CEDAR FALLS – Sneakers, practice jerseys and equipment clutter the purple and gold locker room. A locker on the left side of the room shows some semblance of organization among the disarray. It’s housed Northern Iowa senior Jacqui Kalin for six years.

Inspiration forms the spine of the locker in the form of quotes from athletics superstars like Michael Jordan and heroines like Maya Angelou.

One stands out to Kalin, so much so it hangs at home as well.

“The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat at the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching.”

It hung in her locker, but followed her around every step she walked on the Cedar Falls campus. No one watched her in the McLeod Center. Her teammates left the court, but Kalin remained. She refused to leave until sinking 20 straight free throws after every practice.

“That’s how I became a good free throw shooter,” Kalin said. “But at the same time my wrist really started to hurt, but I wouldn’t stop.”

No one watched, or in this case heard, when Kalin called her parents, stressed about the two wrong answers on her exercise physiology exam. They carried more weight than the 98 she answered correctly.

“I thought that I could’ve gotten those two questions right,” Kalin said. “We had to have a little talk because it was extreme. I was putting a little too much on myself.”

She carried that weight for six years and through two medial redshirts, not once putting it down or passing it to others. On the court, as a freshman UNI head coach Tanya Warren asked Kalin to be the “coach on the court.” In the classroom, she enrolled at the University of Northern Iowa as the valedictorian of Sioux City High School.

She leaves the Panthers as the program’s leader in scoring (2,081), 3-point field goals made (265), free throws made (484), free throw percentage (.920), assists (491), games started (136), games played (136) and minutes (4,352).

She leaves UNI with an undergrad degree in exercise science and a master’s degree in Kineisology. She earned a 4.0 in both, continuing the legacy of never receiving a B. It’s a family tradition, her siblings went to Harvard, Penn and another currently attends Southern California.

“They have had such a huge impact on my life,” Kalin said. “That’s from a basketball standpoint and from a school standpoint. Just family in general, they have helped me become the person I am today.”

Adding to her off-the-court plate, Kalin is the co-President of SAAC since the spring of 2010 and is a member of the UNI Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Council and the NCAA Recertification Steering Committee.

“She really is one of a kind,” Warren said. “I’ve been coaching at the Division I level for 22 years and I have never come across as well rounded of a young lady as Jacqui Kalin.”

Her versatility derives from an attribute she can’t control. She is a perfectionist. As the buckets fell and her GPA stayed steady at 4.0, the greatest student-athlete in the history of the program had one flaw, her quest for perfection.

“It definitely hurt me at times, especially earlier in my career,” Kalin said. “It causes you to focus on something you can’t control any longer.”

Each loss terrorized her, much like the two questions on the exercise physiology test. Hours after the Panthers walked off the court on the wrong side of the scoreboard, Kalin laid awake. No matter how many times she replayed the what-ifs in her mind, she still needed an explanation of what went wrong.

She knows it won’t change the result, that she can’t control the uncontrollable. But for Kalin, the fire that burns inside of her is also uncontrollable.

“It absolutely drives me crazy some days. I wish I could just be OK with a C and just sleep at night like it’s nothing,” Kalin said. “Or lose a game and Coach Warren will tell you, pretty much after all the games I would text her that night and talk about the game and what I could’ve done better. Sometimes I wish I could just go to sleep.”

So she lies awake to the point of exhaustion while no one is watching. It’s those moments that led to her unprecedented accomplishments. Kalin is the only player in Missouri Valley Conference to win both player of the year and scholar of the year – Twice. She earned second team honors in the Senior CLASS Award. Sunday, Kalin will accept The Marty Glickman Outstanding Jewish College Scholar Athlete of the Year award from the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in New York City.

Next week she will travel to China as part of an all-star USA college basketball team. In July, Kalin will compete in the Maccabi Games in Israel.

Both tournaments will be the first time Kalin steps foot to compete on an International stage. There when the vision of a perfectionist,  who is bent over with a surgically repaired ACL, drenched in sweat at the point of exhaustion after six years at UNI, everyone will be watching.

“I wouldn’t hope that on anyone, that’s how you need to be to be the best,” Kalin said. “There is that balance. But sometimes being a perfectionist just takes a little longer route to get there.”

But there’s something that can’t be replicated in former Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker’s retirement: the postgame smiles.

“The thing that stands out the most is after you have a good win, the look on the players’ face,” Parker said. “I mean the smile on their face, where they knew they put a lot of effort into it and it worked and they knew they did something good.”

Parker retired after the 2011 season. He attended Iowa’s Linn County Spring Banquet where plenty of fans’ smiles filled The Hotel at Kirkwood Center. Current Hawkeye head basketball coach Fran McCaffery also attended the event aimed at thanking Cedar Rapids area fans.

“It’s really our way of coming up here and thanking our fans and connecting with them in a very personal way,” McCaffery said. “We rely on, in particular, folks from Cedar Rapids to get in their cars, regardless whether it’s snowing. Regardless of what our record is and support our team…It’s nothing short of amazing.”

Parker, who greeted fans from a chair, managed to be in very good spirits and health after battling diabetes for years and had to have his right foot amputated in September 2010.

“I’m upright,” Parker said. “I’m upright, a lot of guys aren’t. I’m doing all right.”

Parker spent 13 seasons with the Hawkeyes after stops at Vanderbilt, Michigan State, East Carolina, Minnesota and Wake Forest. The 71-year-old began his coaching career at Eastern Michigan in 1968.

In his first year out of the game, he migrated to the football offices as much as he could. He also watched every Iowa football game. But the taste of gameday isn’t one that can be found in an office or in front of a TV.

“The thing that’s hard is, unless you know exactly what the call is and exactly what supposed to be going on, it’s hard to just watch the game,” Parker said.

It wasn’t always easy watching the Hawkeyes stumble to a 4-8 record this season. But Parker pointed to injuries on the offensive line and in the backfield. He also optimistically looked at with exception of Penn State and Michigan, Iowa had a chance in the fourth quarter to reverse the losses into wins.

“That’s part of life. You’re not going to have ice cream sundaes every day,” Parker said. “Although we’d all like to.”

‘Everybody’s coming back’

McCaffery confirmed Thursday that every underclassman on his team will return next season.

When asked, the coach simply answered, “Everybody’s coming back, yup.”

He later elaborated on next year’s planwith current junior Devyn Marble, who drew NBA chatter in the preseason.

“We’ll move him around,” McCaffery said. “He’s a good shot he’ll be the one next year. He certainly performed extremely well at that position this year for us.”

The duo is the 11th and 12th Cyclones to ever get drafted in the WNBA.

The Storm finished fourth in the Western Conference last year with a 16-18 record and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Poppens averaged 13.4 points per game and hauled in 9.7 boards per game. She leaves Ames with the second most rebounds in program history (1,091) and the third most double-doubles (32).

The Sun boasted a 25-9 record – tops in the East – but lost in the conference finals to Indiana. Prins will bring size to Connecticut. The 6-7 center averaged a career best 12.3 points per game in 2012-13.

Come April the professional aspirations continue, but it’s in different locker rooms.

The WNBA hosts its draft Monday and that state of Iowa plans to clutter it with players.

Recent mock drafts show Iowa State’s Chelsea Poppens and Anna Prins as well as Iowa’s Jaime Printy being selected.

“I’m just happy getting drafted,” Poppens said. “I’m sure the mock drafts aren’t really accurate so I can’t really look at them anyway.”

Off base or not, Poppens is slated to come off the board by the middle of the second round. Some predict her going at the end of the first after stalwarts Brittney Griner, Skylar Diggins and Elena Delle Donne. After Poppens comes off the board, Printy is likely to go next.

Teams could look to Prins next in the third and final round of the WNBA’s 12-team draft. The 6-7 center’s hoop dreams didn’t evolved until late in the year, when Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly hinted the WNBA’s interest.

“It was moving so fast and I really wasn’t expecting to want to play after,” Prins said. “I was thinking, well I want to get married. I want to finish school. I want to become a teacher, move into my life, start my career, but, when something, that you’ve been doing for so long, is finally over, I guess looking for every opportunity to extend it a little bit, I think that’s definitely why I want to continue it.”

Another in-state center, Iowa’s Morgan Johnson created some buzz on SB Nation. The website listed the 6-5 in the third tier of players in the draft, ahead of first rounder Kelsey Bone of Texas A&M.

If the WNBA doesn’t take notice, Johnson might take a chance at playing internationally. She will team up with Northern Iowa’s Jacqui Kalin for the NetScouts Basketball United States All-Star team. The duo, who holds their respective school records in games played, will play in from May 1-15 looking to draw international scouts’ eyes.

“I’m so excited. When I saw the roster and saw (Johnson’s) name on there, my eyes got so big,” Kalin said. “From a point guard stand point, just getting to play with a phenomenal post player and I know that she is a good person.”

In all, the state should see at least three of its players go in the WNBA draft, with as many as five playing professionally. For seniors, who plotted their next move for most of their lives, the next step is now out of their hands.

“I’m kind of just tired of sitting around waiting for the whole thing. It kind of feels like I’m jogging place,” Poppens said. “It’s exciting, Anna and I are looking forward to try out, get drafted. It’s just a fun experience.”

“I just start chuckling,” Jans said. “I don’t know how to put it into words, but it’s almost like, ‘Can you believe this is happening?’”

The win sent Wichita State to its first Final Four since 1965. When the team flew to Atlanta on Wednesday, it brought Jans, who refers to himself as a proud Iowan.

Jans graduated from Wapsie Valley High School before playing at Loras College. While in Dubuque, Jans helped the Duhawks to a 47-25 record while breaking 16 scoring records and two NCAA Division III records for three-point shooting.

His success led to a head coaching job at Kirkwood Community College after pit stops at Elmhurst College in Chicago and Grand View College in Des Moines.

“Getting the opportunity at a young age, when I maybe didn’t deserve at the time, I just tried to run with it,” Jans said.

He sprinted with the opportunity, faster than Usain Bolt. He inherited an 11-20 team and in his second season he brought the Eagles to a second straight conference and regional championship. After falling short in year one, Jans and Company brought home the NJCAA National Championship in year two.

“Winning a national championship and all that goes into that, just the memories we created was awesome,” Jans said. “It’s something that they’ll never be able to take away from those kids.”

Jans hopes to create more championship memories this weekend. If Wichita State can topple No. 1 overall seed Louisville, the Shockers face either Michigan or Syracuse in the final on Monday.

When he sits on the sideline Saturday, he’ll be more than 800 miles from Kirkwood, but his roots in Cedar Rapids will extend to the Georgia Dome.

“To this day I stay in touch with a lot of those guys,” Jans said. “There’s guys that I like to stay in touch regularly that played for me at Kirkwood. Obviously when you go through something like this, more and more of them reach out. I really enjoy that part of it.”

The Shockers represent the first Missouri Valley Conference team in the Final Four since Larry Bird’s Indiana State team in 1979. The Sycamores lost in the final to Magic Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans.

Wichita State will try to rekindle that success against the Cardinals.

But the Shockers aren’t looking to resurrect the spirits of Larry Legend. Instead they turned to a more contemporary Cinderella: Ali Farokhmanesh.

“UNI kind of paved it for us,” Jans said. “A couple years ago they obviously had an unbelievable run in the Sweet Sixteen knocking off a No. 1 seed, something that we did. It’s something in the back of my mind, that I was thinking about preparing for Gonzaga, UNI went through it a couple of years ago and were able to overcome that obstacle and why not us?”

The entire nation will have its eyes on the Wichita State wondering if it can live up to its moniker a couple more times.

Jans received a dose of how big his team’s story became. Tuesday before practice, he saw a media member walking with a slice of pizza. The man guided Jans to the media room, where the associate head coach hoped to steal a slice. His cat burglary transformed into a crime caught on tape.

“I was in there for about 80, 90 minutes because there was so many media people that grabbed me and wanted to talk,” Jans said. “I honestly wasn’t trying to be down there. I was trying to get back up to the office to do some work. I just couldn’t believe the number of people who were milling around the arena.”

Jans even bumped shoulders with former Sports Illustrated writer Rick Reilly. From his time in Iowa to Wichita, Jans read Reilly’s column. To speak with him after the Shockers win against Ohio State brought the reality of the moment to the forefront.

As a kid, Jans read Reilly, interested in what the columnist had to say. Now, Reilly wanted to know Jans’ opinion.

“Again I keep using the word surreal or out of body experience,” Jans said. “Because at times, it feels like that.”

The 41-38 overtime loss to Green Bay Mar. 30 still turns the stomachs of the Cedar Rapids Titans. The Blizzard handed the Titans their first loss of the season. The defeat also generated intense concentration this week in Cedar Rapids.

“We’ve really been mentally sharp in practice, which is huge,” Titans running back Laron Council said. “I think we’re ready.”

The Titans (4-1) travel to Chicago (3-2) for their second road game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. More than a month has passed since Cedar Rapids’ last road game, which also was in Chicago.

In that match-up, the Titans returned home with a 6-point win. The game wasn’t as close as the margin dictates. The Titans build a 44-21 lead, only to see the Slaughter make a late run in the fourth.

Council and Company expect the effort they began the game with to last 60 minutes.

“I actually it makes us play a little better as a team,” Council said regarding the road game. “It’s kind of a thing, we’re in a foreign territory and it’s just all we have out there is ourselves so we kind of play a little bit harder and the team kind of gels a little more.”

The Cedar Rapids offense will be looking to rekindle the chemistry it had in the previous four games. Green Bay held the Titans to 41 points, tied for a season low. The last time Cedar Rapids scored 41 points came home against Chicago.

This trip to the Windy City marks the third time the two have met. Each team has played six games. It’s a familiar foe, but after a loss to a winless team, the Titans just want to return to the field.

“Guys are itching to just get back out there,” Council said. “We know we didn’t play as sharp and as physically like we’re accustomed to playing. So guys are just anxious to get back out there and get another win under our belt.”

CEDAR FALLS – Jake Koch walked into the backcourt in disbelief. With his team down three the Northern Iowa senior missed two free throws with four seconds remaining. Marc Sonnen tried to erase Koch’s memory with a pat on the back, telling the 6-8 forward, “It’s OK.”

A Weber State missed free throw opened the door for Koch to make it OK. The 6-8 forward had one final shot left in his UNI career. It wasn’t a storybook ending. His fadeaway 3-pointer barely grazed the rim and Weber State (30-6) advanced to the CIT final with a 59-56 win at the McLeod Center on Saturday.

“It got all the way down to the last second,” Sonnen said. “I still believed that Jake was going to hit that. It didn’t go in but I had faith that he was going to hit it. It didn’t go in, but that’s what happens in the game of basketball.”

Koch’s heave marked Northern Iowa’s 18^th attempt beyond the arc. Only 3 of the 18 fell for the Panthers, equaling the worst shooting performance from deep all year. Twice prior, the Panthers made three 3-pointers – both losses. Their previous low point came against Wichita State when UNI(21-15) shot 3 of 17 from 3.

“I thought they were shots that we’ve had all year,” Sonnen said. “You know, the ball just didn’t go in the hoop, and sometimes that happens.”

The Panthers’ start to the game highlighted their struggles of putting the ball in the hoop. Weber State began the game on an 11-0 run as UNI missed its first seven shots.

After finally getting one to fall, Northern Iowa closed the half shooting 12 of 20, but only cut the 11-point lead to seven.

The Panthers made 30 percent of its shots in the second half. UNI gained ground defensively, holding Weber State to 6 of 25 shooting in the final 20 minutes.

“Once we got our defense going, they weren’t open as much and they didn’t get much in the second half for points,” UNI head coach Ben Jacobson said. “But we couldn’t quite get all the way back.”

Northern Iowa took its first lead with 14:01 remaining in the game with a Seth Tuttle layup. The sophomore, who led UNI with 16 points and 10 rebounds, ignited the 5,033 in attendance with a dunk to give UNI a 55-53 lead with 5:53 left.

Like it did all night, Weber State responded. UNI cut the Weber State lead nine times to a single possession and could only take the lead twice.

The Wildcats gave the Panthers opportunities making one field goal the final 7:55. But after the Tuttle’s slam, UNI didn’t make another shot from the field.

“We had a couple around the basket, under that 30 seconds, around that time we had three layups,” Jacobson said.

Seniors Koch and Anthony James missed two of those three layups. Koch ended his UNI career with a 1 for 10 shooting performance and five turnovers. He also finished 0 for 6 from beyond the arc, including the miss at the buzzer.

Koch didn’t speak after the game, but Sonnen did. As he walked into the media room, his face showed it wasn’t OK. He composed himself just as he stepped through the doorway, his eyes still puffy from the tears in the locker room.

“It’s the best four years I could ever ask for out of anything,” Sonnen said.

The four years chronicled the highest of highs for the Panther program including a trip to the Sweet 16 as freshmen.

“You think about the number of things that have happened over the last four and five years, these four guys have been involved in all kinds stuff,” Jacobson said. “Most of it really, really good and really, really fun and very positive for our program.”

As freshmen they walked off the court in St. Louis in the NCAA Tournament. Saturday, the McLeod Center housed their final game. The setting shrunk and with a Missouri Valley Conference team earning a berth in the Final Four, not many college basketball fans even noticed the end of Austin Pehl, James, Sonnen and Koch’s careers.

But for their head coach, there’s no regrets.

“Because of the way these guys handled themselves I’m not going to spend any time feeling like we didn’t reach our potential or feeling like ‘Boy  we missed a couple opportunities,’” Jacobson said. “When I talk about it or, it comes up, I’ll feel good about it.”

Weber State 59, Northern Iowa 56

Game Ball: Weber State’s Start — The Wildcats began the game on an 11-0 run. UNI battled back, but could never get over the hump for good. The Panthers never led by more than two.

Lame Ball: Jake Koch — The senior missed two free throws with less than five seconds remaining — one of which was on purpose. In his final game as a Panther, Koch went 1-10 from the field, including 0 of 6 from 3. He finished with seven points.

Light the Victory Cigar: 0.0 2nd– Jake Koch misses a last-second fadeaway 3-pointer form the right wing, as Weber State holds on for a 59-56 win.

Watercooler Stat: Weber State is now 28-1 when it outrebounds its opponents. The Wildcats boasted a 41-32 advantage on the boards Saturday night.

Big Number: 3 — UNI went 3 of 18 (16.6%) from deep, its worst output of the season. The Panthers shot 3 of 17 in a 66-41 loss against Wichita State.

The Blizzard sit on the opposite end of the spectrum. At 0-4, the only success Green Bay enjoyed came back on Feb. 2 in Cedar Rapids.

Saturday the Blizzard return to Cedar Rapids looking to grab its first regular season win. The Titans can grab their fifth win overall and first in nearly a month.

“Personally, I don’t like it. Two straight bye weeks after trying to get the rhythm with your quarterback and your offense, it’s kind of tough,” Titans wide receiver Bryan Pray said. “But at the same time we’re professionals. We have to take it with a grain of salt.”

The 28-day layoff couldn’t come at a worse time in the season. The Titans steam rolled their last two opponents before the double-bye, outscoring Texas and Wyoming a combined 114-33.

“Against Texas and Wyoming we started to click right away,” Pray said. “With that said, I’m sure a lot of the guys are watching film during these two bye weeks so we can keep it going.”

The Titans have feature two quarterbacks this season – Richard McCullum and Colton Hansen – but the offense hasn’t skipped a beat. Cedar Rapids has scored at least 41 points a game this year. Since week one, they’ve put up at least 54 points.

Green Bay has yet to score more than 41 points, and combined to score 34 its last two games.

“Now we have these bye weeks, hopefully the guys are (preparing) so we can keep it going,” Pray said.

Saturday’s game is the first of four straight, including two games against Chicago.

The Slaughter sit in second in the United Conference behind the Titans with a 3-2 record. Standing have become a talking point for fans of the 4-0 Titans. After a dominating 54-12 win, fans began discussing championship possibilities.

“We have to focus on just that right there,” Pray said. “Not talking about the United Bowl and taking it one day at a time.”

CEDAR FALLS  - A buzz spread throughout the UNI-Dome as NFL scouts discarded the cones that provided a running lane for the 40 yard dash.

The drill concluded and the whispers began. Northern Iowa held its Pro Day Wednesday, as 10 Panthers showed off their skills to scouts. But the circle on everyone’s schedule had little to do with passing or catching, and more to do with the royal blue and black Nikes covering Terrell Sinkfield’s feet.

“These are the lucky 4-1-9s,” Sinkfield said. “I’ll frame ‘em up or something if we get an official time.”

Earlier this month, at Minnesota’s Pro Day, Sinkfield attracted the nation’s eyes on his 6-foot frame. In the glamour event of the NFL Draft workouts, the Northern Iowa senior turned in a 4.19 in the 40-yard dash.

Tennessee Titans’ running back Chris Johnson boasts the all time best 40 time at the combine at 4.24.

So when scouts clocked times quicker than that, it created quite the buzz.

“I knew it was going to be locally big but I didn’t really think it was going to go nationwide with ESPN and everywhere,” Sinkfield said. “I mean it was surprising, but it was good; 4.19 or not, it’s basically just to let everyone know that I’m fast, so it was a success.”

Sinkfield ran again for scouts on Wednesday from Green Bay, Kansas City and St. Louis. He again was fast, just not 4.19 fast. The Gazette clocked his second 40 at 4.29. In timing his attempts on tape, the wide receiver turned in a 4.32 on his first and 4.30 on his second. An official time wasn’t released.

“It wasn’t my best day,” Sinkfield said. “I mean I did all right. I messed up my quad a little bit, but I thought I ran good.”

With a 4.19 already floating around in the heads of scouts, some thought it best for Sinkfield to sit UNI’s Pro Day out. But it never crossed his mind.

“People were telling me and asked me if I should run again or not, but I’m a competitive person,” Sinkfield said. “I just wanted to beat my time and I knew I could run fast again.”

Sinkfield committing to the run drew more than a few scouts to a Pro Day that saw just one last year. It allowed fellow speedsters like Carlos Anderson to perform in front of scouts.

“I wanted to come out and hopefully get some more teams out here,” Sinkfield said. “Just because I knew we had some other fast guys here.”

To this point, teams haven’t informed Sinkfield of his draft stock. There’s also a chance he could sign with a team as an undrafted free agent.

The Dolphins, Seahawks, Colts, 49ers and Packers have all spoke with Sinkfield about potentially holding a private workout. As Pro Days wind down and scouts have a chance to digest the information they collected from across the country, that’s when Sinkfield expect interest to pick up.

There is one team, which hasn’t contacted him, that he wouldn’t mind hearing from.

“That would be nice, being a hometown kid,” Sinkfield said. “I would love to go to the Vikings.”

IOWA CITY – Kayla McBride witnessed it first-hand Sunday. The Notre Dame junior chased Tennessee-Martin’s Heather Butler for most of the first half, as the 5-foot-5 guard poured in 23 points.

McBride laughed last.

Iowa's Melissa Dixon (left) Morgan Johnson (second from right) and Jaime Printy (right) triple team Notre Dame's Kayla McBride . (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette-KCRG)

The Erie, Penn., native not only saw her team win Sunday, she led the Irish to 74-57 win on Tuesday against Iowa. To top it off, McBride finished with 28 points, a new career high, 24 of which came in the first half – one more than Butler.

“I just think it was just my teammates finding me,” McBride said. “We’re a very unselfish team and I was just finding open spots. They were finding me thankfully.”

McBride’s previous career high came earlier this year when the Irish hosted No. 3 Connecticut. McBride scored 24 against the Huskies. She finished just shy of that total eight days later when the two teams met again in the Big East Championship, scoring 23.

Overall the Fighting Irish’s second leading scorer eclipsed the 20-point plateau seven times this season, five of those games came against ranked opponents or in a postseason tournament.

“She’s been playing so well for us lately. She’s just got a lot of confidence,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “She’s got the green light, and she took advantage of it tonight.”

McBride’s green light, flashed a red light to a number of Iowa first-half runs. The first came subtly as she capped off a 8-0 Irish run with a 3-pointer that pushed her team’s lead up to 13.

Notre Dame’s cushion sunk below double digits three times after that. Each time McBride buried a 3-pointer on the following possession, killing any life within Carver Hawkeye Arena.

“It’s a good feeling, but we knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy,” McBride said. “(We wanted) to take the crowd out early. We knew they were going to stick around. They’re a tough team. We knew they weren’t going to go down that easy. We just had to have an answer for every run they had.”

The Hawkeyes limited McBride to four points in the second half, but the damage was done. The guard’s 8 for 13 shooting performance for 24 points in the first 20 minutes gave Notre Dame the lead it needed to run away with the game in the final 20.

“She wasn’t shooting that great from 3-point range coming into this game,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “But we proved to everybody that she certainly is somebody that needs to be reckoned with outside.”

McBride leaves Iowa City having scored 50 points in the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament. The production came on 20 of 33 shooting including 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. She didn’t miss a free throw going a perfect 6 of 6.

She now has finished with at least 20 points in three straight and six of the last eight, proving when the stakes rise, so does McBride’s game.

“They NCAA Tournament,  you always feel good being here,” McBride said. “We knew it’s a big game, everybody is one and done. Everyone has to have their best game every night. And everybody is going to bring their best game every night. So you just have to come out there and play my game.”

NOTRE DAME 74, IOWA 57

Game Ball: Kayla McBride — The Notre Dame junior finished with a career high 28 points, including 24 in the first half. She had an answer every time Iowa tried to make a run in the first. Twice she buried 3s to end an Iowa run and return the crowd to its seats.

Lame Ball: Melissa Dixon — The Iowa sophomore couldn’t rekindle the shooting streak she had against Miami. She finished with 3 points on 1 of 10 shooting and 0 for 6 from 3.

Light the Victory Cigar: 5:29 2nd — Skylar Diggins cuts back door and convert a layup while drawing the foul. The All-American makes the free throw and put Notre Dame up 20.

Watercooler Stat: Notre Dame went a stretch of 5:30 in the middle of the second half without recording a field goal. During that stretch Iowa only managed to slice six points of its deficit.

Big Number: 0 — Number of 3s the Hawkeyes made. The team went 0 for 11 overall.

UT-Martin's Heather Butler (left) tips the ball away from Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY – Through a door, a right turn through the lounge, a left turn through bathroom stalls and yet another left, cornered in dim lighting sat Skylar Diggins.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team invaded the Iowa women’s volleyball locker room. They called it home through the duration of their stay in Iowa City during the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Three media members stood in front of the two-time All-American. One asked her about Iowa.

“The city of Iowa?” Diggins asked.

“Oh the team,” Diggins said in realization of the question’s target. A simple slip, which everyone acknowledged just as that, but the Notre Dame senior knows better. Even deep through the twist and turns of the skeleton of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, nothing is ever that simple.  She had to clear one more thing up, “I mean the state, excuse me. I didn’t mean the city, I meant the state of Iowa.”

She knows that the country’s eyes shine on her through a microscopic lens, whether on ESPN or hidden in a locker usually housed by a Hawkeye freshman right side hitter. The NBA has Jerry West on its logo, if women’s college basketball wanted one, it’d be Diggins.

Don’t think so?

“I think she’s the face of women’s college basketball,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said.

An hour later, sitting in the same seat as McGraw, Iowa’s head coach Lisa Bluder echoed the sentiments.

“She’s been the face of women’s basketball this year.”

Her contemporaries took it a step further. Both Morgan Johnson and Melissa Dixon called Diggins an “icon.”

Dixon is one of Diggins’ 313,088 (as of Monday afternoon) Twitter followers, more than any college athlete, man or woman. Some flocked to Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday just to get a glimpse, then capture the moment in their cell phone.

At one point Diggins sat down at half court, stretched her legs and back, yet her posse of fan followed. More than a dozen fans, including those in black and gold, had their arms extended watching her through the camera on their cell phones.

“ Just getting my team out there, whatever’s good for Notre Dame is good for me,” Diggins said. “And I love promoting the team and it’s great for us to get that positive coverage.”

The coverage peaked when her favorite rapper Lil Wayne walked on stage in Bloomington, Ind., donning a No. 4 Notre Dame women’s jersey in April of 2011. The CEO of Young Money also tweeted at Notre Dame’s star prior to the team’s national title game, “Kongrats to @skydigg4, my wife. Now bring it home baby.”

The compliment touched Diggins closer than some others. Music and basketball walked hand and hand for the Irish guard growing up. Her dad was a disc jockey for sock hops and dances.

“He had his DJ things in the basement when I was 11 or 12. I used to play with it when I wasn’t supposed to,” Diggins said. “I ended up getting good at it so I started sock hops and dances and birthday parties and was asked to do weddings. It just blew up from there.”

Diggins currently takes a piano class at Notre Dame. She used to be able to play all four stringed instruments—the cello, violin, double bass and viola – before focusing strictly on basketball.

“Music is a rhythm. I think it’s the same in sports. A lot of athletes go to music to calm them or what have you and get them prepared or ready,” Diggins said. “I just found a love of music. It just reminded me of basketball. It’s a rhythm thing. It’s about a mood, you know what I mean. I think it just has a calming effect.”

It’s a calm she almost always displays.

Back in the same locker, a new group of reporters fire questions at the star. As Diggins answers, she straps on her ankle brace, slips on her navy and gold Adidas sneakers and slips on her practice jersey.

Other athletes may have been star struck, or could only focus on the question. Diggins completed both tasks seamlessly.

On the court it’s no different, but for Diggins, her role extends more than making shots and racking up assists. For an icon like Diggins, beside her height and year, there should be one more attribute, college basketball ambassador.

“She’s embraced that role of being that star power for women’s basketball this year,” Bluder said. “I think she has more security here than Barack Obama when he comes, and that’s OK for us, because we need somebody like that in women’s basketball.”

IOWA CITY – Fans migrated to baseline to get a closer view of Skylar Diggins. Faithful followers wearing Kelly green, black and gold and Hurricane Orange, took out their cell phones and aimed them at the Notre Dame All-American guard who boasts more than 312,000 Twitter followers.

But when they exited Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday night, the image ingrained in their memory is that of Diggins’ counterpart – all 5-foot-5 of her.

Heather Butler, a Tennessee Martin junior with just over 1,100 Twitter followers, dazzled the crowd pouring in 37 points. Her offensive efforts kept the 16th-seeded Skyhawks close for a half until No. 1 Notre Dame ran away in the second for a 97-64 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“I think we list her at 5-5, 5-6, she’s not. She’s about 5-4 or 5-3,” UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. “What that young lady does is absolutely amazing.”

Butler earned that type of praise from her coach with 23 points in the first half. During one stretch, which spanned the final 12:22 of the first half into 6:53 into the second half, she poured in 20 straight for her Skyhawks.

She did it with drives, floaters in the lane and even banked in a couple of 3-balls. After her first banked 3 fell, Butler turned to her bench, shrugged her shoulders and smiled  a la Michael Jordan.

“I just shot with confidence,” Butler said. “I mean, like I said, if the backboard helps you out, it is kind of a good shooting night.”

Butler is UT Martin’s all-time leading scorer with 2,074 entering Sunday’s game. She is the seventh-leading scorer in the country averaging 22.0 points per game. She had one more than that by half time.

Overall, the junior scored 37 on 13 of 30 shooting including 6 of 11 from deep. She tied the Carver-Hawkeye Arena record for field goals attempted with 30. Her 37 points are the most against the Irish in an NCAA Tournament game.

“I thought Butler had probably the best individual game anybody’s had against us all year long,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “She was phenomenal.”

Butler pulled UT Martin within seven with 4:03 remaining in the first. That’s when Notre Dame switched to a triangle-and-two and held the Skyhawks scoreless the rest of the half.

“They went to a triangle-and-two and we couldn’t get back,” McMillan said. “It just kind of snowballed from there.”

Notre Dame closed the half on an 11-0 run and opened the second on an 11-2 run. The runs stretched the Irish’s lead to 27 and put to rest any idea of a 16-1 upset.

The Irish held Butler to 5 of 13 shooting in the second half.

“We had a lot of trouble with her as everyone saw,” Notre Dame junior Kayla McBride said. “So give her a lot of credit, she plays hard and she’s just a great player.”

Butler also guarded Diggins for the majority of the game. The Notre Dame star finished with 10 points on 3 of 8 shooting  to go with six assists.

Butler hoisted her team, offensively and defensively, upon her 5-foot-5 frame for 39 minutes Sunday.

When she walked to her bench after being taken out, a minute remained. In the 15 seconds it took for her to find a seat on the sideline, Butler received the loudest ovation of the afternoon.

“Coming in here, everybody is like, who is UT Martin,” Butler said. “Nobody knows who we are. And going against the No. 1 seed team, you want to come out here and prove that we can play with Notre Dame.”

CEDAR FALLS – During the pregame shoot around, Northern Iowa filled the basket with balls – literally. Chip Rank poured in a 3 from the wing at the same time two other shots fell, which clogged the net.

Marc Sonnen sunk another from the same spot as the log jam continued.

The issue didn’t’ extend into the game — at least not at first.

Northern Iowa shot 37 percent on the night, which included air balls and layups blocked by the rim. The Panthers overcame the poor shooting night as Illinois Chicago (18-16) struggled with the smaller points of basketball, including dribbling, passing and sometimes even walking.

With the aid of 21 UIC turnovers UNI (20-14) pulled out a 63-51 win in the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on Saturday in front of 3,025 in the McLeod Center.

“Both teams were playing hard, I don’t fault either team for not playing hard but neither team was playing that good on offense,” UNI head coach Ben Jacobson said. “So it was a hard game to watch for a long time.”

The win places UNI in the third round of the CIT where it will host Bradley on Tuesday. The Panthers swept the Braves during the regular season.

The offensive ineptitude highlighted the struggles of the Northern Iowa bench. Against North Dakota in the opening round of the CIT, the Panther reserves scored five points on 1 of 8 shooting. Through the first half of Saturday’s game, the bench contributed two points on 1 of 5 attempts.

It continued a trend of 26 points in the last five games.

One of those struggling included Rank, who lit it up during pregame.

“Chip’s been struggling a little bit lately,” UNI sophomore Seth Tuttle said. “We all tell him let it go. He’ll sit in the gym and he’ll just make shot after shot after shot and then come game time he hadn’t been able to hit a couple here lately.”

With the game on the line, the ball found Rank. Deon Mitchell drove toward the basket. As the defense collapsed on Mitchell, he dished the ball to Rank in the right corner.

“I didn’t think he was going to shoot it,” UNI senior Jake Koch said. “But as soon as he started I thought it was going in.”

Rank buried the 3-pointer with 1:23 remaining, increasing the Panther lead to eight.

Since Jan. 21 Rank was 6 of his last 40 from beyond the arc. Rank also had a dunk to finish with five points, which are the most since Feb. 13 vs. Creighton where he scored 11 and sank three of those six deep balls.

“He’s a great shooter. It may not have been his best year shooting, but we all still have confidence in him,” Koch said. “That shot at the end was huge.”

Anthony James led the Panthers in scoring for the second straight game, this time with 17. Tuttle finished with 15, including the first eight points of the second half.

The Panthers disrupted the Flames’ shooting habits as well. UIC’s leading scorer Gary Talton began the game 0 for 8 and finished with six points on 2 of 12 shooting. He also committed six turnovers – one shy of a season-high.

“We go as he goes,” UIC head coach Howard Moore said. “So if he’s turning the ball over quite a bit then other guys do the same.”

The Panthers helped themselves with 22 points off turnovers. They also emerged from the sloppy play with its 20^th win, marking the fifth straight season. Like the CIT, it might not turn many heads, including its current players.

“We got 20 wins tonight?” Koch said. “That’s pretty awesome.”

And the streak, like the CIT, isn’t how the Panthers wanted to end the season, but it’s the only option they have.

“It may not be the tournament that we really wanted, with the NCAA Tournament,” Koch said. “But we’re in a tournament. We have the opportunity to play so we’re going to keep busting our butts.”

NORTHERN IOWA 63, ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 51

Game Ball: Jake Koch – The senior ignited a 12-0 run midway through the second with two assists and took a charge late that led to a Flames technical. Koch finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Lame Ball: Gary Talton – Illinois-Chicago’s leading scorer started the game 0 for 8 and finished with just six points.

Light the Victory Cigar: 1:23 second half – Chip Rank hits a 3-pointer from the right corner to put UNI up eight. Rank was 6 for his last 40 from 3 before making that shot.

Watercooler stat: Northern Iowa had runs of 8-0, 8-3, and 12-0, during them the Panthers shot 11 of 14. Each run lasted less than 2:35. The rest of the game UNI shot 9 of 40.

Big Number: 4 - The number of points the UNI bench had before Rank’s 3-pointer.

In the first round UNI met North Dakota and its head coach, Panther alum, Brian Jones. In the second round, it hosts former Summit League rival Illinois-Chicago (18-15) at the McLeod Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. All CIT games can be viewed here.

No matter the foe, or the tournament, the Panthers (19-14) have one thing in mind.

“The thing that I’ve talked about the most is, let’s play as long as we can,” Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson said. “That’s been the thing that I’ve said every day now since we finished at the conference tournament.”

The old rivals meet for the first time since the 2008-09 season when the Flames won 84-77. UIC holds an 11-10 advantage in the all-time series.

The two teams were founding members of the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (AMCU-8) in 1982. After the inaugural season the two met twice a year for the next eight years, until UNI joined the Missouri Valley in 1991. The Panthers held a 9-8 record against the Flames, and 8-1 at home, in the conference that is now called the Mid-Continent Conference.

Illinois-Chicago left the league shortly after UNI and joined the Horizon league in 1994.

The CIT announced Northern Iowa’s second round opponent late Wednesday night after its win against North Dakota.

“Late in the year like this, for the most part, we’re going to do what we’ve been doing for six weeks now,” Jacobson said. “There will be some things that the next opponent does, but you kind of narrow it down to two or three things at each end of the floor and work on those for a day or two.”

Sixteen teams remain in the CIT. UNI is one of five teams whose RPI ranks below 100. UIC’s RPI is 166, but has wins over tourney teams Iona and Colorado State.

In reality he only really needed three.

Anthony James, Marc Sonnen and Seth Tuttle poured in 62 points in front of 2,450 in the McLeod Center, powering the Panthers (19-14) to a 77-66 win against North Dakota (16-17) in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

“In the first half Marc and AJ were able to get loose and knocked in some shots,” Jacobson said. “And then Seth, in some of the things we were doing, but also driving it in from that high post, we were able to create some things.”

Sonnen and James, making up two-thirds of the UNI backcourt, dropped 26 points in the first half. The duo caught fire from deep sinking 6 of 10 attempts from beyond the arc.

The early success allowed Tuttle to close the game from inside. The sophomore finished with 19 points, but 11 came in span of 5:28 while North Dakota chipped away at 19 point deficit. During the stretch the team scored 15  total points. UNI’s cushion shrunk to single digits for the first time since the end of the first half with 3:59 remaining. Tuttle responded with a basket and a foul. He made the free throw and UNI’s lead never sunk below 10 the rest of the night.

“He was good. We felt like we had an advantage inside at those two spots with our size,” Jacobson said. “…We felt like we needed to get the ball in there with Seth and Jake (Koch) in particular.”

The Panthers didn’t take advantage of the size discrepancy until late. Despite Tuttle’s dominance, North Dakota finished the game with advantages of 26-24 in the paint and 34-31 on the boards.

Northern Iowa lived 21-feet away from the rim prior to Tuttle’s strong finish. In the first 29:21 of the game, the Panthers buried nine 3-pointers, shooting 50 percent from deep.

“Jake and Seth in the post, when they get double teamed in the post they’re always looking to find the open 3-point shooter,” James said. “It was just me on the other end and other guys as well. I was just making shots.”

James finished with a game-high 24 on 8 of 13 shooting, including three 3s. Sonnen scored 19, burying five from beyond the arc. Jake Koch added the only other long range field goal, which was the senior’s only basket.

Outside of the offensive trio, Deon Mitchell finished with seven points, four of which came in the first half.

With the majority of scoring coming from jump shots, more specifically 3-pointers, UND began running at shooters. With the defense fleeing the paint, Tuttle devoured the opportunity.

“Anytime we can get some of our guards hot, like AJ and Marc did, that’s obviously going to open things up,” Tuttle said. “They’re going to press up in the guards and really open up angle scores for us bigs down low and we utilized that in the second half.”

The win keeps Northern Iowa’s season alive. The Panthers host Illinois-Chicago Saturday at 7 p.m. in yet another opportunity for this senior class to play inside the McLeod Center.

“I just like being around these guys,” James said. “It’s been a hard fought year and we’re still staying together. We’ve got a lot of chemistry together and thing of that nature. It’s always important to go out, how I want to my senior year.”

NORTHERN IOWA 77, NORTH DAKOTA 66

Game Ball: Seth Tuttle – The sophomore finished with 19 points but 11 came in the final 8:19 when North Dakota sliced Northern Iowa’s lead to as few as nine points.

Lame Ball: Aaron Anderson – North Dakota’s second-leading scorer didn’t give Troy Huff much help, scoring eight points on 1 of 7 shooting.

Light the Victory Cigar: 1:41 of the second half

Watercooler Stat: Anthony James/Marc Sonnen/Seth Tuttle combined to score 62 of UNI’s 77. The Panthers only had five points from their bench, compared to UND’s 24.

Big Number: 41 – UNI scored 41 points in the first half, tying the most it scored all season against a Division I opponent.

First, the Panthers were set to host Air Force Tuesday night in the College Insider Tournament. Minutes later, UNI athletic director Troy Dannen announced on Twitter the Panthers’ opponent in the CIT was TBD.  Soon, North Dakota replaced TBD.

The changes weren’t finished. Monday night, Northern Iowa announced the game was moved to Wednesday at 7 p.m. due to blizzard conditions in North Dakota.

When the dust – or snow – settles, UNI will host UND for the second time season.

“I think that helps the guys, to be playing someone that we already played this year,” Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson said. “It’s someone they’re a little bit familiar with so when we turn the film on, they’ve got an idea of who the guys are and who they’re going to be guarding.”

The film will show one player who didn’t dress the last time the two met. Troy Huff, North Dakota’s leading scorer sat out in the teams’ first meeting, a 72-47 UNI blowout win.

The junior missed nine of the first 10 games of the season with a broken jaw. UND won just two of the nine he missed. Since his return, North Dakota is 14-9.

“We’ll do most of our work from the last two weeks, what’s happened toward the end of their conference play and their conference tournament,” Jacobson said. “That’s where we’ll get most of our stuff from a scouting stand point.”

Northern Iowa presents the same problem for North Dakota. Anthony James, UNI’s leading scorer also didn’t play in the first meeting, serving the final game of his three-game suspension. Despite winning all three games without him, the Panthers struggled without him when the competition improved. James missed the second half against Denver and all of UNI’s road game vs. Southern Illinois. Both ended with Northern Iowa losses.

“It’s one of those things you don’t have control over,” Jacobson said. “That’s why I don’t talk with our guys about it. They’re not allowed to have excuses for anything that doesn’t happen that’s positive when it comes to winning a basketball game.”

With James in the lineup, UNI boasted plenty of positives to close out the season. With its starters healthy, the Panthers finished the regular season winning seven straight and 10 of 15 overall.

Two of those 10 came against Creighton and Wichita State, both NCAA Tournament teams. With those wins and a resume build on a top 20 non-conference strength of schedule, UNI thought it had enough for an NIT berth. Instead, it’s reserved to the CIT, but the effort won’t be any less.

Said Jacoboson,“I told them (Monday), ‘I don’t care which road you take, you can take whatever route you want, but we’ll be ready to play.’”

“How about we just start with questions today? I bet there are probably some good ones,” the Northern Iowa head coach said – a statement meant with laughter.

Jacobson knew they were coming. He had more than 15 hours since finding out the Panthers didn’t qualify for the NIT, but the still had no answers.

“I don’t know. We should’ve been in the NIT. I don’t know that there is any two ways around that part of it,” Jacobson said. “There were a couple of teams that got in that didn’t do as much as we did over the course of the season.”

At 18-14 the Panthers missed out on the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. They qualified for the College Insider Tournament, or the CIT for short. UNI hosts North Dakota Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the McLeod Center in the first round of the postseason tourney.

It’ll be the second time this season UNI hosts Jacobson’s alma mater. The Panthers beat North Dakota 72-47 on Nov. 17.

“In November they did not have their leading scorer,” Jacobson said. “So they’re completely different with him.”

He addressed the future, but the past kept coming up, more specifically an NIT snub.

“We had the kind of year that gets you into the NIT,” Jacobson said. “And having 10 spots taken, that was probably one or two too many.”

Ten regular season conference winners lost in their conference tournament and did not make the NCAA Tournament. That meant 10 teams automatically qualified for the NIT. With that, only 22 at-large berths remained.

Indiana State received one of those bids as the sixth seed and will play Iowa on Wednesday. The Sycamores finished fifth in the Missouri Valley, behind both UNI and Evansville, who are playing in the CIT.  Indiana State boasted an impressive resume with wins over Ole Miss and Miami. It also swept UNI in the regular season.

“We beat Creighton. We beat Wichita (State). We beat St. Mary’s; three teams that are in the NCAA Tournament,” Jacobson said.

“There’s three or four teams in the (NIT) that didn’t beat anybody that was really good, or maybe beat one team that was really good. Those are the ones that I’m a little bit more disappointed that we weren’t in ahead of.”

Northern Iowa had chances to pick up similar statement wins against Louisville, Memphis or UNLV. It’s non-conference strength of schedule ranked 20^th in the nation. The Panthers joined Texas Southern as the only two teams with a non-conference SOS in the top 30 who did not make the NCAA Tournament or NIT.

The Panthers can also look to Jan. 26 when it led Indiana State with less than five second remaining before a foul led to a Sycamore win.  They also led vs. Evansville with 31 seconds remaining. Jacobson pointed to the fact that MVC second-teamer Anthony James missed the second half against Denver and their game at Southern Illinois: both UNI losses.

At this point though, the questions, the ifs, and even the numbers can’t change the past. All Northern Iowa can do is look forward.

“You guys don’t want to hear me talk about those things,” Jacobson said. “And I don’t believe in those things, because when you talk about them, it sounds like an excuse.”

Quinton Taylor (right) pushes past Tristan Ingalls while running plays during practice at Benton Community High School on Friday, Aug. 17, 2012, in Van Horne. (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)

The NFL began its “Forever Football” campaign with a commercial displaying the game from its infancy with muddied fields and leather helmets to a speedy Devin Hester crossing the goal line at the end of the 60-second spot.

It’s geared toward promoting a new focused look at keeping football safe. On the weekend of March 24, Iowa will join the ranks in trying to make one of the nation’s most popular sports safer. At the state athletic directors’ conference, the Iowa High School Athletic Association plans to unveil a series of rule changes regarding football’s preseason practice procedures.

“It’s time for us to catch up with the recommendations that are being made by the research and so forth that’s been done relative to the heat issues in football,” IHSAA executive director Rick Wulkow said.

Limiting teams to one practice at a maximum of three hours highlighted the potential rule changes. Others changes included helmet only (no pads) practices for the first two days, no full contact until the sixth practice, no practices on Sunday and no full-contact scrimmages until 10 practices have been completed.

Wulkow wouldn’t comment on the potential changes, but didn’t refute any of them either.

He did put to rest one rumor.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Michael Moncivais (23, left) and Will Orr (52). (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)

“That there would be no contact for the first 10 days of practice,” Wulkow said. “That’s not true.”

Although not official, the rule changes weaved their way through the coaching ranks in Iowa.

“My first reaction was a little bit of shock and surprise, like most football coaches,” Cedar Rapids Xavier coach Duane Schulte said. “But on the other hand not surprised at all because how things are kind of going and people trying to maintain safety in football.”

The changes are set to only affect the preseason practices.

In the past, teams had two separate practices ranging from two to three hours. Now they will only have one with a three-hour limit. The rules also slice the on-field time even by not allowing any contact until the sixth practice.

“It’s going to force us to look at our practice plans that first week. That’s the week it’s really going to affect,” West Delaware coach Doug Winkowitsch said. “The hardest part is, for us, the first three days in the past, you can hit all the fundamental stuff, but to really get to the technique and the things you’re trying to develop with your kids to get really good at, really requires gear, in my opinion.”

The practice adjustments don’t pertain to the summer camps teams attend. They also don’t mention anything regarding player workouts.

The limit of three-hour practices comes with the modifier of physical activity.

“We’ll still probably do our same schedule,” Schulte said. “There might just be more mental activity in terms of chalk talk and film study and things like that.”

The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina found that since 1995, 52 players died (41 high school, eight college, two professional, one sandlot) from heat stroke. Its study also found that during the last decade, there were 31 heat-stroke deaths, compared to 21 during the previous 10 years.

Due to these numbers a number of states have already taken action. Georgia no longer allows three-a-day practices. Similar to Iowa, players cannot participate in pads until the sixth practice. Two-a-days are allowed but can’t combine for more than five hours and can’t be on consecutive days.

In Texas, teams two-a-days were banned for the first four days, and can’t be held consecutively after. Florida, another football hotbed, banned two-a-days for the first week. They can’t be in the second week, but not consecutively.

“It’s not just an Iowa issue it’s a national issue. It’s just not a high school issue, it’s a college and pro issue,” Wulkow said. “And we’ve done the research and the study and we’re going to lay it out for athletic directors so they have a full understanding.”

The soot from the tires came from his summer job working with the sheet metal worker’s union.

It’s not what the Iowa pitcher envisioned after being drafted to play professional baseball.

“That was harsh in the summer,” Dermody said. “I was just out in the heat every day.”

Dermody’s vision for his summer involved a different kind of heat – what they call in Arizona a “dry heat.” The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Dermody in the 23rd round of Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft.

It was the third time the Norwalk-native had been drafted. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected him in the 26th round in 2009 and the Colorado Rockies chose Dermody in the 29th round in 2011.

The third time seemed to be the charm.

“It just felt right being I had one year left of college,” Dermody said. “I felt the opportunity could possibly not be there in the future. So I thought might as well take the opportunity while I still have it.”

The opportunity didn’t last. A number 46 jersey hung in a locker with “Dermody” nameplate signifying his spot. An MRI stood in the way of making it all his. Instead the scan took it all away.

The Diamondbacks’ physicians found Dermody had a 40 percent tear of his ulnar collateral ligament.

“I did not expect that at all. My arm was sore from the season,” Dermody said. “I just thought normal soreness.”

After diagnosing the issue, the Diamondbacks withdrew their offer and told Dermody his plane for Iowa left in three hours.

“I was disappointed. I was pretty bummed for a week. You have to get over it,” Dermody said. “Shoot, when I got sent back, it was like dang. It was so quick.”

He returned home and the University of Iowa’s doctors had another surprise for him. They saw nothing wrong with his left throwing elbow.

“They took a look at the same MRI and said ‘It’s zero percent tear.’ That nothing’s wrong with it,” Dermody said. “So it’s kind of questionable what exactly was diagnosed there.”

Even with no tear, the doctors still recommended rehab. It meant no summer baseball for the first time since Dermody could remember. It also marked the first time in his life the Hawkeye southpaw had to get a job.

He ended up as a steel sheet worker his dad, Pat Dermody.

“I thought, this is a good thing because it’s tough out there,” Pat Dermody said. “It’s one of those things that is going to make him keep that baseball dream alive. If you can get a chance to make a sport your livelihood, you gotta go for it.”

Spurned by the Diamondbacks, Iowa head coach Jack Dahm and team welcomed Dermody back for his senior season. Through four starts this season the southpaw boasts a perfect 3-0 record with an ERA of 2.77.

Both numbers are trend upward after Dermody finished his junior season at 1-7 with an ERA of 4.50.

He’s also gone back to his old arm slot to regain some deception in his windup he had as a sophomore. Dermody possesses the same velocity as last year with his fastball peaking in the low 90s.

The lefty also added a polished slider to his repertoire, which was as simple so moving his thumb lower on the ball.

“He’s different this year. He’s got a little edge to him, a little chip to himself,” Dahm said. “It’s been fun to watch.”

Currently fans can watch him at Banks Field in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes open their season against Coe College on Tuesday.

Last summer Dermody envisioned pitching in a minor league stadium. He’s confident that chance is still in his future.

“I guess that was a pretty emotional summer for me,” Dermody said. “And I wasn’t playing baseball. I’ve never had that.”

And he hopes he never has to again.

CEDAR RAPIDS – Both teams began taking off their helmets, shaking hands and wishing each other well. It’s a postgame tradition at any level. It’s not part of the tradition to do it with the clock stopped and 14.6 seconds remaining.

The Wyoming Cavalry couldn’t get out of the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena fast enough. Directly below the clock displayed the soon to be final score, 54-12.

“They were mad, they said that their coach gave up, but he wanted to get out of here without any injuries. That’s a good move for him. It’s early in the season for them,” defensive end Xzavie Jackson said. “They’re going to get things rolling.”

For the second straight week at home, the Titans (4-0) had it rolling throughout the game. Cedar Rapids held a 24-0 lead at the half. On the second play of the third quarter, the Titans increased the lead to 30-0 over Wyoming.

This came a week after the offense posted 60 against Texas.

The difference against Wyoming (0-1) was the defense.

“We’ve been working real hard defensively,” Titans head coach Mark Stoute said. “We’ve been working hard. We’ve got some nice stunts. We’ve got a nice flow going with it and the guys are really starting to buy into our defensive front.”

The havoc started on the line where the Titans tallied six sacks. The constant pressure never allowed hometown product Barney O’Donnell to get comfortable. The Cedar Rapids Washington graduate finished 6 of 17 passing for 71 yards and a touchdown. He also fumbled and got called for intentional grounding in the endzone resulting in a safety.

Friday marked his first start at quarterback in his hometown in seven years. His final attempt in the homecoming landed in the hands of Michael Graise, a Titan corner, after Jackson plowed toward O’Donnell in the backfield.

“My boy Xzavie, man, was causing some havoc back there,” Graise said. “He was just throwing it up.”

The Titans’ defense ruined O’Donnell’s return and Wyoming’s season opener. Cedar Rapids held the Cavalry to 89 yards of total offense. At half time that number stood at a meager 13 yards.

“I think we let down a little bit in the second half, mental focus on defense. We only gave up two touchdowns, but both of them were mental mistakes,” Stoute said. “So there’s things there we can improve upon.”

While Stoute continues to search for that perfect 60 minutes of football, his offense has served up seven outstanding quarters. During the span the Titans have posted 111 points.

Charles McCullum returned after missing last week’s game with an injury to his elbow. He finished with 88 yards passing and a touchdown. He also ran for 35 yards and a score.  Laron Council led the team with three scores on seven carries. He totaled 36 yards rushing.

McCullum found himself on the bench done for the night early in the third quarter with his team up 30-0. After his rushing touchdown, he appeared on the video board and blew kisses to the fans, and signaled that he loved them.

Jackson enjoyed the same type of fun earlier in the game singing a country music song from the same spot on the bench.

As the Titans roll into a double bye week at 4-0, outscoring opponents 213-116, there are more than a few smiles on the sidelines.

“We love this game, that’s why we’re here playing it,” Jackson said. “It don’t matter who we got with us, we just gotta have fun. And we have fun? 4-0 is the result.”

Andy Murtha (right) of C.R. Xavier High School makes an unsuccessful dive to sack C.R. Washington High School quarterback Barney O'Donnell (left) during their game at Xavier in NE Cedar Rapids Friday, October 6, 2006. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

It took a former All-American linebacker in Bloomington, Ind., to notice Barney O’Donnell III. Facing a dual threat quarterback in their next game, the Bloomington Edge’s coaching staff put O’Donnell under center on the scout team.

The 6-foot-1 wideout played quarterback at Cedar Rapids Washington and saw stints under center as a junior at St. Ambrose. O’Donnell whipped the pigskin around the practice field with the crispness that made him The Gazette’s 2006 Athlete of the Year.

“Coach (Kenton) Carr, he really didn’t say much,” O’Donnell said. “Nobody did at the time.”

But Ameer Ismail took note. The Western Michigan product and current Chicago Slaughter linebacker saw O’Donnell’s talent.

“He used to play for Coach ‘L’ – my current coach with the Cavalry. He put the call in,” O’Donnell said. “He said, ‘You need to check out this kid named Barney.’”

Wyoming head coach Mike Layton took Ismail’s word and inked O’Donnell. When the Calvary open their season in Cedar Rapids Friday in the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, O’Donnell will be their quarterback.

“I’m trying to think of it as just another game, but it’s not,” O’Donnell said. “It’s really bigger than that. It’s deeper than that.”

After a stint in college with Georgetown and then transferring to St. Ambrose, O’Donnell signed with the Bloomington Edge’s practice squad as a wide receiver. Each new jersey came with the hope of being listed as “QB1.”

O’Donnell left Georgetown after one season, and then wound up at St. Ambrose as “QB3″ and wide receiver.

“This is to everyone in my life that said I couldn’t be calling the plays,” O’Donnell said. “I thank Coach ‘L’ and the Wyoming Cavalry, literally from the bottom of my heart, really because this is a dream come true.”

O’Donnell last played quarterback in a game two years ago as a junior at St. Ambrose, when injuries allowed him an opportunity. He finished his collegiate career at wide receiver as a senior.

This season marked the first time since playing at Washington he entered the year as the starter.

The Cavalry began training camp about two weeks ago in Las Vegas. It helped O’Donnell get acclimated to the IFL style of play. But camp left one major hurdle: the size of the field.

“It’s kind of funny, I really have no idea. We haven’t even practiced on an arena field yet,” O’Donnell said.

The Cavalry had a walk-through Thursday in the CRIA, which allowed O’Donnell to get his first taste of the smaller-sized field.

Friday the pint-sized playing surface will act as a fish bowl for O’Donnell’s return home. He’ll have “quite a few” family members and friends in attendance for his professional debut.

“It’s kind of crazy. I’m the quarterback and my team is going against the grain of my own society,” O’Donnell said. “It’s just another day in the life I guess. It feels way too familiar. Frankly, I think fate is the only real explanation.”

The homecoming started before O’Donnell and his team arrived in Cedar Rapids. The 24-year-old’s phone is filled with well-wishing text messages. They come from people who witnessed his skills at quarterback before and want to see them again.

It’s been a seven-year journey trying to convince non-believers he could play quarterback. Friday he reaches the destination. At the same time he’s creating a new path trying to keep the doubters believing.

“This opportunity means a lot to be able to come back and be a professional athlete, which has always been a dream,” O’Donnell said. “And to have my game be right in Cedar Rapids, is truly just a dream come true and then some. I couldn’t imagine this.”

CEDAR FALLS – When Northern Iowa’s senior classed traveled to St. Louis as freshmen, they returned with a Missouri Valley Conference championship trophy. In the following two trips to “Arch Madness” they returned to Cedar Falls with opening round losses.

“It’s always tough. Coming in we haven’t been playing our best basketball by any means heading into St. Louis,” senior Jake Koch said. “I think we just feel more confident this year.”

The Panthers enter the postseason tournament winning nine of their last 13. The most recent win came on senior night against Illinois State. The teams will square off again, six days later, at 8:30 p.m. in the Scottrade Center.

Friday marks the teams’ sixth match-up in the last two years. UNI owns victories in both of its meetings with Illinois State this season. The Redbirds took two of the three games last year, including a win in the MVC quarterfinals.

“I think I’d rather play somebody different,” UNI head coach Ben Jacobson said. “Two years ago we played Creighton in the final regular season game and turned around and played them again on Friday. It just seems a little different, a little bit out of sorts.”

The Panthers fell to the Bluejays 60-57 in the quarterfinals in 2011.

But like Koch noted, this version of Northern Iowa may trump the last two.

The four losses during the final 13 games came by a total of 16 points. They came as part of two two-game losing streaks. The first came on the road in a one-point loss to Indiana State and an in overtime against Evansville. UNI held the lead with one second remaining against the Sycamores and led against Evansville with as little as 31 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Panthers suffered their second string of back-to-back losses in identical 63-57 decisions to Denver and Southern Illinois. Against Denver, UNI’s leading scorer and all MVC second-teamer Anthony James left with a knee contusion. The injury sidelined James against the Salukis as well.

“We’re good. We’re all healthy,” Koch said. “I know AJ’s been getting treatment; we all have with the nicks and injuries we have.”

James played 36 minutes in the regular season finale against Illinois State, leading the Panthers with 19 points. UNI’s starting five – Koch, James, Marc Sonnen, Seth Tuttle and Deon Mitchell – have won 11 of 13 together.

Three of those starters, Koch, James and Sonnen, have compiled 40 wins since their freshmen trip to St. Louis.

But it wasn’t their last journey to the city that year. UNI parlayed its MVC tournament championship into a Sweet Sixteen run housed in St. Louis.

This year, with only two postseason wins since, the Panthers are looking to rekindle that magic.

“(It’d be) amazing. I wouldn’t know what to do when that final horn goes,” Koch said. “It would just be something special for us and hopefully we can do that for the seniors and the community.”

Northern Iowa's Marc Sonnen, left, defends Denver's Chase Hallam during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. Denver won 63-57. (AP Photo/The Waterloo Courier, Tiffany Rushing)

Creighton’s Doug McDermott walked to the free throw line with 1:21 remaining in the game. The constant hum of voices within the McLeod Center began replaying the previous 19 minutes of the second half.

As the Northern Iowa student section began hazing the Bluejays’ junior, press row and fans sitting behind realized a made free throw would be McDermott’s first points of the half.

He sunk the first and missed the second. A dunk home with 0.2 on the clock added to his total, but that was it.

The Northern Iowa defense struck again.

Three points in the final 20 minutes for the player who now ranks second in the nation in scoring.

After the game, questions flew at UNI head coach Ben Jacobson aimed at the cliché of taking one thing away and let others beat you.

“We talked some yesterday and again prior to the game, about trying to take away both things, as hard as that is and as hard as that sounds,” Jacobson said after the Feb. 13 game. “But we’ve got to take away some stuff on the block and we’ve still got to get to shooters. We can’t settle for just taking one away and feeling like we’ve done our job. It’s asking a lot of players, but to beat a very, very good team you have to.”

Tuesday the Missouri Valley Conference released its all-conference team including all-defensive squad. The team didn’t include a single Panther.

The glaring oversight is senior guard Marc Sonnen, who matches up with the opposing team’s top scoring guard every night. If it’s a big man, senior Jake Koch takes the responsibility with help from sophomore Seth Tuttle.

Looking over the last 30 games of the season, excluding Wartburg, UNI held the opposing team’s leading scorer to 1.96 points less than average.

The chart below shows how the Panthers fared against its opponents’ leading scorer at that time. For example, when UNI played Iowa, Aaron White was leading the Hawkeyes in scoring average, which is why his name appears and not Devyn Marble’s.

Some overall takeaways:

- In conference play, UNI held opponents’ leading scorers to 2.12 less points per game on average.

- In non-conference play, it held leading scorers to 1.7 less than average.

- In total, leading scorers amassed 61 points less than if each poured in their season average.

- Evansville’s Colt Ryan enjoyed the most success against UNI. He is +11.3 above his season average at the time the two teams met. His +5.5 and +5.8 are the highest of any player.

- Drake’s Ben Simons finished with the worst output of any leading scorer at -17.6. Simons scored six points in both games against UNI. Creighton held Simons to four points – a season low– but the guard bounced back scoring 13 the second time around.

- Northern Iowa held Illinois State’s Jackie Carmichael to five points in the season finale, 12.8 points below his average, the most of any UNI opponent. The five points tied for his worst output of the year.

- St. Mary’s Matthew Dellavedova scored nine points, 10.5 below his average entering the game.

- Bradley’s Walt Lemon Jr. scored four points in his first meeting against UNI, his worst performance of the year.

- Not listed, UNI held Stanford’s Dwight Powell, who now leads the Cardinal in scoring at 15.3 ppg, to two points, tied for his worst output of the season.

- Devyn Marble produced the best game compared to his season average of any current leading scorer. Marble had a season-high 30 points which is 15.6 points more than his average.

- When UNI played Northern Colorado, both Tevin Svihovec and Tate Unruh lead the team in scoring at 11.2. Both scored more than that, but the Panthers held Derrick Barden, who now averages 13.4 ppg – 0.2 behind Unruh for the team high – to a season low two points.

- If Barden scored his average against UNI, he’d lead Northern Colorado in scoring.

- If Milwaukee’s Aaron Jordan put in 17, like he averaged when he played the Panthers, his season average would be 14.65. Paris Gulley leads the Panthers at 14.69.

- Jackie Carmichael entered the final regular season game leading Illinois State and scoring. When he left UNI, teammate Tyler brown surpassed him.

Entrepreneurs looking to get into the minor league sports business had their opportunity on Craigslist Monday morning. Among the apartments, used cars and personal ads, the business/commercial section displayed an ad for ownership shares with the Cedar Rapids Titans.

Mike Polaski, a minority owner of the Indoor Football League team, posted an ad on the classifieds web site claiming, “A downturn in my ‘core’ business (restaurant owner) has forced me to liquidate my 20% ownership in The Cedar Rapids Titans…”

“I think the way that maybe he went about it, we all wished was a little better,” Titans owner and general manager Chris Kokalis said. “But it’s his share. It’s like you having ownership in Best Buy or Kohls and you wanting to unload your shares. He just used Craig’s List as a way to seek interest.”

The ad – which was taken down – may have been a little embarrassing for the organization, but it doesn’t take away from what Kokalis calls a thriving product.

“The majority ownership of the team is still intact. (There are) no plans or intentions of selling the team, we’re moving forward, we’re growing, we’re continuing to build,” Kokalis said. “Obviously the team is doing well on the field and is doing perfect off the field. I think people are reading a bit too much into it.”

The Titans are 3-0 and filled the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena to near capacity in both its home games this season. They are expecting another large crowd Friday.

For a sale to be complete, Polaski, who owns Jo’s Roadhouse in Solon, has to bring potential buyers to the Titans’ board of owners, which consists of four members. All four would have to agree on the buyer and the details.  The craiglist ad set the price at $80,000.

Once the group crosses that hurdle the IFL then needs to approve the purchase.

“It’s not like anyone off the street can buy into the football team there’s a process that needs to be followed,” Kokalis said. “…We’re obviously looking for credible individuals, you know, people who have the financial wherewithal and just to make sure it’s the right fit. This isn’t the right fit for everybody.”

Kokalis stressed how much of a fit Cedar Rapids is for the team numerous times in his eight minute phone interview with The Gazette. The fact that a portion of the Titans is for sale doesn’t affect the future location of the team.

“This is someone who has very minority ownership interest in the team,”Kokalis said. “We’ve got people thinking that the team is being sold, which is not the case at all.”

CEDAR FALLS – Each senior walked off the court to a standing ovation before the final buzzer sounded. Marc Sonnen fouled out with 4:57 remaining. With 2.9 left, Anthony James and Jake Koch followed with substitutions taking their spot. With 0.2 remaining Austin Pehl received his ovation from the 6,621 in attendance at the McLeod Center.

It’s a senior day tradition, but the thunderous cheers mixed with applause came equally due to their play on the court Saturday in an 80-72 win over Illinois State, as much as it was for their four years of service.

“I think this was the greatest senior night I’ve ha–,” Sonnen said interrupting himself on the word had. “Obviously it was the only one I had, it’s the best one I’ve had (here).”

The seniors will move onto something they’re a little more experienced in – postseason play.  As the three seed, the Panther (18-13, 11-7) face the sixth seeded Redbirds(17-14, 8-10) again next week in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Friday in St. Louis.

In the rematch, UNI will need a more balanced attack. The senior quartet scored 57 of the Panthers’ 80 points. Replace sophomore Seth Tuttle with Pehl, and that foursome scored 70 of the 80 points.

The trio of Sonnen, James and Koch stood even taller in the second half with 28 points. More than the quantity of points, it was the timing of them.

“They’ve carried us for six weeks now,” UNI head coach Ben Jacobson said. “But the way they’ve played the last six weeks, they’ve really carried us.”

No one hoisted the team higher than Sonnen. He opened the second half by burying five 3s on seven attempts. His onslaught of deep balls carried the Panthers during the first 15 minutes of the second half. A UNI player not named Sonnen didn’t make a field goal until 4:31 left in the game.

“He had it going again and he’s done that more than a handful of times this year, he’s really gotten it going,” Jacobson said.

Sonnen finished with six 3s, giving him 82 for the season, a new UNI single-season record. The long range specialist could only bear the load for so long. With just under five minutes left, Sonnen picked up his fifth foul.

“I felt like, in a way, I let my team down. The extra fouls that I maybe could have not done,” Sonnen said. “I always have confidence in my team. I knew what they were going to be able to do, and get it done.”

That’s when Koch and James took over. The next four field goals involved the duo. Koch got the offense rolling with Sonnen sidelined with an assist and a fadaway jumper.

James put the game away with a 3-pointer and then an and-1 conversion to put the Panthers up nine with less than 30 seconds remaining.

The long-range assault curbed a recent Panther trend. In its previous three games, and the Panthers made 22 of its last 88 3-balls, including 0 for 8 to begin Saturday night.

James abruptly put a stop to that trend banging home back-to-back 3s late in the first half. The six-point swing converted a one point deficit into a five-point UNI lead.

“That’s the thing, we don’t really pay attention to stats during the game,” James said. “I didn’t know we were 0 and 8. Guys’ open, we just shoot the shots. Every time we shoot we think it’s going to go in.”

In all, James finished with 19 while Sonnen and Koch chipped in 18 apiece. The senior guards took care of business from deep, while Koch did his damage from close range. Koch joined Tuttle as both big men recorded a double-double. The elder hauled in 11 boards, the sophomore finished with 15 and 11.

“We got to a lot of rebounds. Some of it was really good effort by our guys.” Jacobson said regarding his team’s 42-26 advantage on the glass. “I thought our guys put in a really good effort on the boards.”

The effort could also been seen in the air under Koch’s feet.

Four of the forward’s points came via the Jake-Koch-Dunk, a part of his game that fans see about as often as Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster.

“I had seen it before,” Jacobson said. “I don’t see it very often.”

Northern Iowa 80, Illinois State 72

The “Double Bonus:” Gazette reporter Michael Bonner’s quick reaction to UNI’s win over Illinois State on senior night at the McLeod Center Saturday.

Game Ball: Marc Sonnen — Despite fouling out late in the second half, the senior drained five 3s in the second half, the only field goals in the final 20 minutes until less than five minutes remained.

Lame Ball: Jackie Carmichael — The Redbirds’ leading scorer didn’t score until 30 seconds left in the first half, he finished with five points and four fouls.

Light the victory cigar: 32.7 2nd — Anthony James gets a steal, a bucket and a foul to put UNI up 76-67.

Water cooler stat: Four players — Marc Sonnen, Jake Koch, Seth Tuttle and Anthony James — combined for 70 of UNI’s 80 points.

Big Number: 18 — Number of offensive rebounds for UNI leading to a 18-4 advantage in second chance points.

CEDAR RAPIDS – Texas opened its season Friday night in Cedar Rapids. The Indoor Football League probably should have informed the Revolution.

The Cedar Rapids Titans marched up and down the turf inside the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena without much resistance in a 60-21 win.

They improved to 3-0 on the season and picked up their first win under quarterback Colton Hansen. Starter Charles McCullum sat out with an injured arm. Hansen practice Wednesday and got the official nod Thursday.

“He didn’t practice and I was like, ‘Maybe there’s a shot,” Hansen said.

The signal caller made the most of it after a few speed bumps to start.  He completed one of his first five attempts. On his 10^th attempt, which began the second quarter, he threw his second interception.

After that, Hansen played like a different quarterback. He finished the final three quarters 9 of 13 for 116 yards with five touchdowns.

“It took me a minute to figure out what they were running and how they were running it” Hansen said.

During one stretch of the game, which spanned the second and third quarters, Hansen completed six straight passes, including four touchdowns.

He locked onto Carl Sims who caught all four scores during the span. Overall, Sims hauled in six catches for 56 yards.

“It’s been like that all along. Whether we have Hansen in there or whether we have McCullum in there, the guys are just clicking now,” Titans head coach Mark Stoute said. “The sky’s the limit with this team.”

While the Hansen/Sims duo assaulted the Revolution through the air, the Titans took care of business on the ground too. Laron Council rushed for 77 yards and three touchdowns. Both are season highs for the running back. Council entered Friday looking with 55 yards rushing and his first score.

The three-headed monster combined to lead the Titans to seven straight possessions that found the endzone.  The Ice Area had no use for in-game music as Britney Spears’ “Scream and Shout” echoed through the arena throughout the night after every score.

“I don’t try to pay attention to any of the music that plays after touchdowns or anything like that,” Hansen said. “Just gotta block that out.”

The Titans finished with 317 total yards of offense, 86 yards more than its average in their first two games against Chicago.

As good as the offense played, the defense suffocated the Texas offense. The Revolution went into half time with 16 total yards of offense. Quarterback Marcus Jackson threw as many interceptions – two—as his team had first downs. Texas (0-1) didn’t find the endzone until Cedar Rapids led 36-0.

But like any head coach, sees room for improvement.

“Still, maybe that first quarter we didn’t get off the mark like I wanted to offensively,” Stoute said. “I keep telling them all week the challenges of playing all 60 minutes.”

IOWA CITY – Before the shot, Jaime Printy made 1 of 9 attempts beyond the arc. None of her nine attempts induced more pressure than her 10th. Iowa had battled back from 18 down to tie the game at 62.

As the senior shooting guard rose up from the right wing, fellow senior Trisha Nesbitt jogged toward the back court.

As the ball traveled to the rim, Nesbitt crossed half court. It’s a shot she’d seen Printy make countless times during her four years at Iowa, 1 for 9 or not.

“I was already running back on defense,” Nesbitt said. “I was already getting back in the hole, because I knew it was going in.”

Printy made good on Nesbitt’s faith and buried the 3. It jolted Iowa into its second lead of the game. Indiana (11-17, 2-13) answered with a 3 of its own, but the Hawkeyes (18-11, 7-8) didn’t trail again, holding on for a 75-70 senior night win on Thursday in Carver Hawkeye Arena in front of 4,137.

Iowa took its first lead off a Melissa Dixon layup. Unlike Printy, the sophomore felt it all night. Her reverse lay-in gave Iowa a 62-60 lead and netted her team high 22nd point.

The layup not only gave Iowa the lead but completed a comeback that erased the double digit deficit. At 36-18, Dixon paved the comeback trail reeling off Iowa’s next 14 points, including four 3s.

“I love playing with these seniors so much that I was willing to do whatever it took to win the game,” Dixon said. “I didn’t want them to go off on a loss.”

Dixon’s barrage also wrestled Iowa’s offense out of hibernation. Iowa began the game shooting 2 of 10. At the time of Dixon’s run, the Hawkeyes stood at 6 of 21 shooting. When Dixon finished, she had sliced Iowa’s deficit in half.

“It’s such a great feeling to have a spark off the bench like that,” Printy said. “When she gets hot, she gets hot.”

Dixon came up one point shy and one 3 short of tying career highs. More importantly for the Iowa, she stopped the bleeding enough in the first half allowing for the second-half comeback. The Hawkeyes shot 61 percent in final 20 minutes. Morgan Johnson and Printy – both seniors – and Theairra Taylor, who came to Iowa in the same freshmen class, each poured in 11. It came after a first half where the trio combined for 10.

Johnson finished with 17 points. None were bigger than back-to-back baseline jumpers within 40 seconds of each other that put Iowa up seven with 1:20 remaining.

“I’m happy for our seniors that went out victorious. We’re own 18 in the first half, it didn’t look so good,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “But our team kept believing, kept fighting, kept working hard. We didn’t panic.”

Despite the lights out shooting, Iowa didn’t boast the hottest hand in the arena. Indiana’s Aulani Sinclair finished with 31 points on 12 of 22 shooting, including 7 of 11 from deep.

Sinclair went into the locker room with 21 points in the first 20 minutes. She made 5 of 7 3-balls, leading to a 10-point halftime Indiana cushion.

The second half, Iowa’s defense, led by Sam Logic, stifled the Hoosiers’ top scorer. Sinclair didn’t record her 22nd point until 5:20 remained in the game. The Indiana senior closed the game scoring her team’s final 10 points, including buckets to tie the game at 62 and 65.

But the Hawkeyes had the decisive answer – whether down 18 or shooting 1 for 9—which was never in doubt.

“Yeah, we were down 18, but it was senior night, we were playing for a lot on the line,” Printy said. “We just kept believing.”

IOWA 75, INDIANA 70

The “Double Bonus:” Gazette reporter Michael Bonner’s quick reaction to the Iowa women’s come-from-behind win over Indiana on Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Game Ball: Melissa Dixon – The sophomore finished with 22 points to lead Iowa. At one point she scored 14 straight for the Hawkeyes in the first half.

Lame ball: Anyone not in attendance – Best game of the year in Carver-Hawkeye.

Light the victory cigar: 1:20 second half – Morgan Johnson makes her second straight baseline jumper to put Iowa up seven.

Water cooler stat: Iowa started the game 1 of 8 from the field but ended it shooting 27 of 50.

Big number: 31 - the number of points Aulani Sinclair totaled Thursday. The Hoosier scored 21 in the first half and scored Indiana’s final 10 points. She also made 7 of 11 3-pointers.

The Titans own two wins against the Slaugther, but they came in opposite fashion. The first involved a comeback at home; the second involved extinguishing a rally on the road.

Friday night, the Titans return to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena and finally play someone other than Chicago. They host the Texas Revolution.

When the Revolution take the field Friday, it will mark the first time this season. Texas is the only team in the United Conference that still hasn’t played a game. All four teams in the Intense Conference have yet to compete in a regular season game. In fact, the Titans have the misfortune of playing back to back games without any scouting reports on their opponents. Next week, Cedar Rapids hosts Wyoming for its first game of the year.

The book on the Titans hasn’t changed through two games. They have yet to piece a complete game together. In the home opener Cedar Rapids exploded for 34 points in the second half after scoring just seven in the first. The following week in Chicago, the Titans put up 44 points in the second and third quarters, but just 14 in the first and fourth. They also allowed a mind-blowing 31 in the fourth quarter alone.

After a slow start to his Titans career, Charles McCallum has come on. In his first half in Cedar Rapids, he found the endzone once. Since that time, in six quarters, the quarterback has seven touchdowns.

IOWA CITY – It crept into Trisha Nesbitt’s mind Tuesday night. Before she went to bed the Iowa senior guard reminisced about her four years in Iowa City. After flipping through the mental images of her career, her thoughts sprung forward to Thursday night, Iowa’s final regulars season home game, and her last as a Hawkeye.

“It’s going to be crazy experiencing one of our last times on Carver and as a group in general,” Nesbitt said. “I’m hoping not to be too emotional but I’m sure that will come out.”

A senior night banquet will be held following Iowa’s game against Indiana (11-16, 2-12). It will honor Nesbitt along with Morgan Johnson and Jaime Printy.

With plenty of memories to file away on the court, Nesbitt created them off the court too, more than any senior.  A co-captain, Nesbitt brought a new Christian organization for student athletes on campus. She also played a role in constructing a new church in the Iowa City community.

Her numbers on the court won’t turn many heads, but the respect she has inside the locker room forces players to listen when she speaks.

“She has embraced being a senior captain on our team. Our team really looks up to her,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “I think she probably has the most say of all the three captains and the most impact of all the three captains.”

She’s the third senior, in a class with Johnson – who has started the most games in program history – and Printy, who committed to be a Hawkeye at the age of 15. The two have their names scattered among the annals of Iowa women’s basketball history. Nesbitt might only be a footnote in the 2012-2013 season, appearing in 25 games and averaging 6.9 minutes in those contests. But her work ethic to gain the respect of her teammates places her firmly in the opening paragraph.

“The freshmen come in and you’re automatically going to have that natural (aura) of Jaime and Morgan because of what they’ve done on the court,” Bluder said. “So she’s had to work harder to gain their respect.”

Like any player who’s spent four years with a program, Nesbitt experienced highs and lows. As a freshman she appeared in 34 games, and started one. During the next two seasons, injuries held to just 30 games. Her freshman start against Indiana still is only one of her career.

Heading into this year’s matchup against the Hoosiers, Iowa is 1-6 in its last seven Big Ten games. “Starting freshmen year we started the Big Ten 1-6,” Nesbitt said. “We started to experience something like that this year and I think that we’ve been a group of girls that have come back with the same exact attitude, coming to fight and coming to prepare every single day.”

After the 1-6 start to begin conference play in 2009-2010, Iowa finished 20-14 and 10-8 conference record. The Hawkeyes qualified for the NCAA Tournament and lost in the second round to No. 2 Stanford. Iowa currently sits at 17-11 and 6-8 in the B1G, with two games remaining. After Thursday’s senior night, Iowa travels to Northwestern to conclude the regular season.

“Knowing that we have Big Tens and hopefully NCAA tournament, it’s not our last game every [night],” Nesbitt said. “It’s not our last chance ever to be together. So that’s good to know.”

Eventually though, her time wearing black and gold on the court will end. But her time at Iowa paved the path for her future off it. Nesbitt is engaged to former Iowa basketball player Jerryd Cole. The wedding is set for mid-June.

So the senior from Ames leaves Iowa City without her name atop the record books or being a house hold name. But she might actually graduate with more than that.

“She’s a great example of continue to work hard even when you don’t get the reward. Trish has been a fabulous role model,” Bluder said. “I don’t know, she’s leaving here with a fiancé, so maybe she’s benefited the most from being here.”

One more inhale, then an exhale, “It was a tale of two halves.”

The Titans scored 34 points in the second half of their 60-minute affair on Feb. 16. Sunday they play the second half of their home-and-home series to open the 2013 Indoor Football League season.

Currently the Titans sit atop the IFL United Conference standings. Even with playing their best for only a half, Cedar Rapids leads the league in points allowed at 31.

Still Chicago showed some semblance of an offense moving the ball for total of 240 yards. The Slaughter had two ball carriers amass more than 80 yards rushing. Daniel DuFrene tallied 81 and quarterback Juice Williams totaled 93. The former Illinois signal caller also found the endzone three times.

In the season opening series against the Slaughter, the Titans have an opportunity to jump out in the IFL. Cedar Rapids play in each of the first three weeks of the season, while teams like the Wyoming Calvary and the Colorado Ice, don’t play their first game until March 1.

The Titans don’t enjoy the bye until week five.

If that wasn’t enough confidence heading to Lincoln, Neb., to face the No. 24 Cornhuskers Sunday, Iowa knows firsthand it can hang with its Big Ten foes. Two weeks ago the Hawkeyes fell to Nebraska 76-75.

“It was a one‑point defeat, and I never want to get too excited about defeats by any means or take those almost kind of victories,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “But at the same time, our team knows that they can play with them, and I think that’s a good thing.”

The Hawkeyes also learned to keep an eye on the Cornhuskers Jordan Hooper.

Last time against Iowa, the junior scored 29 points in 31 minutes. She also pulled down eight boards – tied for the team high. Her one weakness came from beyond the arc where she made just 2 of 8. Her teammates picked up the slack burying 8 of 15.

“It’s like Hooper, she’s a good shooter, but percentage‑wise there are other shooters on the team that shoot a much better percentage,” Bluder said. “It’s just that she takes so many more shots than anybody else on the floor.”

Against the 3-happy Cornhuskers, Iowa plans to drop back in a zone. The Hawkeyes unleashed a zone against No. 18 Purdue and held the Boilermakers to 5 of 20 from deep.

“Well, our zone defense is very good,” Bluder said.  “Our defense as a whole was pretty darn good against Purdue.”

Sunday, Iowa attempts to tally its eighth win against top 25 opponents. Overall the Hawkeyes are 7-1 against ranked teams, the only loss came to No. 8 Penn State. The Nittany Lions began a stretch of three straight ranked opponents. Nebraska is the third, and could be the newest line on the Hawkeyes’ tournament resume.

“We need some more wins for the NCAA Tournament resume,” Bluder said. “Certainly getting any win is a good thing for us right now.  But when you get them against a top 25 opponent, it means a lot, and you get them on the road, it means a lot.”

CEDAR FALLS – It percolated throughout the game.

Marc Sonnen walked to the bench after a timeout and said to the officials, “That was out of bounds.”  Matt Bohannon awaited an answer on the same play, but didn’t get an answer before Jake Koch took his arm and pulled him away. Boos from the 6,325 in attendance at the McLeod Center rained down on the officials throughout the second half Saturday.

Ben Jacobson finally got their attention by leaving the coaching area with 35 seconds left in the game.

For doing so the UNI head coach picked up his sixth technical foul in his seven years at Northern Iowa (18-12, 10-6). Denver (18-8, 13-2) made the Panthers pay converting it into four points and a 63-57 non-conference Bracket Busters win.

“Not that I’ve been around forever but I have enough experience in my seventh year. Ben Jacobson of year one or year two maybe would have reacted that way,” Jacobson said. “That’s a mistake and that cost us a possession at an important time of the game. That won’t happen again.”

Jacobson became irate after Sonnen attempted a 3 across from the UNI bench. As he returned to the ground from the jump shot, the UNI senior drew contact from the defender and fell to the ground.

Chase Hallam pulled down the miss for Denver and play continued up the court without a whistle. When a whistle finally came, the culprit was Jacobson.

“It gave them an extra possession with 35 seconds left, so yeah that two points was big,” Jacobson said. “…That did not help us win.”

The frustration culminated with the tech but lingered throughout the night as Denver had a response every time UNI made it close. In the final 13 minutes, Northern Iowa cut it to a one possession game nine times. It trailed by a single point three times, but never held the lead in the second half.

“I felt like we did a pretty good job. We got points in the paint, kick out 3s, we did what we needed to do, they just always had an answer,” UNI’s Seth Tuttle said.

Tuttle played the key role in the second half comeback after the Panthers squandered a 16-2 lead to begin the game. The sophomore finished with a game high 18 points, 11 of which came in the second half.

After taking a seven-point deficit to the locker room, UNI tried to erase it by getting the ball inside. All but six of the Panthers’ points came from going inside. Northern Iowa tallied 18 points in the paint in the second half. It also made eight free throws, which came via fouls in the paint. Even one of the two 3s UNI hit was a result of a Tuttle pass out of the paint.

“You’ve got to get the ball down on the block. You’ve got to force them to defend the ball when it’s on the block. We did a better job of that in the second half,” Jacobson said. “And in the second half we also drove it from the wing and into the teeth of their defense. That’s my feeling, experience, that’s the best way to play against them with our offense.”

The Panthers excelled at scoring from close in, shooting 9 of 14 (64 percent) and 9 of 11 at one point from inside the arc. Their 3-point shooting let them down, at 37.5 percent for the game, but 4 of 14 in the final 37 minutes and 2 of 9 in the second half.

Some of that had to do with the injury to Anthony James. The senior guard left the game midway through the second half after his colliding with a defender and injuring his knee.

“The way he’s played in the last couple of weeks, how well he’s played and not having his experience on the floor, may have hurt him some,” Jacobson said. “At the same time…the guys did a good job without him and had a chance to win.”

The loss snaps a six-game winning streak but doesn’t affect the Panthers’ conference record. The Missouri Valley compiled a 7-3 record during Bracket Busters Saturday. Besides UNI, Illinois State fell to Utah State and Creighton lost to St. Mary’s.

The Panthers still sit in second place in the Valley behind the Bluejays heading into the final two games of the regular season before they go to St. Louis for the MVC tournament.

“I told them, we’ll go back into league play and we’ve got 80 minutes left,” Jacobson said. “Starting with the 40 on the road, so confidence stays up, keep playing with that momentum we’ve got and get ready to play our best game against Southern (Illinois).”

DENVER 63, NORTHERN IOWA 57

Game Ball: Denver – The Pioneers had four players in double figures and a fifth with nine points. Each time UNI closed in on the Denver lead, it always had an answer.

Lame Ball: Ben Jacobson – The Panthers head coach picked up a technical foul with 35 seconds to go. After the free throws and extra possession, Denver increased its lead from two to six.

Light the victory cigar: :35 second half. Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson picks up a technical foul. Denver scores four points with the extra possession to go up 61-55.

Water Cooler stat: The Panthers shot 9 of 15 from inside the arc in the second half. The 3-ball killed UNI as it made just 2 of 9 in the final 20 minutes and 4 of 14 the final 18:24.

Big Number: 8:12 - The amount of time UNI was stuck on 21. It was just a portion of a 30-9 run Denver closed the first half with.

CEDAR RAPIDS – In between the third and fourth quarters, fans attending the Cedar Rapids Titans’ home opener had a chance to win a prize if they could throw a mini-rubber football onto the bulls-eye on the field. As the turf began to clutter with the footballs, the Titans Dolls put them into baskets.

In the process of clearing the field, the official’s bean bag, which marks the spot of the ball, also got picked up.

Safe to say the organization is still working the kinks out, which applies to the on-field product as well.

The Titans (1-0) turned the ball over three times, missed two field goals, had three botched snaps, yet they got through it, holding on for a 41-31 win over Chicago (0-1) Saturday night.

No one had more rust on them than quarterback Charles McCullum.

“I hadn’t played in a year and half, but who’s counting? I am.” McCullum said. “But yeah, once we knocked the rust off, we settled down and our team kept pushing.”

McCullum took a half to adjust to life back on the field, after sitting out all of last year with an ankle injury. He completed 7 of 18 passes in the first half, with two interceptions. He rebounded in the second half completing 7 of 9 passes for 66 yards and four touchdowns. Overall he added another touchdown on the ground on one of his nine carries for 53 yards.

The highlight though came through the air. in the second half. Titans receiver Desmond Tardy caught a 34  yard touchdown by leaping over the padding and into the stands. He fell on an advertisement sign, but held onto the ball pushing his team’s lead to 27-18.

“Wooooooo, I want to give a shout out to Tardy, that’s my main man,” McCullum said. “He goes over the ball and catches the ball like no one I’ve ever seen before.”

McCullum may not have seen anything like it before, but Tardy knew he had it in him.

“He better caught it. He told me in the huddle, ‘Throw it. Throw it.’ I threw it, he caught it, touchdown,” McCullum said.

The sterling finish overshadowed the rusty beginning.

The Titans went into the locker room down 12-7, committing three turnovers and two of their three botched snaps. They had 97 of offense and just 35 through the air on 18 attempts.

“Offensively we just needed to settle down. We were pressing. We had some plays that were there and  we were almost trying too hard to get to those plays,” Titans head coach Mark Stoute said. “…I was a little emotional at halftime. I think I lit a few fires.”

The fire directly ignited the offense, not so much in the boxscore but on the scoreboard. Cedar Rapids gained 102 yards in the second half. It was just five more yards than the first half, but it translated into 34 points.

“It was like an oiled machine. Once you get an oiled machine, rolling, it’s going to keep rolling,” McCullum said. “Once you knock the rust off, it’ll work forever.”

The defense held up enough until the offense finally clicked. Its first big stop came inside the one in the second quarter, right before halftime, preventing Chicago to go up two scores.  It also came through in the fourth quarter on a 4^th and 3 opportunity for the Slaughter, stopping running back Daniel DuFrene short of the marker.

Special teams also picked up the slack recovering an onside kick and T.J. Simmons took a deflected kick 49 yards for a touchdown.

Some might look the two halves as a negative, but for now, the Titans can say it’s just complementary football.

“Defense had our back in the first half and we came back and had their back in the second half,” McCullum said. “That’s how football goes. It’s a team sport.”

The discussion turned to the Green Bay Packers cutting former Michigan Heisman trophy winner, Charles Woodson.

“That’s business man,” Titans running back Laron Council said.

The Titans’ business focuses on another Big Ten standout, former Illinois quarterback Juice Williams and the Chicago Slaughter. The Titans kick off their Indoor Football League season Friday at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena at 7 p.m.

While the defense will have its hands full with Williams, the Titans’ signal caller, Charles McCullum, makes his return to the field after a year on the sidelines. The former Seattle Timberwolve, McCullum, tore a tendon in his ankle in the Timberwolves’ first game last year, forcing him to miss the season.

“It’ll be like a million thoughts (when I take the field), but at the same time you go blank,” McCullum said. “Once you get in and you get on the field and you call ‘hike,’ it’s football now.”

Prior to his injury, in 2011, McCullum threw for 2,048 yards, third most in the IFL, to go with 51 touchdowns.

Those type of numbers should add some stability to a position that looked more like a carousel for the Titans last year. Cedar Rapids had three players with at least 65 attempts last year.

“Offense, we have a lot of weapons, we have a whole lot of weapons,” McCullum said. “We’re still putting pieces together but we have a very solid core right now.”

The absence from the field last season drove McCullum even harder to improve with the Titans and put up even better numbers.

One of the top quarterbacks two years ago, being reserved to the bench hurt, but knowing he could have helped his team, triggered a much deeper pain.

“I feel like, if I’m sitting and watching somebody do my job, and he makes a mistake, I know better than that,” McCullum said. “It ate me up inside, but I’m back and ready to play now.”

He’ll debut in front of a crowd expected to be upwards of 3,500, with only 500 tickets remaining. McCullum will join Titans head coach Mark Stoute, who is also in his first year with the team.

“You never get a second opportunity to make a first impression,” Stoute said. “So this is very, very big for us and big for our team.”

IOWA CITY – Not many fans, experts, or perhaps even players would have picked Iowa to defeat Penn State prior to the season. The Nittany Lions came into Carver-Hawkeye arena Thursday ranked No. 8 in the country, with three losses on their resume – at Miami, at Connecticut, at Wisconsin.

The hope lied in the “at” for the Hawkeyes. Perhaps another road test would see the Hawkeyes best Penn State and end a four-game losing streak.

Iowa lost that hope with a 17-4 Lady Lion run in the second half, which handed the Hawkeyes their fifth straight defeat, 81-69, the most since the 2006-07 season.

Sure, at the start of the year, experts penciled this in as a “loss to a good team,” but as it marked the fifth straight, it wasn’t easy to look over.

“Anytime you lose a game it’s tough,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “But when you’ve lost five in a row, it’s really tough.”

The Hawkeye who faced the toughest night? Jaime Printy.

Iowa’s leading scorer played 29 minutes and finished with two made free throws on her only attempts. The two points ranked as the second worst performance of the year, behind a one-point effort against Illinois State where she had one point in 15 minutes. Printy shot 0 for 4 against the Red Birds, Thursday she went 0 for 5.

“I think a lot of ball pressure and yeah unfortunately she got rattled out there tonight,” Bluder said.

In the midst of the four-game slide, Printy had been Bluder’s most consistent scorer. She averaged 15.5 points in those games and was the only Hawkeye to reach double figures in each of the four losses.

“Printy’s a great shooter and if she gets wide open looks, she’s going to knock them down,” Penn State head coach Coquese Washington said. “So a point of emphasis for us was certainly not to letting her have wide open looks and making it tough for her to get easy touches.”

Melissa Dixon did her best to pick up the scoring, finishing with 16 points, second to only Morgan Johnson’s 17. Dixon continued her hot hand from deep, making 4 of 9, increasing her total to 9 of 19 in the last two games.

The sophomore shooting guard dropped 10 of her 16 in the first half, helping the Hawkeyes to just a three-point deficit at the half.

“The first half we did a pretty good job of running the offense, really letting the offense work so that created a lot of open shots,” Dixon said.

Take away Dixon’s 16 and the backcourt for Iowa – Printy and Sam Logic – combined for 11 points. On the other side Penn State’s Maggie Lucas poured in 21 and Alex Bentley added 14.

Iowa survived without Printy’s production in the first half, but its two leading scorers in the first 20 minutes – Dixon and Bethany Doolittle – saw their production drop from 18 to 11.

The offense saw the effect during a 12-minute stretch of the second half. During that time the Hawkeyes scored just four points on one field goal, while the Nittany Lions put up 17.

“I think just our transition defense really needed to be better in this game,” Johnson said. “We were told before the game, we knew that was a key coming in and we just didn’t really stop it.”

They couldn’t stop Penn State, and with, the Hawkeyes couldn’t stop its season from unraveling. Sixteen days ago the Hawkeyes boasted a 16-4 record, a No. 24 ranking and a flawless 6-0 record against ranked teams.

Now they’re struggling to get a win, no matter the opponent.

“It’s a long season and we have to understand that each game is important and that we are still a good team,” Johnson said. “That we are still that good team that played early in the season.”

No. 8 PENN STATE 81, IOWA 69

The “Double Bonus:” Gazette reporter Michael Bonner’s quick reaction to Iowa’s women losing at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to No. 8 Penn State on Thursday.

Game Ball: Penn State’s starting backcourt – Maggie Lucas and Alex Bentley combined to score 35 points, dish out five assists, turn the ball over just three times and create five steals in 65 minutes.

Lame Ball: Iowa’s Jaime Printy – the Hawkeye guard missed all five of her attempts from the field, turned the ball over six times in 29 minutes.

Light the victory cigar: 5:44 second half – Alex Bentley gets a steal in the backcourt, lays it in to give Penn State at 16-point lead.

Watercooler stat: Iowa lost its fifth in a row and first to a ranked team this season on Thursday. The losing streak is the longest since the 2006-07 season. The Hawkeyes haven’t lost more than five games in a row since 1998-99.

Big Number: 7:11 – minutes in the second half during which Iowa mustered just one field goal and four points. Penn State outscored Iowa 17-4 during that stretch.

CEDAR FALLS – Prior to the game Northern Iowa jogged off the court and into the locker room. One Panther remained on the court – kind of.

Jake Koch didn’t follow his teammates but he exited the court and ventured into the student section for some final high fives before UNI’s game against Creighton.

“I did that against Wichita, so I thought ‘Why not?’” Koch said.

Word to the wise Northern Iowa student section; reserve a spot for No. 20 for all future home games. Whether the pregame ritual triggered some luck or something else took over, the senior guided the Panthers (15-11, 8-6 Missouri Valley) to the same result they experienced against Wichita State with a 61-54 win over Creighton (20-6, 9-5 MVC).

In his four years with the Panthers, Wednesday marked the third time he wandered into the stands. This time it was amongst 6,970, the seventh-largest crowd ever at the McLeod Center. The second occurred 12 days ago against Wichita State. The first came his freshman year against Old Dominion. He and the Panthers are now 3 for 3, which might spark a few more crowd engagements.

“If the crowd’s there,” Koch said. “I’m going to do it”

Initially the superstition worked as well as walking under a ladder before seeing a black cat. Koch missed his first seven shots. Through 35 minutes and 17 seconds of the game, the senior recorded one point. He joined in a team slump that saw four points through 10:26 of the second half. While the Panthers were stuck in neutral, Creighton transformed a six-point deficit into a five-point lead.

Cue Jake Koch.

“I don’t know, I just kind of freaked out for a second,” Koch said. “I got pumped up. I didn’t know what to do.”

So he scored. In the final 4:43, he poured in 13 points on 4 of 6 shooting. Overall the Panthers scored 16 during that stretch. The other three came from Linn-Mar grad Matt Bohannon, whose 3-pointer gave UNI a 52-49 lead, one they didn’t relinquish.

“As a freshman, my biggest thing is to stay confident in every shot I take and try to make every shot I take even though it’s not going to happen,” Bohannon said. “I think that’s something as the season’s gone on, I’ve done a much better job with.”

The 3-pointer marked the last Panther points not scored by Koch. In addition to his 13 points, he hauled in three rebounds and swatted two shots. He also sealed the victory making 5 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds.  He finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, both team-highs. If that wasn’t enough, his layup with a minute left not only put UNI up five, but it helped him eclipse the 1,000 career point plateau.

“His finish tonight was as good as we’ve had from a guy on our team,” Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson said. “At that point we needed somebody to really step forward. And he did that. He really stepped forward.”

Doug McDermott did not. Creighton’s All-American scored three of his game-high 15 in the second half – all coming with less than 1:30 left.  He took a total of three shots in the final 20 minutes, after making 5 of 7 in the first. The Ames native recorded a double-double but the stats didn’t tell the story of the UNI defense causing him fits offensively.

“I thought they did a really good job,” McDermott said. “They switched a lot of screens with me and they brought an extra defender every time I put it on the floor. So you’ve got to give them a lot of credit.”

Marion’s Grant Gibbs tried to pick up the slack scoring nine of his 14 in the second half, but the Panthers forced McDermott to turn the ball over four times. The Bluejays turned it over a season-high 18 times, one more than the previous high against Southern Illinois and Tulsa. Creighton compounded the turnover problem by shooting 35.7 percent (5-14) from the free throw line, a spot it’s usually comfortable at making 74.9 percent on the season.

“This isn’t rocket science,” Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said. “You can not go on the road and turn it over 18 times and shoot 35 percent from the free throw line and expect to win. Plain and simple.”

The postgame math in the Missouri Valley conference has Northern Iowa at 8-6, now just a game behind Creighton and Indiana State for second, and two games behind Wichita State.

At the beginning of the month, UNI sat with a losing record in the MVC. After Wednesday, the Panthers boast wins over the conference’s best – Wichita State and Creighton, both ranked in the RPI’s top 50 – and suddenly Northern Iowa has a pulse in the MVC tournament.

“We’re just trying not to let (the seniors) down,” Bohannon said. “This is their last shot.”

NORTHERN IOWA 61, CREIGHTON 54

The “Double Bonus:” Gazette reporter Michael Bonner’s quick reaction to UNI’s upset win over Creighton at the McLeod Center on Wednesday night.

Game Ball: Jake Koch – Scored 13 of team’s final 16 en route to transforming a four-point deficit into a seven-point win. Oh, and he scored his 1,000th career point and pulled down 10 rebounds for the double double (14 points).

Lame Ball: Doug McDermott – Scored just three points in the second half – all with under two minutes left. He also had the awkward moment of the game, throwing down a thunderous slam with 0.5 left in the already-decided game.

Light the victory cigar: 19.0 seconds left in the second half – Jake Koch steps in front of a Creighton pass, is fouled and makes both free throws, giving UNI a 59-52 advantage.

Water cooler stat: Creighton shot 5 of 14 from the free throw line, good for 35.7 percent, less than half its season average of 74.9 percent.

Big Number: 18 – The number of turnovers lost by Creighton. The Jays average 12.5 on the year. UNI converted those into 19 points.

CEDAR FALLS – The photos scattered on the circular black waist-high tables. A white border surrounded each photo. Black ink signatures, which looked to come from a fountain pen, added color to the otherwise clean border.

It encased a team portrait. Almost hidden by the late 80s haircuts and the dull black and orange baseball jerseys, stood Patrick Murphy in a white uniform in the top right corner. Across the chest of the white jersey, the word “Aces” scripted across the chest.

Twenty-five years after the Sumner Aces assembled for the team photo, they reunited in the Alumni Suite in Northern Iowa’s McLeod Center Friday. Just like the photo, the team donned bright orange shirts with “Aces” screen printed in black across the chest. Again, Murphy was the outlier.

He walked into the room wearing a white cap, a grey jacket and crimson pants. One item mirrored the photo almost perfectly though. The “A” on his Aces jersey looked to be a close relative to the crimson “A” displayed upon Alabama softball cap.

“It was some of the best years of my life with these guys,” Murphy said to his now middle-aged players.

He then gazed toward the current squad he coaches, the defending national champion Alabama softball team, “Now it was the best year of my life with you guys.”

The best of the best combined this past weekend as Murphy brought his Crimson Tide to the UNI-Dome Tournament, where they began their reign as champions.

But the journey began at Sumner High School, where the black and orange made him look more like Garfield than Nick Saban.

“I knew when we hired someone we had someone with a commitment, resolve, values, everything that we need,” former Sumner athletic director Les Teeling said.

Murphy took the helm of the Sumner baseball team at 21 years old, barely more experienced in life than the players he coached. It didn’t take long for his habits to rub off though.

“(You) learned where you stood,” said Roger Teeling, who was a sophomore when his dad hired Murphy. “Coach was very driven even at a ripe young age of just leaving college. You know, in essence coaching kids that are entering college. He knew where he wanted to go and take us.”

In his second year he nearly took them to the top. Murphy guided Sumner to the first trip to states in school history. The Aces season ended with a 9-6 loss to Kee High School (Lansing) in the 2A final.

Fast forward 10 years after an assistant coaching spot at Louisiana-Lafayette, moonlighting as the Independence baseball head coach and head coaching Northwest Missouri State, Murphy arrived in Alabama as the Crimson Tide’s head softball coach.

The similarities of between Sumner and Tuscaloosa went beyond the script “A.” Murphy accepted the job in 1999, and in his second year, he guided the Crimson Tide to their first appearance in the Women’s College World Series.

It marked the first of eight trips during the next 13 years, culminating in a title in 2012.

“He finally got that, as he says, monkey off his back last year,” Roger Teeling said.

And Sumner watched as Murphy etched his name into Crimson Tide lore. Roger Teeling, now an elementary principal, needed to travel to St. Louis for a conference. He planned his arrival around the title-clinching game. When he landed he found out the game had been delayed.

Not a conference, rain, or a series clinching win at 1:30 in the morning could prevent Roger Teeling from supporting his coach.

“I thought hotel security was going to come to my room because I was screaming at the top of my lungs, jumping on the bed,” Roger Teeling said. “I couldn’t have been happier for coach Murphy.”

The 5,084 fans shared that sentiment with a loud ovation as Murphy was introduced Friday night prior to Northern Iowa hosting Alabama. More fans witnessed Murphy’s squad pull out an 8-1 win than all but one of UNI’s basketball games this season.

The amount of fans isn’t anything new for Alabama, but the arena they packed even threw some intimidation at the No. 1 team in the country.

“It was almost like ‘Hoosiers’ when the boys from Hickory walked in and our girls were like, ‘This is huge,’” Murphy said. “But the bases are still 60 feet and the mound is 43 and it’s no big deal.”

Alabama went 5-0 in the weekend tournament growing Murphy’s school record in wins to 671. It’s a footnote to a sterling resume: 39 All-Americans, eight consecutive finishes in the Top 10, 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, three-time SEC Coach of the Year and leading the first SEC school to a WCWS championship.

Prior to Murphy arriving, the Tide never reached the WCWS. Since 2000, it’s gone to eight.

But the path to the wins, the All-Americans, even the walnut-sized ring on his hand began on the turf at the UNI-Dome.

As Murphy walked off the makeshift field outlined in the dome Friday, he reminisced about how twenty five years prior he took a physical education class in the very same location.

Then he was an inexperienced college kid looking to get into the game of baseball. Sunday, after a 5-0 weekend, he walked off it standing atop the pinnacle of coaching.

“It was a dream come true this past year,” Murphy said. “To have all these people here, I still have a lot of relatives in Iowa, three sisters, my mom, it’s just been a really good homecoming for me.”

IOWA CITY — Mike Evans recycled the phrase “picking ‘em off” a couple of times Sunday afternoon.

As the Iowa sophomore went through his gauntlet of opponents — seven top 11 opponents in the last nine duals — the list didn’t impress him.

“Picking ‘em off man,” Evans said. “Working hard and picking ‘em off. I may not have gotten the two that I wanted, but still working toward it.”

Sunday Evans’ latest top-five foe was Nebraska’s Robert Kokesh, ranked No. 2 at 174. Evans fell behind 3-0, but three takedowns and an edge in riding time led to a 9-6 decision, which led to a 31-7 Hawkeye win.

“I kept my cool and kept wrestling through positions, that’s a big part to my firepower,” Evans said. “Just keeping my head, controlled fury.”

Iowa kept its cool, as well, after an opening match loss when No. 11 Jake Sueflohn scored a major decision win at 149. The Hawkeyes closed the dual winning eight of the last nine, including pins by No. 13 Nick Moore at 165 and Tony Ramos at 133. No. 1 Matt McDonough bounced back at 125 after his loss to Illinois Jesse Delgado with a technical fall win. At 157, No. 1 Derek St. John emerged victorious via a 6-4 decision over No. 6 James Green after trailing 4-1 after one period.

The dominance allowed Iowa to capture its fifth Big Ten dual title in the last six years. But again, the accolades didn’t impress.

“You’re not focused on winning the Big Ten dual season,” Evans said. “You’re not focused on the amount of duals you’ve had. You’re focused on the dual at hand and the dual after. Picking ‘em off one by one by one”

Whether it’s duals or individually, Evans has stepped up in both. The red-shirt sophomore began the season at 165 after finishing second in the Big Ten championships a year ago. Since moving up to 174 and the start of the conference season, Evans battled three top-two opponents. Sunday marked the fourth in Kokesh. He owns a 2-2 record in those matches.

“He’s becoming a cool customer,” Iowa coach Tom Brands said. “That’s what may be the difference from last year or a year ago. He’s really doing a good job of being a cool customer and nothing really rattles him.”

The two wins came against No. 2 Nick Heflin of Ohio State — a 9-4 decision — and Kokesh. The losses, the only two this year, came by a total of two points. He fell to No. 1 Chris Perry of Oklahoma State and No. 2 Logan Storley of Minnesota, both by 4-3 decisions.

His body of work makes him the fourth ranked wrestler in the country at 174.

But the Hawkeyes don’t concern themselves with regular season achievements, ranking or even that Sunday marked the end of the Big Ten season.

“None of them (knew),” Evans said.

After some more thought, he corrected himself, “Maybe McDonough, or Ramos.”

CEDAR RAPIDS – Three hours, twice a day, isn’t enough for some players. The Cedar Rapids Titans’ two-a-days kicked off midnight on Feb. 1. The six hours of practice are geared toward next Saturday’s opening night against Chicago.

But until then, players gave their coach an unusual request.

“Most of the guys will tell you, they didn’t know three hours went by,” Stoute said. “They remember, ‘Coach it seems like 15 minutes.’ They’re actually asking for more plays and we’re shutting them down.”

Thursday the Titans can ditch practice as they welcome Green Bay for an exhibition game prior to the regular season kicking off.

Exhibition or not, some players plan on brining the same work ethic from practice to the game. Laron Council, who played for the Blizzard last year, won’t be looking for any extra motivation either.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun. I know a lot of guys in Green Bay,” Council said. “For me it’s more of a fun thing…not so much personal.”

Green Bay will certainly remember what he can do. Council set an IFL record last year with 1,040 yards rushing. The Kansas City native signed with the Titans in order to be close to his family.

He’s one of a handful of faces new to the Titans, including their head coach.

“It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve had a chance to meet fans in the outings we’ve had since I’ve been here. Everything’s been fantastic,” Stoute said. “One thing’s that impressed me, every place I’ve been, everyone knows who the Cedar Rapids Titans are.”

And he’s hoping some of the off the field notoriety will lead to some on it.

“One of the things that got me excited to take the job, I could see fans having a great time,” Stoute said. “Hopefully we’re going to give them a lot more wins. We’re looking to have playoff games here and a championship.”