Peschel gets another start

IOWA CITY - The starting lineup for the Iowa Hawkeyes went by script last week.

From here on out, it will go by matchup. Maybe, by hunch.

'We determined ahead of time that we would start Whitney (Jennings) one game and Kali (Peschel) the other,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said Tuesday.

Peschel made the most of her opportunity, and will get another.

No. 18 Iowa (2-0) hosts Pepperdine (1-1) in the second game of Friday's Hawkeye Challenge semifinals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tipoff is approximately 7:30 p.m., after the conclusion of the opener between Dayton (0-2) at Tennessee-Martin (1-2).

A junior forward, Peschel recorded a career-high 19 points in the Hawkeyes' win over Robert Morris on Sunday. She'll be in the lineup again Friday.

'I'm so happy for Kali,” Bluder said. 'She was worked really hard. She kept positive through last year.”

Peschel started early last season before Ally Disterhoft replaced her.

By early indications, Iowa has the potential for another big scoring night Friday. The Hawkeyes are averaging 96 points per game; Pepperdine allowed 100 to Nebraska in its opener at Lincoln before winning at Cal-Irvine, 76-53, Wednesday.

The initial NCAA statistics have not been released, but the Hawkeyes have to rank near the top in assists. They collected 48 in their first two games, including 18 by Samantha Logic.

'That's who we are,” Bluder said. 'That's the way we love to play.

'The thing I liked most about last week was that even when the (USC Upstate) game got out of control, they stuck to playing Iowa basketball. We didn't have anybody that thought, ‘We're way ahead. I'm going to go ahead and get mine.' That led to high assist numbers and high field-goal shooting.”

Four Hawkeyes are averaging in double figures, led by Melissa Dixon at 18.5 points per game. Logic is posting 9.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists per contest.

Saturday's second-round games will be at 5 and 7:30.

Dayton was ranked 22nd in the preseason poll before falling out after suffering losses at Washington State and Gonzaga.

'Their record is deceiving,” Bluder said. 'They played at two places that are tough to win. They'll be an excellent transition team, kind of a mirror image of us, if we play.”

Tennessee-Martin picked up its first win Wednesday at Cincinnati, 62-61.

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