The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Bluder’s Bunch takes bite out of Great Danes

Iowa and Albany were tied, 23-23, with five minutes left in the first half of the Hawkeyes’ Wednesday night game against the Great Danes.

Over the next five minutes, the Black and Gold scored 14 unanswered points and headed into the break with a 37-23 lead.

The Hawkeye offense didn’t slow down in the second half, either, and Iowa won in a blowout, 82-60.

"The last couple of games, we got off to a slow start. Tonight — I wouldn’t say it was a slow start, but we were neck-and-neck with them," junior guard Jaime Printy said. "That run going into the half really set the momentum for the second half, and having that lead gave us a little bit of comfort."

Iowa controlled the pace and possession of its first game since its first loss of the season, a 69-59 defeat at the hands of UNLV on Sunday.

Iowa made 26 field goals and dished out 23 assists. The Hawkeyes also out-rebounded the Great Danes, 42-37, and handled Albany’s full-court press.

"Albany is a team that’s very difficult to play against at the beginning of the year because of the way they play," head coach Lisa Bluder said. "They change the way you play because of the craziness they play with."

The victory was a sign of the Black and Gold’s depth. Eleven players saw the court for Iowa — 10 scored — and nine Hawkeyes played more than 10 minutes.

Printy and senior forward Kelly Krei led Iowa; Printy scored 16 points and dished out 8 assists, and Krei recorded her third career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Krei also provided excellent defense on Albany star senior Julie Forster, who scored only 2 points in the second half.

Albany’s two best players — Forster and junior forward Ebone Henry — were limited by foul trouble all game. Henry had three fouls in the first half and started the second on the bench.

"My two best players were sitting on the bench: that doesn’t really help," Albany head coach (and Hawkeye alum) Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said about Iowa’s 14-0 run before halftime. "They aren’t very foul-prone, which was tough. Julie Forster never comes out of the game, she never gets in foul trouble. That would be like having Printy and Krei out [for Iowa]."

The Hawkeyes were able to overcome foul trouble of their own as well.

Starting center Morgan Johnson and guard Samantha Logic both picked up two fouls in the first half. Reserves Theairra Taylor and Kalli Hansen also had two apiece.

Iowa’s bench responded, though, and had 26 points in the victory.

"We went into this game really feeling we wanted to change our rotations a little bit," Bluder said. "It was a combination of us doing that, and then the foul trouble forced us into having to do that even more so.

"I liked the way we subbed tonight."

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