The Iowa women’s basketball team (7-3) will travel to Des Moines on Sunday to face off against the Drake Bulldogs (3-5).

The game will bring back many memories for both coaching staffs.

Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder coached at Drake from 1990-2000 and led the Bulldogs to three NCAA appearances. Assistant coaches Jan Jensen and Jenni Fitzgerald also played for Drake. After their playing careers, they spent eight years under Bluder.

First-year Drake head coach Jennie (Lillis) Baranczyk was a three-time captain at Iowa (2000-04). She led the Hawkeyes to three NCAA appearances.

The Hawkeyes seek to go 3-0 against in-state schools — they have wins over the Cyclones and Northern Iowa — to claim state bragging rights for the year.

Iowa will traveling west on I-80 on 10 days of rest, riding a 4-2 record in its last six games.

This will be the 45th meeting between the two teams, with Drake leading the all-time series 24-20. Iowa has won the last 10 meetings and last beat the Bulldogs in 2001, 75-72 in overtime.

The Hawkeyes are coming off an impressive win over then-No. 22 Iowa State on Dec. 6. The in-state rivals turned the game into a defensive battle until Iowa broke through in the second half for a 50-42 win.

Three players scored in double figures for the Hawkeyes — Melissa Dixon (11), Jaime Printy (11), and Theairra Taylor (10). Dixon came off Iowa’s bench to score 9 points in the second half — her 3 with 3:58 to play in regulation broke a 39-39 tie and put the Hawkeyes for good.

Drake, on the other hand, wants to rebound from an overtime loss against North Dakota on the road 67-63. The Bulldogs are 2-4 in their last six games.

— by Carlos Sosa