Five in double figures; pink-clad Hawks cruise

IOWA CITY - The Iowa Hawkeyes were pretty in pink.

Pretty darned good, that is.

Kachine Alexander posted 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead five players in double figures as the Hawkeyes downed Michigan State, 77-66, in a Big Ten women's basketball game Sunday afternoon before 2,860 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

"We're starting to play with more emotion," said Alexander, who performed a sort of shimmy of jubilation after scoring while drawing a foul late in the game.

Iowa (12-11 overall, 5-7 Big Ten) won for the fourth time in its last five games. They Hawkeyes are tied for eighth in the Big Ten, but only 1 1/2 games out of third.

They're 5-for-5 all-time in wearing pink jerseys, worn to represent the fight against breast cancer.

"Can we wear them Thursday?" Coach Lisa Bluder said.

Kelly Krei and Kamille Wahlin added 14 points. Jaime Printy scored 11 (all the final 17:28), Morgan Johnson tallied 10.

Wahlin sat out through the final stretch. She was stepped, then landed on, while trying to draw a charge, and suffered a concussion.

"She's got a big shiner," Bluder said. "But we're more worried about the concussion."

After a back-and-forth first half that featured eight lead changes, the Hawkeyes took control shortly after intermission.

Jasmine Thomas' steal and layup opened the second-half scoring to give Michigan State (15-8, 6-6) a 31-30 lead, but the Hawkeyes scored the next 10 points.

Krei hit a 3-pointer, Alexander made two free throws, Krei converted on a drive down the lane, then Printy made her first basket of the game, a trey to make it 40-31.

The Hawkeyes gave the Spartans another jab, a 7-0 spree that made it 57-45, and when Alexander scored while drawing a foul to make it 69-60, she responded with a round of fist pumps.

Johnson, a 6-foot-5 freshman, played MSU's 6-9 Allyssa DeHaan to a stalemate in the paint.

"I wanted to be stronger and play lower than her," Johnson said. "Things people normally try to do against me."

DeHaan finished with 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Her four blocks leave her one short of the NCAA career record of 480 by Sandora Irvin of TCU.

Thomas and Aisha Jefferson added 12 points apiece for the Spartans.

Iowa enjoyed a 36-26 rebounding advantage.

"Obviously, they have more height and more brawn than us," Bluder said. "To outrebound them by 10, that's a great effort for us."

Iowa plays at Indiana on Thursday.