Iowa Opens Season Sunday vs. Texas State

THE SETTING
The Iowa Hawkeyes (0-0) open the 2008-09 season Sunday with a home game against Texas State (0-0). Tip-off is slated for 2:05 p.m. inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $9 for adults, $5 for youths, while UI students are admitted free.

PROMOTIONS
Present your Penn State or Purdue football stub at the ticket window for one free admission to Sunday’s contest vs. Texas State. There will also be a pre-game Kids Fun Zone on the north concourse and post-game player autographs.

PRE-GAME CEREMONIES
Senior Kristi Smith will be honored with a souvenir basketball to commemorate her 1,000th career point. She scored it last March against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Also, the Hawkeyes will unveil their Big Ten championship and NCAA Tournament banner, which is located in the rafters in the southwest corner of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

IOWA IN SEASON OPENERS
Iowa is a perfect 8-0 in season openers under Head Coach Lisa Bluder. Sunday will mark the seventh time in the last eight years the Hawkeyes will open the season at home. The Black and Gold boast a +17.9 margin of victory in the last eight season openers.

IOWA WINS ITS TWO EXHIBITION GAMES
Iowa beat Quincy (88-57) and Upper Iowa (74-54) in its two exhibition games. Senior Wendy Ausdemore averaged 17.5 points and 3.0 assists, senior Megan Skouby averaged 15.5 points and 11 rebounds and freshman Kamille Wahlin averaged 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in the two games. Junior JoAnn Hamlin, who did not play in the first exhibition contest due to injury, played 19 minutes against Upper Iowa. She collected 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. In the two games, Iowa shot 33-43 (.767) from the charity stripe and averaged 21.5 assists.

SCOUTING TEXAS STATE
Texas State will open its season at Drake (Friday) before traveling to Iowa City. The Bobcats return 13 letterwinners, including two starters from a team that went 21-11 a year ago, including a 14-2 first place finish in the Southland Conference. Texas State’s 15-player roster features junior Megan Homan, who hails from Remsen, IA. Homan transferred to Texas State this year after playing two seasons at Des Moines Area CC. There are five seniors on the Maroon and Gold’s 2008-09 roster. The Bobcats’ top returnees include juniors Aimee Hilburn and Victoria Davis and senior Ashley Cole. Davis averaged 7.4 points, Hilburn averaged 7.1 points and 6.2 rebounds, and Cole averaged 11.4 points and 4.0 boards. Sophomore Gabriell Mattox will likely start Sunday at forward, seeing game action for the first time in two years after transferring from the University of Texas. Last year, Texas State had one of the best 3-point threats in the nation. Joyce Ekworomadu, who was a senior last year, made 82-188 (.436) to rank seventh nationally in percentage. Iowa’s Wendy Ausdemore, who was a junior last season, ranked third (78-171, .456). Texas State is coached by Suzanne Fox, who enters her 17th year (259-201, .563) as a head coach and her 12th (142-168, .458) with the Bobcats.

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