The Iowa women’s basketball team was in complete control as it handled Indiana, 83-64, in the Hawkeyes’ first game without leading scorer Jaime Printy.

Freshman guard Melissa Dixon started in place of Printy — who will miss the rest of the season with a torn left ACL — and had a career-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a 5-of-10 clip on 3-point shots. Dixon scored 13 of her points in the first half to help Iowa take a 35-31 lead into halftime.

"It was really exciting for my first start," she said. "My shots were pretty open, and we were pushing the ball really well."

Dixon’s start came in her second game back from a torn meniscus, suffered on Jan. 2 against Ohio State.

"Melissa stepped into that [starting] role very nicely today," head coach Lisa Bluder said. "She’s only a freshman, and this is only her third Big Ten game ever; for her to have 19 points and to shoot the ball that well is amazing."

The win brings the Hawkeyes to 14-10, 6-6 in conference play.

Senior point guard Kamille Wahlin led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field. The senior added 6 assists.

Iowa forced Indiana (5-19, 0-11) into 11 second-half turnovers, which resulted in 14 points for the Black and Gold. The Hawkeyes turned in a season low 8 giveaways.

"In the first half, we took a lot of quick 3-point shots," Bluder said. "In the second half, we said, ‘OK, let’s work the ball a little bit longer; we can still get those shots later in shot clock.’ We got the ball inside a lot better in the second half."

That inside presence allowed the Hawkeyes to shoot 70 percent from the floor in the second stanza.

— by Ben Wolfson