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Feb. 17, 2010
By Don Lund
NORTH LIBERTY LEADER
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UI's Jamie Printy
(Don Lund) |
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IOWA CITY- The Iowa women picked up a big road win last week, knocking off Indiana, 71-67.
I am so amazed at how the Hawkeyes have dealt with the challenges of this season.
Joann Hamlin, expected to start at center, doesn't even see one second on the floor this year because of a blood clot in her leg.
Hannah Draxton was the starting forward before a back injury sidelined her for the season. She played in four games.
Theairra Taylor, one of Iowa's top recruits from Minnesota, plays in 10 games starting eight before going down with an torn ACL.
Then to top it off, Kamille Wahlin, one of the best point guards in the Big Ten, suffers a concussion against Michigan State and doesn't even suit up for Indiana.
So like the football team has done, it's the "next woman in" for the basketball team.
Trisha Nesbitt starts at the point, plays a career-high 37 minutes, has two steals and two assists.
Jaime Printy sores a career-high 28 points, 20 in the second half and has five rebounds.
"She just took over in the second half when we were down by seven," said Coach Bluder about her 5-11 freshman.
Kelsey Cermack scores a career-high 10 points and plays 21 minutes.
"Kelsey stepped up big-time," said the coach. "She played a little three, she played a little four, and she played a little five. She kind of did everything for us. Kelsey was very, very important in this win"
The glue who holds this team together is Kachine Alexander.
The 5-9 junior picked up her 11th double-double at halftime and finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds.
The wonen followed that up with a 77-67 win over Illinois at Carver last Saturday.
The two wins improved their record to 14-11, 7-7 in the Big Ten.
Talk about a tale of two halves... the Hawks scored 47 in the first half, Illinois 20. The Fighting Illini scored 47 in the second half, Iowa 30.
I'll tell you what Hawkeye fans, if you haven't seen Kachine Alexander play... she is worth the price of admission.
You're talking 35 minutes, 24 points, (including 17-20 free throws), six assists and six rebounds.
Kach hit 10 of her free throws in the second half and meanwhile Kamille Wahlin, back after sitting out with a concussion, scored 10 of her 16 points after halftime.
This is such a fun team to watch and there are no seniors!
I think Lisa Bluder and her staff are doing their best coaching job and they still have four games to play plus the Big Ten tournament.
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