Krei leads Iowa women to exhibition romp

Wow, this Kelly really made Concordia Krei.

Pretty cliche, for sure, but you've got to use it when you go off like Kelly Krei did Sunday afternoon. The junior forward from Iowa City High poured in six 3-pointers and scored 25 points as the Iowa women's basketball team bludgeoned Division II Concordia-St. Paul, 101-59, in an exhibition game before a sparse crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“Probably not since high school,” Krei said, when asked the last time she had 20 first-half points in a game, as she did Sunday. “I think junior year is probably time to get going.”

The 6-foot-2 Krei averaged 8.7 points last season but really took off in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, where she an all-tourney pick. There's obviously been a carry-over.

If Krei can consistently shoot as she did Sunday, that's just another offensive weapon for the Hawkeyes, behind Kachine Alexander, Jamie Printy and Kamille Wahlin.

“I hope so,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder, about Krei perhaps getting lost in the shuffle. “It's hard to keep track of that fourth shooter on the perimeter.”

Iowa blew to a 52-30 halftime edge, shooting 51.4 percent from the field in the game, 52.2 from distance and making 17 of 21 free throws. It also had a whopping 27 assists.

Not a bad start for an experienced team that opens the regular season Friday against Southern.

“I'm very happy,” Bluder said. “It was a very solid first time out on the floor. Going up and down on an opponent, I thought we did a lot of things really well.”

Junior-college transfer Kalli Hansen did not play Sunday because of a bad back, but Bluder said she expects the Kirkwood Community College transfer to practice Monday.

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