Game Time League Game 3: Commissioner's Report

By Randy M. Larson

Game Time League Commissioner

The Game Time league kicked off its' 2nd night of games June 27th, with the rosters more full than the first night. Iowa players Morgan Johnson, Theairra Taylor, Melissa Dixon and Bethany Doolittle all made their debuts, although all but Doolittle are only playing limited minutes as they continue to recover from injuries.

The first game featured Vinton Merchants/McCurry's team featuring first pick Samantha Logic from Iowa and a full squad of UNI players--Amber Kirschbaum, Jen Keitel, Erin Dohnalek and Hannah Schonhardt--blowing out the short-handed Johnson and Taylor squad sponsored by Cullen Painting/Bob's your Uncle and Monica's, 92-60.

Vinton had great balance, with Kirschbaum scoring 21, Bradley alum McKenzie Westcott and Dohnalek scoring 16, Schonhardt 10, Keitel 9 and Logic adding 8 to go with 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Cullen/Bob's your Uncle/Monica's just couldn't compete with Johnson and Taylor only playing less-than-half time. Morgan in 12 minutes was 5-7 and 2-2 from the line for 10 points, with 2 boards and 1 assist; Taylor in 18 minutes was 4-9 and 2-3 on 3's and 2-2 on ft's, with 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 16 points.

The 2nd game of the night was closer and very intense, with bodies flying and defense the order of the day. The LL Pelling/Culver's team led by Bethany Doolittle defeated Coralville Hy-Vee, 68-57. Doolittle showed her progression after her freshman season, scoring 32 on 13-19 shooting and 6-8 from the line, adding 10 boards. She was aided by Melissa Dixon in about 20 minutes scoring 10, including 2-4 on 3's, 1-2 on 2's and 2-2 from the line. UNI's freshman Sharnae Lamar was a defensive force and scored 6 to go with 4 boards and a team-high 5 assists. Stephanie Davison from UNI grabbed 8 rebounds from her perimeter spot and her UNI teammate Alyssa Johnson had 7.

Hy-Vee was led by incoming Iowa freshman Kali Peschel from Minnesota, who looks ready to compete for a starting spot at the power forward spot, although she's more of a 3, but where Iowa is well-stocked. Peschel scored 15, although it took 12 2's and 10 3's to make her 6 shots, along with 1-1 from the stripe. Already mobile and aggressive and Peschel will lose her knee brace later this summer, so she should become even more so. Her fellow Iowa recruit from Minnesota Kayla Timmerman only attempted 4 shots, going 0-1 on 2's and 0-3 on 3's. Timmerman did get 6 rebounds and 1 assist. Incoming Juco transfer to Iowa Kathy Thomas added 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists to team with Iowa veteran Trisha Nesbitt. Nesbitt shot 1-4 on 2's, 1-5 on 3's and 3-6 on ft's, to score 8.

UNI off-guard Brooke Brown showed why she's one of the best players in the league, scoring 10 for Hy-Vee and continuing to show the leadership and competitiveness on the court I noticed the first night.

Brown shot 4-6 on 2's, 0-4 on 3's and 2-4 on ft's. She grabbed 5 rebounds and got 1 assist. Her teammate from UNI Amber Sorenson scored 5 on 1-4 from both 2 and 3, and grabbed 5 boards. Kirkwood's Shantel Lehman, headed to Wayne State, grabbed 7 boards as well.