Hawkeye freshman Coley faces challenges in Game Time

NORTH LIBERTY - It took awhile for Chase Coley to figure out what the Game Time League was about.

The freshman forward at the University of Iowa said she thought the league was a glorified intrasquad scrimmage of sorts. But soon after getting her feet wet, Coley has found her groove.

The Minneapolis native had a double-double in the first half of last night's semifinal matchup against Pat McCool's Blendcard team. Coley finished the game with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists in a 95-82 win.

Coley didn't know what the Game Time League was just a few short months ago and now finds herself playing for the championship.

'I knew nothing,” she said. 'Now, it's something to look forward to on Wednesday nights. I didn't expect teams to come out as fast as they did.

'I feel like the games change from game to game. Different players aren't there and one player not being there can make a difference, or multiple players out make a difference because of a lack of subs.”

And even though Coley is one game away from winning the league title, she said the short season hasn't been without its difficulties.

'I think it's more getting used to building chemistry,” Coley said. 'Eventually I'm going to have to do that with everyone on the team, and now I have just a chance to do that with (her GT teammates and fellow Hawkeye Ally Disterhoft).”

Coley's head coach in the league, Brendan Unkrich, said the future Iowa forward came in with a learning curve, but the mentality he preaches to his players got her ready for the summer league.

'Every player is different when they come,” Unkrich said. 'Chase told me she didn't think it would be this intense, but she figured out fast that we play to win, and that her teammates want to win every game. After she got that, she was ready to go. She's like any freshman coming in. She needs to work on fundamentals and once she gets that, she'll be an outstanding basketball player.”

Coley and Disterhoft will face Iowa teammates Carly Mohn and Melissa Dixon in the title game next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the North Liberty Community Center. The latter pair won their semifinal game against Joe Johnston's squad, 80-74. The sharpshooting Dixon was held out of the contest with a sore heel, but her head coach, Randy Larson, expects Dixon to be ready next week.

l Comments: ben.ross@thegazettecompany.com