Printy sets freshman scoring mark in crucial win

IOWA CITY - Home finale? The Iowa Hawkeyes sure hope so.

Jaime Printy became the top freshman scorer in school history as Iowa defeated Indiana, 76-64, in a Big Ten women's basketball game before 3,573 Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

"I didn't have any idea I was even close," Printy said. "It's a great honor, but I just want to keep winning these games."

Printy scored 17 points, sending her season total to 428. That eclipsed the old freshman record of 416, set by Lisa Becker in 1983-84.

"That record stood for a long time," said Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder. "It really is a major accomplishment."

So it comes down to this for the Hawkeyes (16-12 overall, 9-8 Big Ten):

Win Sunday at Wisconsin, and they will be a No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament.

That, plus a respectable run at the Big Ten tournament, might be enough to vault them into the NCAA Tournament.

Maybe.

"I sure hope this was our last game here this season," Bluder said, referring to the fact that Iowa probably would host if it's relegated to the WNIT.

"If you said six weeks ago that we'd be in this position, people would have laughed at you."

Iowa built a 16-point lead early in the second half before the Hoosiers (13-15, 6-11) made it interesting. Three times, they closed within three points, the last time at 57-54 with 6:45 to go.

"We tend to make things exciting," Bluder said.

The Hawkeyes answered with a 9-2 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Kamille Wahlin and a putback by Morgan Johnson, to make it 66-56, and Indiana never got closer than six points again.

Johnson matched a career-high with 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting.

Kelly Krei added 14 points and 13 rebounds, Wahlin tallied 10 points and Kachine Alexander posted seven points, 15 rebounds and eight of Iowa's 21 assists.

Printy set her record-breaking basket in the midst of a 23-5 first-half run that transformed a five-point deficit into a 30-17 advantage. It was 32-26 at halftime.

Jamie Braun led Indiana with 14 points. Leading scorer Jori Davis scored 12 on 5-of-21 shooting.

After the game, JoAnn Hamlin was honored as the lone Iowa senior. She has missed the entire season with a blood clot in her right leg and intends to seek a sixth season of eligibility next year.

"It just didn't feel right for this to be her Senior Night," Bluder said. "If everything is right and fair, she should get a sixth year."