5 players score in double figures to lead Iowa past Rutgers 70-63 in NCAA tournament

Iowa beats old coach and Rutgers 70-63

STANFORD, Calif. — C. Vivian Stringer kept saying she didn’t want to face Iowa in the first round of the NCAA tournament — or at all for that matter. Rutgers’ fiery coach built the Hawkeyes into a national powerhouse more than two decades ago, then watched them send her team home.

Kamille Wahlin shook off a slow start and scored nine straight points in a 2½-minute span late on the way to 15, and eighth-seeded Iowa denied Stringer a victory over her old school with a 70-63 win in the first round of the Sacramento Regional on Saturday night.

Kachine Alexander had 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists and Jaime Printy added 15 points in Iowa’s first NCAA tournament victory since 2002. The Hawkeyes (20-13) knocked down 10 3-pointers, three each by Wahlin and Printy, and overcame 18 turnovers.

Stringer coached Iowa from 1983-95 and took the school to its only Final Four in ‘93. Current Iowa coach Lisa Bluder beat Stringer for the first time in six tries, a streak that included Stringer’s 3-0 mark while she was at Iowa and Bluder at Drake.

Brittany Ray scored 15 points and Chelsey Lee 14 to lead the Scarlet Knights (19-15), whose inconsistent season made them a bubble team to even receive a tournament berth.

Rutgers won four of its last five to receive an at-large invitation after losing in the Big East tournament championship game to West Virginia, but couldn’t do enough right down the stretch in this game despite a strong second-half start.

Iowa committed six turnovers in the first 6:05 of the second half and Rutgers made 8 of its first 13 shots to gain momentum, hitting the floor for loose balls and crashing the offensive boards to create second chances.

But the Hawkeyes weren’t about to experience a repeat of their heartbreaking 66-64 loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament title game, when they blew a big lead. They held a 39-29 rebounding advantage and shot 50 percent in the second half.

Rutgers wouldn’t go away in the waning moments. Ray’s 3-pointer with 1:25 left pulled the Scarlet Knights within 65-61, yet Wahlin and Co. came up with all the key plays when it mattered most.

After missing her only three shots in the first half, Wahlin finally found her groove. Her 3-pointer with 5:23 remaining started her run of nine straight points — a stretch also featuring a three-point play and another 3. Iowa shot 10 for 23 from long range and Kelly Krei and Alexander had two 3s apiece.