Dec. 17, 2010

• 'Kash' Alexander: All-America Candidate
  
• Vote 'Kash' For Premier Player Award
  
• Women's Basketball - W.I.N. Video
  
• Buy Women's Basketball Tickets
• Iowa and the Big Ten Network
• Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
  
• 24 Hawkeyes to Watch

PARDON OUR PROGRESS! As friends of the University of Iowa and fans of the Hawkeyes know, the UI Athletics Department is well into a multi-million dollar revitalization of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This important and exciting project has reduced for this season the number of ticket windows that are operational on game nights. Fans attending the home events of the 2010-11 UI men's basketball, women's basketball and wrestling teams are invited to avoid game night delays by purchasing their event tickets online or in advance of game day. If your schedule doesn't allow for an advance purchase, we recommend you consider arriving at the Arena a little earlier than originally planned. Go Hawks!

South Dakota State Notes in PDF Format

IOWA CITY, Iowa - THE SETTING
The University of Iowa women's basketball team returns to action Saturday at South Dakota State. Tip-off in Brookings, SD, is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Frost Arena.

Iowa will play three games in five days, starting with Saturday's road game.

AUDIO COVERAGE
Brent Balbinot and Shelley Till will call Saturday's game for the Hawkeye Radio Network. Hawkeye fans can listen to the contest on AM-800 KXIC in Iowa City, FM-95.7 KKSY in Cedar Rapids, AM-1040 WHO in Des Moines or on the Hawkeye All-Access page of hawkeyesports.com. Balbinot is in his seventh season as Iowa's play-by-play voice, while Till is in her sixth providing analysis.

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

Thursday's game will also be streamed live at GoJacks.com, for a $4.95 montly fee.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 1,044 games, since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa's overall record is 638-407 (.611). That includes a 318-158 (.668) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 302-87 (.776) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

WIN NO. 300 AT HOME
The UI women's basketball program picked up victory No. 300 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena with a 90-79 win over Central Michigan Nov. 21. The Hawkeyes have compiled a 301-87 (.776) record inside their home venue since it opened in 1983.

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are 4-6 on the season.

In their last game, the Jackrabbits were defeated at home by Arizona State, 63-52. Jill Young had a team-high 10 points while Jennie Sunnarborg had a team-best six rebounds in the loss.

Sunnarborg leads the team with 13.4 points per game and is shooting .573 (55-96) from the field. Kristin Rotert is next at 12.2 points per contest. Leah Dietel has a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game.

The Jackrabbits are shooting .448 (53-162) from the field, including .327 (144-199) from three-point range.

Last season, South Dakota State earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 14 seed, losing to No. 3 seed Oklahoma, 68-57 in the first round.

South Dakota State is tough at Frost Arena under head coach Aaron Johnston. The Jackrabbits are 131-16 under Johnston at home, including a 75-8 mark since the transition to Division I.

IOWA VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE NOTES
• Iowa leads the all-time series, 2-0.

• Both teams played Kansas State during non-conference action. Iowa defated the Wildcats in Iowa City, 68-62, while South Dakota State fell in Manhattan, 56-51.

• SDSU Assistant Coach Katie Falco is from Solon, IA, and played college basketball at Northern Iowa.

• SDSU Assistant Coach Emilee Gusso served as an assistant coach at Drake from 2006-09.

• SDSU has six players from the state of Minnesota while Iowa has four.

LAST MEETING
Iowa used a strong second half performance to defeat South Dakota State, 82-69 last season in its final non-conference game.

Iowa outscored the Jackrabbits, 45-31 in the second half, and outrebounded SDSU, 29-13 in the final 20 minutes.

Four Hawkeyes reached double figures, led by Jaime Printy, who netted 18 points. Kamille Wahlin added 17 points and four rebounds, while Kelli Krei had 12 points and eight boards. Morgan Johnson scored 11 points and had nine rebounds in just 23 minutes of action.

Printy was clutch for Iowa in the second half. With the Hawkeyes leading by just one point (67-66) at the 3:34 mark, Printy ignited a 15-3 run to close the game, scoring the first seven points of the surge, and all nine of her second half points, during the crucial stretch.

IOWA IN THE RANKINGS
The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 16 in the AP and No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today top 25.

Four Iowa opponents are also ranked in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls: North Carolina (10/11), Ohio State (11/10), Michigan State (14/17) and Iowa State (21/20).

Kansas State and Northwestern are receiving votes.

HAWKEYES HANDLE IOWA STATE
No. 19 Iowa defeated No. 15 Iowa State, 62-40 last Thursday in Iowa City. The matchup was the first time both teams were ranked in the top 25 for the intrastate rivalry matchup.

The Hawkeyes dominated Iowa State inside, outscoring the Cyclones 34-8 in the paint. Iowa also converted 18 Cyclone turnovers into 26 points.

Three Hawkeyes hit double figures, led by Morgan Johnson with 16 points (8-11 FGs) and 10 rebounds. Kelly Krei added 15 points and Kachine Alexander chipped in 13 points.

BLUDER CLOSING IN ON MILESTONE
Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder is just two wins away from becoming only the second coach in school history to reach the 200-win milestone.

Bluder currently has 198 wins in her 11 years at Iowa. C. Vivian Stringer is the only other Hawkeye head coach to reach the 200-win plateau at Iowa, finishing her time in Iowa City with 269 wins.

Ohio State Head Coach Jim Foster is the only other active Big Ten coach to have reached 200 wins at his/her current school.

JOHNSON FILLING UP THE STAT SHEET
Morgan Johnson has scored double figures in Iowa's last three games, including double-doubles in two of those three contests.

Johnson tallied a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds at No. 14 North Carolina Dec. 2. She followed with 13 points and six rebounds against Kansas State and recorded another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against No. 15 Iowa State.

Over the three-game stretch, Johnson averaged 15 points, 9.7 rebounds, shot .690 (20-29) from the field and blocked 13 shots.

PRINTY LENDS A HELPING HAND
Jaime Printy recorded a career-high nine assists in Iowa's 22-point victory over Iowa State last week.

Printy leads the team with 51 assists and has led the team in helpers in six of Iowa's 10 games.

KREI DRAINING FROM DISTANCE
Kelly Krei tied a career-high for three-pointers made against Iowa State Dec. 9, draining five long distance shots. The Iowa City native finished with 15 points (5-8 3Pt FGs).

Krei made five three-pointers against Penn State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament last season.

SILENCING THE CYCLONES
Iowa's defense was stout against No. 15 Iowa State Dec. 9, holding the Cyclones to just 40 points.

The scoring output by Iowa State was the lowest for an Iowa opponent since the 2007-08 season. Iowa held Michigan to 37 points in the Big Ten Tournament (March 7, 2008).

AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Iowa currently leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in the NCAA with a .794 free throw percentage. Jaime Printy leads the league and ranks second in the NCAA at .968 (30-31).

Kachine Alexander has attempted 70 free throws, Printy has 31, Morgan Johnson has 28 and Kelly Krei has 27.

PRINTY ON A ROLL FROM THE LINE
After missing her first free throw attempt of the season in Iowa's season-opener, Jaime Printy has made 30-straight free throws.

The school record for consecutive free throws made is 33, set by Lindsey Meder during the 2000-01 season.

DRAINING FREEBIES WHEN IT COUNTS
The Hawkeyes are putting games out of reach from the free throw line late in the game.

The Hawkeyes are shooting .892 (33-37) from the charity stripe in the final five minutes of games this season. That includes a .857 percentage (12-14) in the final two minutes and a .895 mark (17-19) in the final minute.

BALANCED SCORING ATTACK
Iowa is one of only two teams (Penn State) to have five players ranked among the top 30 scorers in the league. All five Hawkeye starters average double figures.

Northwestern has four ranked while Ohio State and Northwestern have three. The other six Big Ten schools have either one or two players among the top 30 scorers.

The Hawkeyes have had at least three players reach double figures in scoring in all nine games this year. Five players scored 10 or more points against Bradley. Four players hit double digits against Northeastern, Central Michigan and Kansas State.

HAWKEYES HITTING THE BOARDS
Iowa's rebounding numbers through its first 10 games are impressive. The Hawkeyes rank second the Big Ten in total rebounding (43.9 per game) and offensive rebounding (14.6).

Kachine Alexander is Iowa's leading rebounder and ranks fourth in the Big Ten at 9.1 boards per contest. Her 18 rebounds against Central Michigan, Nov. 21, are the most for any Big Ten player this season.

LEADING THE LEAGUE
Two Hawkeyes are leading the Big Ten in different statistical categories.

• Kachine Alexander is the top offensive rebounder in the league (3.6 per game).

• Jaime Printy has the best free throw percentage (.968) in the Big Ten.

• Additionally, Johnson also ranks second in offensive rebounds (3.5 per game) and blocks (2.7 per game). Printy also ranks second in assists (5.1 per game).

CERMAK SEEING INCREASED MINUTES
Senior co-captain Kelsey Cermak is seeing a significant increase in her minutes this season.

Cermak has played 20 or more minutes in four of Iowa's 10 games. In her previous three years combined, Cermak had hit 20 or more minutes just three times.

Cermak played in 33 total minutes as a freshman and 89 as a sophomore. She played 431 minutes as a junior and has already played 176 minutes as a senior.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS
Four Hawkeyes are currently working their way up the career records lists at Iowa.

• Kachine Alexander ranks second in career double-doubles (27), 10th in career rebounding (706), 15th in career assists (260) and 28th in career scoring (934). She needs 20 more rebounds to move past Franthea Price for ninth place on the rebounding list and two assists to move past Leah Magner for 14th on the assists list. She needs nine more double-doubles to take over first place (Lisa Long, 35).

• Morgan Johnson ranks fifth in career blocks (106) and needs eight more to move past Jennie Lillis into fourth place.

• Kamille Wahlin ranks sixth in career three-pointers made (129) and needs 10 more to move past Kristi Faulkner into fifth place.

• Jaime Printy ranks 11th in career three-pointers made (101) and needs eight more to move past Jenna Armstrong and into the top 10 of the list.