Printy's career night makes Senior Night a happy night

IOWA CITY -- For once, Kachine Alexander was at a loss.

"I don't know what emotions I had," she said. "I couldn't put a finger on it."

The emotions were murky. The final result was clear. Jaime Printy made sure of that.

Printy scored a career-high 32 points and Iowa concluded the game with a 30-10 run and ran away from Illinois, 83-64, in a Big Ten women's basketball contest in front of 5,046 Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa (21-7 overall, 9-6 Big Ten) won its fourth straight game and moved into a fourth-place tie in the Big Ten, and the tie-break possibilities are virtually endless as the league season hits its climax Sunday.

The Hawkeyes conclude the regular season that day at Indiana; they could finish as high as a second-place tie, as low as a sixth-place tie.

Printy kick-started Iowa's avalanche with a three-point play that gave the Hawkeyes a 56-54 edge with 7:33 to go. She eclipsed her old career-high (28) with a late 3-pointer, then added another in the final minute.

"My teammates did an awesome job finding me for the threes," said the sophomore from Marion. "They did a great job penetrating and kicking it out to me."

The game was the final one at Carver for Alexander and Kelsey Cermak, who spoke at center court to the fans afterward.

"Those two seniors are really special to us," Printy said.

Big Ten basement dweller Illinois (7-21, 2-13) held an improbable 54-53 lead with 8:25 to go. But Printy's score-and-foul put the Hawkeyes back in front.

They were just getting started.

Lana Rukavina missed the front end of a one-and-one, then fouled Kelly Krei shortly thereafter. Krei hit both free throws for a 58-54 lead.

Kachine Alexander scored on a drive for a six-point margin.

And they were far from done.

After Amber Moore hit a 3-pointer to bring the Illini within 60-57 with 6:25 left, Iowa scored the next 13 points --mostly on transition layups -- and turned it into a misleading runaway.

"When you get easy baskets, that's the best way to play basketball," Alexander said.

Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said, "We got our transition game going. We had some really nice passes."

Printy hit 11 of 21 shots from the field -- 5 of 8 from long range.

Alexander added 16 points, Kamille Wahlin tallied 11 and Morgan Johnson registered 10.

Adrienne GodBold led Illinois with 18 points, but fouled out when Iowa was in the midst of its game-breaking surge. Amber Moore scored 17; Karisma Penn was held to 12.