Despite long-range inaccuracies, Hawkeyes surging

They are mythical, yet undisputed, state champions.

They hold the highest ranking they've ever had since Coach Lisa Bluder came to town.

And they've done it with the signature part of their game in a mild malfunction.

The Iowa Hawkeyes take a 12-1 record into the Big Ten women's basketball season despite shooting an uncharacteristically low 28 percent from 3-point range.

“We haven't even hit the bread-and-butter part of our game,” said Kachine Alexander. “We've been horrendous with our 3-point shooting.

“But we're still beating people.”

No. 14 Iowa made it a clean sweep of its intrastate rivals Wednesday night, building a 19-point halftime lead and holding off Northern Iowa, 75-64.

The Hawkeyes reconvene Monday, then open Big Ten play next Thursday at Penn State (10-3).

If  Bluder has said it once this season, she's said it a dozen times: “We're playing well, but we can play so much better. And that's the exciting part.”

Iowa shot 37 percent from long distance last year. All of the shooters returned, but they haven't found the mark consistently. According to the latest NCAA statistics, the Hawkeyes rank 248th in Division-I in 3-point percentage.

And yet, they have put themselves in position for a big season. According to realtimerpi.com, the Hawkeyes have waded through the 23rd-most difficult in the country, and have won 12 of 13 games against it. That adds up an RPI of No. 8.

With the non-conference schedule complete, three tiers seem to have developed in the Big Ten. Iowa can be lumped into a group of three favorites, along with Ohio State and Michigan State. Then there's the potential contenders (Northwestern, Penn State and Purdue), and the likely also-rans (everybody else).

A five-game stretch in January - in which the Hawkeyes face Ohio State and Michigan State twice each - will be telling.

With all the good vibes so far, this remains a fragile team. An injury to any of the five starters (Alexander, Jaime Printy, Kamille Wahlin, Morgan Johnson and Kelly Krei) would be devastating. The starting five have played 78 percent of the team's minutes and scored 87 percent of the points.

Hannah Draxten suffered a sprained left ankle in the first half Wednesday, and did not return. Bluder expects Draxten to play at Penn State.