Tonight in Carver-Hawkeye, the Iowa women’s basketball team will attempt to do something it hasn’t done since Jan. 13 — win a game.
The Hawkeyes will host Michigan (11-8, 3-5 Big Ten) at 7 p.m., trying to snap a three-game skid that’s been littered with turnovers, defensive confusion, and, as head coach Lisa Bluder said after the team’s most recent loss to Purdue, “problems between the ears.”
The Hawks (13-7, 3-5 Big Ten) sit in a four-way tie for eighth place in the Big Ten, and with one of those teams being Michigan, Bluder and her squad know the importance of tonight’s contest. But the Wolverines have one of the most explosive offensive weapons in the conference.
“[Michigan] has got one of the best scorers in the Big Ten in Katelynn Flaherty,” Bluder said. “She’s only a sophomore, averaging 23 points a game — just an unbelievable shooter.”
Flaherty, who scored 24 points against Iowa when the two teams met on Jan. 7, has the skills to beat a team in numerous ways, Bluder said.
That last meeting, an 82-75 Michigan win that started the Hawks’ 1-5 slide, showed just how threatening the 5-7 inch guard could be.
“Step-back 3s, long-distance 3s … and she can get to the rim,” Bluder said.
The Hawkeye defense, which has struggled over the course of the losing streak, will need to smother the Wolverines if a win is in the cards. That means physical play will be necessary.
And for Hawkeye freshman forward Megan Gustafson, that comes as no surprise. In her first year of Big Ten competition, she’s learned just how intense the conference can be, admitting that she’s struggled to adjust to the physicality.
But Gustafson says even the smallest of defensive efforts will play a huge role tonight against the Wolverines.
“[Adjusting to physicality] has been hard, I will admit,” she said. “But even if you can’t block the shot, altering the shot is just as important.”
The team’s Jan. 7 meeting featured several lead changes, with Iowa possessing a lead midway through the game’s final quarter. But the quarter also featured Michigan scoring 30 points. Iowa managed only 13.
That drop-off showed Gustafson and her teammates that they had work to do, particularly with maintaining focus for 40 minutes per game. Gustafson said the main problem has been on defense.
With the rematch against the Wolverines tonight, the team can show that they’ve improved in that aspect.
“It’s just about having energy,” Gustafson said. “When we get ahead, we need to keep that energy.”
Hawkeye sophomore forward Christina Buttenham, who is coming off a career-high 14-point game against Purdue on Jan. 24, still feels the sting from the last Michigan meeting.
For Buttenham, tonight’s game is all about sweet revenge.