2008 Woodie Awards
Hawks look to snap Hilton hex
Brendan Stiles - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
For many of its visitors, Hilton Coliseum is considered a house of horrors.
Tonight, the Iowa women's basketball team will get a chance to exorcise those demons when it plays Iowa State in Ames.
Since the two schools resumed playing the in-state rivalry on an annual basis in the 1996-97 season, the Cyclones have won eight of 11 meetings, including the most recent two. In fact, the last time the Hawkeyes left Hilton Coliseum victorious was in 1989, when C. Vivian Stringer was the team's coach.
To put that most recent road win against Iowa State into perspective, every player on this year's version of the Hawkeyes ranged between the ages of 5 years old and 10 months old the last time Iowa got the better of its in-state rival in Ames.
But if there is any silver lining that can be found prior to tonight's game, two of the Hawkeyes' five wins this season came against in-state rivals Drake and UNI, and a victory over Iowa State would give the Hawkeyes a trifecta they haven't pulled off since the 2004-05 season.
"It's one of our goals to be 'state champions,' " senior Stacy Schlapkohl said. "This is the last of our goals to hit, so it's a big one for us."
With all due respect to the Bulldogs and Panthers, however, Iowa expects the Cyclones to be an opponent to the likes of Mississippi State, Arizona State, and Georgia Tech, all of whom the Hawkeyes have already had to fight tooth and nail against.
"We have played against three really good opponents, and I think that has helped us out, more so, than playing against Drake or UNI," coach Lisa Bluder said. "I think the other games we have played will prepare us more so."
In its most recent game, Iowa struggled early on against Detroit Mercy at home, only to come out firing to start the second half and seal a 65-42 victory on Sunday.
The win snapped a two-game slide, and perhaps more importantly, instilled confidence in the Iowa players.
"We showed a lot of emotion at the end of the game, and that has carried into the past couple of practices," Schlapkohl said. "Since we've done that, going up there, knowing that we're going into a gym where there's 12,000 screaming fans and there's a big rivalry, it's going to give us a lot of extra energy, extra boost, that we're going to need to control those runs that go throughout the game."
Last year against Iowa State, the Hawkeyes quickly jumped out to an 11-0 lead before the Cyclones managed to fight back and escape Carver-Hawkeye Arena with an 80-74 win.
One of Iowa's bright spots in last year's contest was current senior Abby Emmert, who came off the bench to score her career-high of 17 points against Iowa State.
Emmert, a Winterset native and one of five Hawkeyes from the state of Iowa, looks to provide her team a similar boost should bench points become a significant factor in this evening's game.
"A lot of times, they don't guard me, and I'm ready if that's the case again," she said. "They, a lot of times, like to sag off some people who don't score as much, so I know that [Kachine Alexander] and I, we're ready to step up and score if we need to."
E-mail DI reporter Brendan Stiles at:
brendan-stiles@uiowa.edu
Tonight, the Iowa women's basketball team will get a chance to exorcise those demons when it plays Iowa State in Ames.
Since the two schools resumed playing the in-state rivalry on an annual basis in the 1996-97 season, the Cyclones have won eight of 11 meetings, including the most recent two. In fact, the last time the Hawkeyes left Hilton Coliseum victorious was in 1989, when C. Vivian Stringer was the team's coach.
To put that most recent road win against Iowa State into perspective, every player on this year's version of the Hawkeyes ranged between the ages of 5 years old and 10 months old the last time Iowa got the better of its in-state rival in Ames.
But if there is any silver lining that can be found prior to tonight's game, two of the Hawkeyes' five wins this season came against in-state rivals Drake and UNI, and a victory over Iowa State would give the Hawkeyes a trifecta they haven't pulled off since the 2004-05 season.
"It's one of our goals to be 'state champions,' " senior Stacy Schlapkohl said. "This is the last of our goals to hit, so it's a big one for us."
With all due respect to the Bulldogs and Panthers, however, Iowa expects the Cyclones to be an opponent to the likes of Mississippi State, Arizona State, and Georgia Tech, all of whom the Hawkeyes have already had to fight tooth and nail against.
"We have played against three really good opponents, and I think that has helped us out, more so, than playing against Drake or UNI," coach Lisa Bluder said. "I think the other games we have played will prepare us more so."
In its most recent game, Iowa struggled early on against Detroit Mercy at home, only to come out firing to start the second half and seal a 65-42 victory on Sunday.
The win snapped a two-game slide, and perhaps more importantly, instilled confidence in the Iowa players.
"We showed a lot of emotion at the end of the game, and that has carried into the past couple of practices," Schlapkohl said. "Since we've done that, going up there, knowing that we're going into a gym where there's 12,000 screaming fans and there's a big rivalry, it's going to give us a lot of extra energy, extra boost, that we're going to need to control those runs that go throughout the game."
Last year against Iowa State, the Hawkeyes quickly jumped out to an 11-0 lead before the Cyclones managed to fight back and escape Carver-Hawkeye Arena with an 80-74 win.
One of Iowa's bright spots in last year's contest was current senior Abby Emmert, who came off the bench to score her career-high of 17 points against Iowa State.
Emmert, a Winterset native and one of five Hawkeyes from the state of Iowa, looks to provide her team a similar boost should bench points become a significant factor in this evening's game.
"A lot of times, they don't guard me, and I'm ready if that's the case again," she said. "They, a lot of times, like to sag off some people who don't score as much, so I know that [Kachine Alexander] and I, we're ready to step up and score if we need to."
E-mail DI reporter Brendan Stiles at:
brendan-stiles@uiowa.edu
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