University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Iowa
Iowa Rallies to Snap Minnesota's Winning Streak
2/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Iowa's Kachine Alexander scored on a contested layup with 0:05 left, as the Hawkeyes rallied from a four-point halftime deficit to snap Minnesota's three-game winning streak and post a 64-62 victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Thursday night.
The loss spoiled a 19-point effort by Minnesota's senior point guard China Antoine, who scored 13 points in the second half, including the Gophers' final seven points. Junior guard Kiara Buford finished with 15 points, but was held to two points after the half, and senior forward Kristen Dockery had 12 points in a reserve role.
But Alexander scored 13 of her 17 points after the break, and Jaime Printy had nine of her 13 points in the final 3:20, as the Hawkeyes rallied from a 28-24 halftime deficit to improve to 18-7 overall and 6-6 in the Big Ten. Minnesota dropped to 11-13 overall and 3-8 in the conference with the loss.
Antoine scored the Gophers' first six points by knocking down two three-pointers in the first four minutes, and Buford helped Minnesota build a 14-10 lead with two treys of her own. Minnesota made 4-of-5 attempts from long-range to start the game.
Minnesota stretched its lead to 17-12, before Iowa went on a 9-4 run to tie the score at 21-21 with 4:28 left in the half. But the Gophers then scored seven-straight, with Buford tallying five points, to pull ahead 28-21 at the 1:47 mark.
Buford led all scorers with 13 first-half points, making 4-of-9 field goals, including 3-of-4 treys. As a team, Minnesota made 9-of-26 (.346) attempts, but was 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Iowa was limited to 8-of-23 (.348) attempts, including just 2-of-11 (.182) from three-point range.
The Hawkeyes began the second half with a 10-3 run, with Kelly Krei scoring five points, to help Iowa pull ahead, 34-31, and force a Minnesota timeout with 15:24 remaining.
Kellogg scored four points during a one-minute, 30-second stretch to help Minnesota close within one point, 38-37, but the Gophers had only attempted eight field goals over the first 8:27 of the second half.
With the score tied, 50-50, the Gophers got a basket from Dockery, followed by a three-point play by sophomore guard Leah Cotton to pull ahead 55-50 with 4:09 left. The points were Cotton's first in the past two games.
But the Hawkeyes scored six-straight to take a one-point lead, 56-55, with 2:51 remaining. Printy made a huge three-pointer with 0:44 left, putting the Hawkeyes up 62-59, but Antoine answered with a trey with 0:23 left to tie the score and set up the final sequence.
The Gophers return home to play host to their next two games, beginning with Sunday's 2:00 p.m. (CST) contest versus Ohio State. That game will be streamed live on www.BigTenNetwork.com.
