Shooting down, scoring up for Printy

IOWA CITY -- It's not in her wrist. It's not in her head.

The issue with Jaime Printy's shooting might lie in her feet. They're too far behind the 3-point line.

"I feel like she's trying to shoot from a little bit farther out than she has in the past," Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. "She's reverse pivoting when she catches the ball to take her out farther away from the basket.

"I think it's something bad-habit-wise that she's stepping out farther than she needs. We're trying to show it to her on film and trying to convince her that she can get a little bit closer, spot up closer."

Instead of taking her 3-point attempts from a step behind the line, Printy sometimes hoists from the 25-foot range.

Iowa's leading scorer, Printy is shooting just 35.8 percent from the field and 29.1 percent from 3-point range. Both of those numbers are well off her accuracy rates from her previous two years.

"Everyone asks what's going on," Printy said Tuesday as the Hawkeyes (12-10 overall, 4-5 Big Ten) prepared for Thursday's game at Wisconsin (8-13, 4-5).

"My shot feels good. I toe up (to the 3-point line) when I can. I'm always thinking the next one is going in."

Printy insists that surgery on her right wrist -- performed in June to remove a cyst -- has nothing to do with the lower numbers.

"I had a big bump that needed to be taken out," she said. "It doesn't hurt. No, that has nothing to do with it."

A junior from Marion, Printy continues to put as much time in the gym as always. Monday night, for example, she went in for extra practice after 9 o'clock.

Printy's shooting numbers are down, but her scoring average actually has risen. She is averaging 17.3 points per game after posting scoring rates of 14.7 and 16.8 as a freshman and sophomore.

She gets to the free throw line in abundance, making 111 of 123 attempts, good for 90.2 percent.

"Even though she's not shooting as well as she did last year or the year before from 3-point range, people are still respecting her and still worried about her," Bluder said. "They're still putting their defense around her, because they know how dangerous she can be."

With 1,401 points, Printy ranks 10th all-time on Iowa's career scoring chart.

The Hawkeyes improved their Big Ten positioning and enhanced their NCAA stock with a home win Saturday over then-No. 13 Purdue. But there's still a lot of work to be done, and Iowa hasn't won a Big Ten road game in four tries.

"I would say the RPI, you need to be in the 40s, in my opinion," Bluder said. "And I think that you have to have a winning record in your conference season. I think those are the two things that we need to try to strive for at this point."

Iowa's RPI was 55 as of Wednesday.

The Hawkeyes pulled away in the second half to beat Wisconsin 69-57 on Jan. 19. The Badgers have won three straight since.

IOWA (12-10, 4-5) at WISCONSIN (8-13, 4-5)

Where: Kohl Center, Madison, Wis.

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Thursday

TV: None

Radio: WMT-AM (600), KXIC-AM (800)

Notable: The Hawkeyes have won nine straight in this series, including a 69-57 victory at Iowa City on Jan. 19. The Badgers led 29-27 at halftime in that one before the Hawkeyes pulled away late. Iowa picked up a much-needed win Saturday, handing Purdue its first Big Ten loss. Now, the Hawkeyes go after their first league road win. Jaime Printy leads the Hawkeyes at 17.3 points per game, followed by Morgan Johnson (14.1) and Kamille Wahlin (11.4). Wisconsin has won three straight games since the first meeting with Iowa. Taylor Wurtz leads the Badgers at 15.8 points per game. Marion native Morgan Paige adds 9.4 ppg, including a career-high 20-point outing in the first meeting with Iowa.

Next up for Iowa: at Indiana, 1 p.m. Sunday.

BIG TEN STANDINGS

Conf.

All

Purdue

8-1

18-4

Ohio State

7-2

20-2

Nebraska

7-2

18-3

Penn State

6-3

16-5

Michigan

5-4

16-6

Michigan State

5-4

13-9

Iowa

4-5

12-10

Minnesota

4-5

12-11

Wisconsin

4-5

8-13

Northwestern

3-6

13-9

Illinois

1-8

7-15

Indiana

0-9

5-17

THURSDAY'S GAMES

Iowa at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.

Northwestern at Michigan, 5:30 p.m.

Indiana at Penn State, 6 p.m.

Nebraska at Purdue, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at Illinois, 7:30 p.m.

SUNDAY'S GAMES

Iowa at Indiana, 1 p.m.

Illinois at Purdue, 1 p.m.

Michigan State at Michigan, 2 p.m.

Penn State at Minnesota, 2 p.m.

MONDAY'S GAME

Wisconsin at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.