Nov. 28, 2003

Final Stats |  Quotes |  Notes

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MIAMI -- Iowa scored the game's final seven points to claim a 62-58 thriller over St. Joseph's in first round action of the Florida International Thanksgiving Classic Friday in Miami.

Kristi Faulkner's three-point bucket with 1:29 to play put the game into its seventh tie, 58-58. Jennie Lillis and Lindsay Richards followed with two free throws apiece in the final minute to give the Hawkeyes the win and move Iowa to 2-1 in 2003-04.

"We played great defense, made some clutch baskets and it was a great team win! Their zone defense gave us some problems, but we were able to make the necessary adjustments." Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder

Lillis, the Hawkeyes' talented senior forward from Des Moines, paced Iowa with 19 points. She also chipped in 10 rebounds, was good on two of three three-point tries, and dropped seven of eight free throw attempts. And, for good measure, she chipped in a critical rebound and blocked shot in the final 60 seconds.

"This was a very important game for us. We needed to bounce back from our last loss (Houston) and we really came together as a team down the stretch tonight," said the senior forward.

"I'm really happy with our composure in the final couple minutes tonight," added Iowa coach Lisa Bluder.

"We played great defense, made some clutch baskets and it was a great team win! Their zone defense gave us some problems, but we were able to make the necessary adjustments."

Iowa committed 22 turnovers and shot only 37 percent from the field, which kept St. Joe's - a team that started five seniors - within striking distance during the entire game.

The Hawkeyes were boosted by 15 points from Faulkner and a career-high 13 rebounds by Johanna Solverson.

Iowa plays in the championship game of the FIU Classic at 6 p.m. against Florida International, Saturday, before returning to Iowa for a Dec. 3 date with Iowa State in Ames.