Hawkeyes rebound with win over Albany

IOWA CITY -- The Iowa Hawkeyes rebounded. Literally and figuratively.

Iowa closed the first half with 14 straight points and dampened Katie Abrahamson-Henderson's return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 82-60, in front of 2,909 Wednesday night.

"It's good to get back on the winning side," Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. "Albany's a different team. They change the way you play because of the craziness they play with. You can't get into your offense against them."

Iowa (2-1) was coming off a surprising loss to UNLV in the Hawkeye Challenge championship game Sunday, and the Hawkeyes had been outrebounded in their first two games of the season.

They were better Wednesday, earning a 42-37 advantage on the glass.

"We worked a lot on rebounding this week in practice," said Kelly Krei, who notched the third double-double of her career (13 points, 10 rebounds). "Everybody rebounded well."

Pretty well, Bluder said.

"It was OK," Bluder said. "It wasn't great, but it was better than what we've seen. We did a little better job crashing tonight, but it can be better."

Albany (2-1) never led, but the Great Danes forged a 23-23 tie on Julie Forster's putback with 5:09 left in the first half.

But Kalli Hansen scored on an inbounds pass at the 4:50 mark, igniting the 14-0 run to conclude the half. Krei hit a 3-pointer and made a couple of free throws, and Iowa took a 37-23 advantage into the locker room.

"The last couple games, we got off to a slow start," said Iowa junior Jaime Printy. "That run set the momentum for the second half.

Abrahamson-Henderson, a Cedar Rapids native who graduated from Iowa in 1990, is in her second year as the Great Danes' coach.

"I think my players need to see where I'm from and the atmosphere I used to play in," she said. "We're going to leave here with a feel of what it's like to play a great team, and we'll play at a higher level because of it."

Eleven Hawkeyes played, and 10 of them scored. Printy led the way with 16 points. Krei hit all three of her long-distance shots in her 13-point performance, and Morgan Johnson added 12.

The bench provided 26 points, including eight apiece from freshmen Melissa Dixon and Bethany Doolittle.

Twenty-three of 26 Iowa baskets were assisted. Printy distributed eight assists, Krei five.

Ebone Henry led the Great Danes with 17 points. Julie Forster added 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Backup point guard Trisha Nesbitt was on crutches Wednesday; she is sidelined 3-6 weeks after getting her knee scoped.

The Hawkeyes begin in-state play Saturday at Northern Iowa.

IOWA 82, ALBANY 60

ALBANY (60): Julie Forster 6-14 1-5 13, Keyana Williams 2-2 0-0 4, Cassandra Callaway 2-11 1-2 5, Ebone Henry 6-19 2-3 17, Lindsey Lowrie 1-5 0-0 3, Cyndra Couch 3-4 0-0 6, Sarah Royals 2-2 0-1 4, Adrienne Jones 1-9 3-4 5, Tabitha Makopondo 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 24-69 8-17 60.

IOWA (82): Kelly Krei 3-5 4-4 13, Jaime Printy 3-10 9-9 16, Morgan Johnson 5-9 2-3 12, Kamille Wahlin 3-5 2-2 9, Samantha Logic 2-4 2-2 6, Kalli Hansen 1-1 0-0 2, Melissa Dixon 2-5 2-2 8, Theairra Taylor 2-4 1-2 5, Kathryn Reynolds 0-3 0-0 0, Virginia Johnson 1-1 1-1 3, Bethany Doolittle 4-6 0-2 8. Totals 26-53 23-27 82.

Halftime: Iowa 37, Albany 23. 3-point goals: Albany 4-18 (Callaway 0-1, Henry 3-12, Lowrie 1-5), Iowa 7-12 (Krei 3-3, Printy 1-3, Wahlin 1-3, Dixon 2-2, Reynolds 0-1). Team fouls: Albany 23, Iowa 15. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Albany 37 (Forster 10), Iowa 42 (Krei 10). Assists: Albany 10 (Callaway 4), Iowa 23 (Printy 8). Steals: Albany 12 (Forster 3), Iowa 5 (Printy 2). Turnovers: Albany 15, Iowa 17.

Attendance: 2,909.