Hawkeyes, Stringer renew acquaintances

IOWA CITY - They crossed paths at Big Ten women's basketball preseason media festivities in Chicago.

'I've read books about (Rutgers Coach C. Vivian Stringer),” Iowa point guard Samantha Logic said. 'Really meeting her, it was like, ‘Is this really happening?' She sat and talked with us a long time.”

Melissa Dixon said, 'It was awesome. Obviously, she's a legend.”

It's been nearly 20 years since Stringer left Iowa to return to the East Coast. Her Rutgers teams have played Iowa three times since her departure, winning twice.

They're about to become much more familiar with each other on a regular basis. No. 17 Rutgers (10-3, 1-1) hosts No. 20 Iowa (10-2, 1-0) Sunday in their first meeting as conference rivals.

Tipoff is 11 a.m. (Iowa time) at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J.

Stringer posted a 269-84 mark in 12 seasons at Iowa (1983-95), taking the Hawkeyes to the Final Four in 1993. Now in her 15th year at Iowa, Lisa Bluder surpassed Stringer last season as the Hawkeyes' winningest coach. She is 288-168.

'I know (Stringer) started the tradition of winning here at the university,” said sophomore Ally Disterhoft. 'This game is a lot more special because of that.”

Stringer's Rutgers teams are the same as Stringer's Iowa teams. Physical. Athletic. Tough.

'They create a lot of chaos with their defense,” Bluder said. 'I guess that's the best word for it - chaos. They move so fast. You tend to play at a faster pace than you normally would.”

The Hawkeyes' greatest concern is on the glass. The Scarlet Knights have outrebounded their opponents by 5.5 boards per game; Iowa hasn't outrebounded anyone since the third game of the season (Pepperdine, Nov. 21).

'It's something we've got to keep working on,” Bluder said. 'Our last game was so much better (Penn State outrebounded Iowa 40-38 in the Hawkeyes' Big Ten-opening 77-52 win last Sunday).

'But it has to ba a counscious effort.”

Rutgers senior Betnijah Laney leads the Big Ten with 12.5 rebounds per game.

Dixon is four 3-pointers away from Lindsey Meder's career record of 261. Dixon is shooting 47 percent from long distance and leads a balanced scoring attack with 15.2 points per game. Disterhoft is next at 15.1.

It has been 10 years since Iowa last started the Big Ten at 2-0, and a win Sunday could set the Hawkeyes up for a big start in the Big Ten. Their next three games are at Illinois, then home against Purdue and Northwestern.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com