Kachine Alexander is money, or maybe she’s “Kash.”
For the third-straight Game Time contest, the Iowa junior posted a triple-double, and on Tuesday, it was needed when Coralville Hy-Vee defeated Goodfellow Printing/Imprinted Sportswear in overtime, 95-87.
In the win, Alexander netted 28 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and dished out 13 assists.
During the Hawkeyes’ 2008-09 campaign, Alexander became the first-ever Hawkeye player to post two triple-doubles in a season, and it looks like that work is carrying over.
Goodfellow/Imprinted head coach Brendan Unkrich along with everyone in attendance Tuesday noticed Alexander’s play.
“She made like 12-of-13 free throws,” said Unkrich, whose team took a tough loss in yet another competitive Game Time League game. “If she misses one of those in the second half, we win the game.”
Unkrich, upset with his team’s inability to hit the free throws to close out the game, knew what was missing — besides having Alexander on his team of course.
“We played hard on both ends of the ball, and we had a great chance to win the game,” he said. “The biggest thing, is if we make free throws, we win this game easily.”
Unkrich said he tells the women to practice their shots before every game, so this shouldn’t have been a problem.
“I ask all the girls on the team to shoot 50 free throws before the game,” he said.
Even though Hy-Vee pulled off the victory, Alexander wasn’t pleased with the way her team came out. Because it’s getting near the end of the summer, she’s feeling the pressure.
“We took them lightly; we beat them by a good amount last time, but this is the third go around, and everyone is gunning for us,” she said.
Hy-Vee didn’t come out as strongly as it finished, giving Goodfellow/Imprinted every opportunity to close the lead.
Another surprise was ex-Hawkeye Kristi Smith. She suited up for Iowa sophomore Kamille Wahlin, who was unable to attend the game, and filled in admirably.
She scored 39 points while hitting 9-of-11 from 3-point land. Unkrich said he felt fortunate about having her leading the team.
“Kristi is a great person, she’s a great basketball player,” he said. “She’s a leader on the court, and we couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Smith also pointed to her team’s inability to make its free throws as the key to the game.
“Free throws — that’s what hurt us,” she said. “If we could have made a few more free throws in regulation, we wouldn’t have had to go to overtime.”
Alexander’s stat line wasn’t a good indicator, but it was clear that she was frustrated matching up with Smith all night.
“Kristi played really well,” Alexander said. “She was reading screens real well. She would just go back and pull of for a 3.”