Jaime Printy saw the open lane, and she took to it without hesitation.
The senior received a pass from Sam Logic at the top of the key with just over a minute remaining in overtime. Printy sliced through the outside of the paint, cut back to split two Middle Tennessee State defenders, and dropped the ball in the basket.
The senior skipped back on defense with a huge grin, which appealed to the then-standing crowd. At that moment, Iowa led 67-61 in overtime, and thanks to the senior, they wouldn’t look back.
“If I can risk stating the obvious,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “It’s nice having Jaime Printy back.”
The aforementioned play was just one of many crucial moments in which Printy shone in Iowa’s (3-0) 69-63 overtime win over the Middle Tennessee Raiders (2-1) last night — a win that helped push Iowa into the Preseason WNIT championship game against North Carolina on Nov. 18.
The Iowa women’s basketball team wouldn’t have even had a chance to win the game had it not been for Printy. The Hawkeyes were down by 3 points with just under 10 seconds left in regulation when Logic, again, dished out a beautiful pass to Printy on the edge of the arc.
With the help of a Logic pick on the pass, Printy lined up and let a 3-pointer fly from approximately 28 feet out. The ball swooshed through the net, and the senior pumped her first in excitement. She knew that the game, as well as her showing, was far from over.
Printy helped the Hawkeyes finish the Blue Raiders, scoring 8 of her team’s next 10 points. The Marion native had a hand in 10 of Iowa’s final 11 baskets. Printy sank 8 of those 10 shots, having 6 come from the charity stripe.
The buckets she didn’t make were assists to fellow senior Morgan Johnson late in regulation. Printy, realizing she was a scoring threat, drew the defense in on the outside of the 3-point line. This allowed her to give 2 assists to Johnson for easy lay-ins.
Johnson said following the game that her and Printy have a special connection when they’re on the court. They realized this connection during a game against Iowa State a few seasons back. Printy knows just where to place the ball, regardless of hand, for Johnson to make a play on it.
“She always knows exactly which hand I want the ball in,” Johnson said. “She’s overall just a fantastic player. It’s fun with Jaime and having her back. There’s nothing like it.”
Printy finished her night with 26 points, five boards and six assists. 11 of her 26 came from the free-throw line — including the six in overtime.
Printy didn’t miss a free throw all night — just the eighth time in school history an Iowa women’s basketball player hit 100 percent of her foul shots when taking 10 or more.
But Printy doesn’t care about the records. She only cares about the victories, which Iowa has three of to this point. The Hawkeye’s goal was to make the WNIT finals, but after hearing the news that it’ll host the championship game against the Tar-Heels, Bluder said her squad will re-evaluate its previous objective.
“The team keeps believing,” Bluder said. “We’re going to have to reassess those goals and win this thing. That’s going to be our next goal.”