolina defeated Iowa, 79-67 in Chapel Hill in the 2010 Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Both teams were 7-0 and ranked inside the top-20 (North Carolina 14th, Iowa 18th). Morgan Johnson had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Jaime Printy chipped in 17 points and seven assists. North Carolina's Tierra Ruffin-Pratt had nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Last Meeting

Iowa	67
North Carolina	79

December 2, 2010
Chapel Hill, NC

Nationally-Ranked Hawkeyes Suffer First Defeat After falling behind by 20 in the first half, the No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes fought back to within a single point twice in the second half, but it couldn't complete the comeback bid as No. 14 North Carolina went on to claim a 79-67 victory in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge contest.

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

HAWKEYES WIN THRILLER OVER MIDDLE TENNESSEE
The Hawkeyes advanced to the Preseason WNIT championship with a thrilling 69-63 overtime win over Middle Tennessee. Jaime Printy buried a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left to force overtime and scored eight of Iowa's 10 points in the extra frame for the win.

Iowa led by six with just over two minutes left, but the Blue Raiders fought back to take a three point lead with nine seconds remaining. Printy then drained a 25-footer for overtime and the Hawkeyes dominated the extra period.

Printy led Iowa with 26 points (11-for-11 FTs). Morgan Johnson had 20 points and Samantha Logic added 12 assists.

IOWA IN THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes are receiving votes in the latest ESPN/USA Today Top 25.

Five Iowa opponents are also ranked in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls: Penn State (9th/8th), West Virginia (14th/22nd), Nebraska (15th/19th), Purdue (18th/18th) and Ohio State (20th/21st).

In addition, Middle Tennessee, Iowa State, Florida State, Michigan State, Texas, Michigan and North Carolina are receiving votes.

TWO SCHOOL RECORDS SET AGAINST MIDDLE TENNESSEE
• Samantha Logic tied the Iowa school record for assists in a single game with 12. She is the fifth Hawkeye to record 12 assists in a single game. The 12 assists also ties the Carver-Hawkeye Arena record. Logic now has three career games with 10 or more assists.

• Jaime Printy tied the school record for individual free throw percentage in a single game (minimum 10 attempts). Printy was 11-for-11 (1.000). It marked the eighth time in school history that a player has been perfect from the line with at least 10 attempts, and the second time Printy has accomplished the feat. That also tied a Carver-Hawkeye Arena record. Printy's 11 made FTs tied a career high.

JOHNSON CLOSE TO BLOCKS RECORD
Morgan Johnson needs four more blocks to become Iowa's all-time blocked shots leader.

Johnson enters Sunday's game with 232 career blocks. Tangela Smith holds the Iowa school record with 235 blocks.

Johnson currently ranks ninth in Big Ten history in career blocks.

DOOLITTLE BLOCK PARTY
Bethany Doolittle has made her presence known on the defensive end of the court.

Iowa's power forward has swatted at least two shots in each of Iowa's first three games, including a career-high six blocks in the season-opener against Northern Illinois (Nov. 9) and five blocks against Middle Tennessee (Nov. 14).

Last year as a freshman, Doolittle averaged just under one block per game.

SHARING AND SCORING
Iowa's guards are sharing the ball well, which is leading to numerous scoring chances.

The Hawkeyes have recorded 50 assists on 66 made field goals through three games this season. Samantha Logic (18) and Jaime Printy (10) have 28 of Iowa's 50 assists.

WINNING IN EXTRA TIME
With the win over Middle Tennessee, Iowa has now won four of its last five overtime games, dating to the 2009-10 season.

The Hawkeyes knocked off Wisconsin and Illinois in overtime last season and were defeated at Kansas State in overtime. Iowa also topped Wisconsin in OT in 2010.

BLUDER CLOSING IN ON MILESTONE
Head coach Lisa Bluder is just 11 wins away from career win No. 600. Bluder entered the 2012-13 season as the 26th winningest active coach and the 46th overall winningest coach in NCAA women's basketball history (by victories).

Only 41 coaches in NCAA women's basketball history (all divisions) have reached the 600 career win plateau.

PRINTY CRACKS TOP 10
Jaime Printy entered the top 10 in career scoring at Iowa after the victory over Middle Tennessee State (Nov. 14).

Printy now sits in 10th place with 1,447 career points. She trails ninth place (Kristi Smith) by eight points and eighth place (Kamille Wahlin) by 36 points.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS
• Morgan Johnson ranks second in career blocks (232), 13th in career rebounds (652) and 23rd in career scoring (1,147). She needs four more blocks to move past Tangela Smith for first place, two more rebounds to move past Shanda Berry for 12th place and 14 more points to pass Tia Jackson for 22nd place.

• Jaime Printy ranks fourth in career 3-pointers made (201), 10th in career scoring (1,447) and 12th in career assists (314). She needs 21 more 3-pointers to move past Wendy Ausdemore for third place, nine more points to move past Kristi Smith for ninth place and nine more assists to move past Lisa Anderson for 11th place.

IOWA SELECTED TO HOST NCAA 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS
The University of Iowa has been selected to host first and second round games of the 2013 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship.

The Iowa City site will host first round games on Sunday, March 24 at 4 and 6:30 p.m. The second round contest will be on Tuesday, March 26 at 8:30 p.m.

Fans can take advantage of a special advanced sale rate that runs until Jan. 1. All-session tickets are just $25 for adults and $15 for youth (18 and under), UI students and seniors (50+). The first 500 fans purchasing all-session tickets will receive a souvenir t-shirt.

IOWA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AND SOCIAL MEDIA
The Hawkeye women's basketball has four different social media outlets. Check out the Iowa women's basketball Facebook page or the University of Iowa Athletics Facebook page. Fans can also follow @IowaWBB or @TheIowaHawkeyes on Twitter.