Hawkeyes sizzle late, buck the Badgers

IOWA CITY -- The second half was a can't-miss proposition for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Iowa shot 67 percent from the field after intermission, and did not miss a free throw all night, in a 69-57 Big Ten women's basketball victory over Wisconsin before a crowd of 4,610 Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes (11-8 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) scored 14 straight points in a second-half run and sidestepped a career night by Wisconsin's Morgan Paige -- a Marion native who scored 20 points.

"It was an extremely important game for us," said Iowa's Kamille Wahlin. "We needed it big-time."

With the game tied at 47-all, Wahlin and Printy combined for 12 points as Iowa went on its pivotal surge. The Hawkeyes held Wisconsin (5-13, 1-5) scoreless for a span of nearly 6 minutes.

"Our defense was pretty good in the second half," Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. "But obviously the thing that I'm happiest about is the rebounding."

The Hawkeyes held a dominant 41-19 advantage on the boards. And they made 14 of 21 shots from the floor after intermission, which enabled them to rally from a 28-27 halftime deficit.

Paige, who led Marion High School to a pair of state-tournament appearances, surpassed her old college career-high of 16 points, set in November against Marquette. She made 6 of 10 shots from long distance.

"I just didn't want to overdo it. I wanted to stop rushing it and just play," said Paige, who has scored in double figures in each of her last three games to boost her season scoring average to 9.4 points per game.

Printy said, "(Paige) shot the ball really well from behind the three-point line, and it's kind of cool that she comes home (and plays well)."

Printy led all scorers with 25 points and moved to No. 10 on the all-time scoring list, supplanting Wendy Ausdemore at the bottom of the top-10 list. The junior has scored 1,364 points.

Wahlin added 15 points, Kelly Krei 10.

The Hawkeyes were 16 of 16 from the free throw line, with Printy and Wahlin accouting for 15 of them.

"We've got the right people shooting them," Bluder said. "Jaime is one of the best in the country at shooting free throws, so it's kind of nice when she's there nine times."

Iowa ran off to an 18-9 lead before the Badgers went on a 19-3 run to take a 28-21 advantage.

But the Hawkeyes were within a point at halftime and started the second half hot on the way to a 40-33 advantage. The Badgers took their final lead at 45-43, and it was 47-47 before Iowa scurried away for good.

Iowa is at Penn State on Sunday.

IOWA 69, WISCONSIN 57

At Iowa City

WISCONSIN (57): Anya Covington 5-13 0-0 10, Jade Davis 2-5 0-0 5, Taylor Wurtz 4-10 1-2 12, Morgan Paige 7-15 0-0 20, Lindsay Smith 0-0 0-2 0, AnnMarie Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Lacia Gorman 2-7 2-2 6, Ashley Thomas 1-3 0-0 2, Tiera Stephen 0-1 0-0 0, Jacki Gulczynski 1-2 0-0 2, Cassie Rochel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 3-6 57.

IOWA (69): Kelly Krei 4-5 0-0 10, Morgan Johnson 3-8 0-0 6, Kamille Wahlin 4-8 6-6 15, Samantha Logic 3-6 0-0 6, Jaime Printy 7-14 9-9 25, Trisha Nesbitt 0-0 0-0 0, Theairra Taylor 1-2 0-0 2, Kathryn Reynolds 0-0 0-0 0, Virginia Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Bethany Doolittle 2-5 1-1 5. Totals 24-48 16-16 69.

Halftime: Wisconsin 28, Iowa 27. 3-point goals: Wisconsin 10-23 (Davis 1-4, Wurtz 3-6, Paige 6-10, Gorman 0-2, Gulczynski 0-1), Iowa 5-17 (Krei 2-3, Wahlin 1-4, Logic 0-2, Printy 2-7, Taylor 0-1). Team fouls: Wisconsin 18, Iowa 8. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Wisconsin 19 (Covington 5), Iowa 41 (M.Johnson 9). Assists: Wisconsin 13 (Covington 3), Iowa 17 (Wahlin, Printy 5). Steals: Wisconsin 11 (Stephen 3), Iowa 9 (Taylor 3). Turnovers: Wisconsin 17, Iowa 24. 

Attendance: 4,610.

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BIG TEN STANDINGS

Conf.

All

Purdue

6-0

16-3

Ohio State

5-1

18-1

Nebraska

4-2

15-3

Michigan

4-2

15-4

Penn State

4-2

14-4

Michigan State

4-2

12-7

Iowa

3-3

11-8

Minnesota

3-3

11-9

Northwestern

2-4

12-7

Wisconsin

1-5

5-13

Illinois

0-6

6-13

Indiana

0-6

5-14

THURSDAY'S GAMES

Iowa 69, Wisconsin 57

Ohio State 82, Nebraska 68

Penn State 71, Illinois 65

Purdue 82, Indiana 60

Minnesota 71, Michigan State 65

Michigan 58, Northwestern 48

SUNDAY'S GAMES

Iowa at Penn State, 2 p.m.

Indiana at Michigan, 1 p.m.

Illinois at Ohio State, 1 p.m.

Northwestern at Wisconsin, 2 p.m.

Minnesota at Nebraska, 5 p.m.

MONDAY'S GAME

Michigan State at Purdue, 6:30 p.m.