No. 9 Hawks face Michigan again
By Mario Williams
The Iowa women’s basketball team received a ninth-seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will face eighth-seed Michigan. The teams have faced off twice this season, splitting the games.
Head coach Lisa spoke on Monday’s morning teleconference about stopping Michigan’s Katelynn Flaherty and stepping up on defense. In the first contest between the teams, Iowa allowed Michigan to score 30 points in the fourth quarter to hijack the win.
But tha’s no surprise; losing leads has been Iowa’s story all season.
“Their offense is tremendous,” Bluder said. “They can score at will, and defensively we need to buckle down on not letting them get any easy looks.”
RELATED: 3 Hawk seniors have swan song
Freshman Tania Davis (career high of 18 points) was impressive when the Hawks got revenge on Iowa in an 85-69 win in Carver-Hawkeye. Bluder noted Davis has been a big part in Iowa’s success this season, and she looks forward to seeing her momentum shift in Thursday’s matchup.
“We wouldn’t be seeded ninth without her,” Bluder said. “She has just been tremendous, and she’s gotten better every single game all year. She is going to be a superstar in our conference, I really believe that.”
Wolverines relish youth
Much like the Hawkeyes, Michigan presents quite a bit youth in its program. The Wolverines finished 9-9 in the conference and won five of their last seven games.
Michigan head coach Kim Barnes noted that while her team is young, she’s proud of what the players have been able to do this season.
“We’re still a team that’s improving on coming on strong in late in the year,” Barnes said. “We’re a young team that’s continuing to improve, and we’re excited about the tournament this weekend.”
Much like Bluder, Barnes looks forward to get another shot at the Hawkeyes. The head coach noted that with the success of Iowa’s post game this season with freshman Megan Gustafson and sophomore Chase Coley, the Wolverines will try to execute in transition.
“It’s nice to kind of play against someone who you’ve played before,” Barnes said. “Any team in our conference is a tough team, and it’s going to be a challenge for us. Transition is going to be key for us; we need to rebound better than the last time, and we need to take advantage of Katelynn’s matchup.”
Maryland still a fan favorite
There’s no surprise that the 2015 champions of the Big Ten Tournament wants to defend their crown this season.
The Terps finished a 10-2 conference season with its only two losses coming to Ohio State. Ohio State is the No. 2 seed in Indianapolis.
Maryland will play the winner of Iowa and Michigan’s game. Of course, the Terrapin captured victories against these two teams earlier in the season.
“If you’re not ready to play, you could be going home,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. “Our team knows that when it comes tournament time, you want to be able to continue to advance. Our team will be really locked in and focused.”