By Jake Mosbach
[email protected]
Monday night in Minneapolis, the Hawkeye women’s basketball team was dealt another gut-wrenching blow in the form of a Rachel Banham buzzer-beating 3-pointer, giving the Gophers a 78-76 win.
Now sitting at 15-11 overall, 5-9 in the Big Ten, the Hawks have some work to do if a run at the NCAA Tournament is going to be a possibility.
Up next for Iowa is Purdue, a team that beat the Hawkeyes, 90-73, in West Lafayette on Jan. 24. Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder is confident her squad can exact revenge on the Boilermakers Thursday night in Carver-Hawkeye.
Purdue’s record in the last nine games — 2-7
The Boilermakers started off Big Ten play in impressive fashion, winning their first five conference games. The next stretch, however, hasn’t been too kind to Purdue. Playing a slew of ranked teams, the team has slumped to 7-7 in Big Ten play, 16-9 overall.
This is a team that, after a hot start, appears vulnerable. The Hawks have a chance to finish the conference season strong and improve their seeding heading in to the Big Ten Tournament, and it must start on Thursday.
A win against the Boilermakers could greatly improve team morale, a pick-me-up that Bluder’s Hawks desperately need.
Gustafson average rebounds over the last six games — 12.2
The freshman forward from Port Wing, Wisconsin, has been a double-double fiend recently, corralling a career-high 19 boards against Minnesota on Monday night. That’s the most rebounds for a Hawkeye since Sam Logic had 17 in a game in 2013.
Out-rebounding their opponents has been a staple for the Hawks this season, and while the wins haven’t come recently, Iowa’s efforts on the offensive and defensive glass will only help at this point in the season.
Iowa free-throw percentage against Minnesota — 100 (16-for-16)
Like Gustafson’s impressive rebounding number, there were other positives to Monday night’s loss. One came in the form of a perfect free-throw percentage.
The Hawks are shooting 73.1 percent from the line this season, good enough for sixth place in the Big Ten. Purdue sits fourth in the conference, shooting 74.2 percent from the line.
The free-throw battle will be hotly contested in Carver-Hawkeye on Thursday night. If the Hawks can shoot anywhere close to the 100 percent they did against Minnesota, revenge against the Boilermakers is possible.
Purdue steals per game — 9.2
The Boilermakers enter Thursday night second in the conference in steals per game. This won’t bode well for a Hawkeye squad prone to turnovers — they’re averaging 16.1 per-game.
Sometimes appearing out of control, Bluder’s offense needs to remain even-keeled throughout Thursday’s game if a win is in the cards. The speedy, active hands of Purdue might rattle the young Iowa team at times, but this is where the true maturity — or lack thereof — will show.
Tip-off for Thursday night’s game against Purdue is set for 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye.
Follow @RealJakeMosbach on Twitter for Iowa women’s basketball news, updates, and analysis.
