By Michael Mccurdy | [email protected]
The month of March has arrived, and to many that means the swift transition from winter to spring. For the Iowa women’s basketball team, though, the new month brings a whole new meaning in that it is the beginning of tournament season.
Postseason play for the Hawkeyes will kick off at 11 a.m. today at Bankers Life Field House in Indianapolis against Northwestern.
Iowa comes into the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 8 seed, accumulating a 17-12 record throughout the year, 8-8 in conference play. Northwestern is the No. 9 seed, and it has the same conference record as Iowa, but the Hawkeyes own the tiebreaker thanks to an Iowa victory on Feb. 16 against the Wildcats.
In a 78-59 performance, the Hawkeyes owned the Wildcats in their only meeting of the season. This game came late in the season at a point when Iowa was vulnerable without sophomore starting point guard Tania Davis because of her ACL tear.
The Wildcats were unable to take advantage of the depleted Hawkeyes thanks to the growth and maturity of Iowa freshman guards Kathleen Doyle and Makenzie Meyer.
“They are doing a great job,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said on Monday. “Both those women are freshmen taking over for Tania Davis, who was on the Big Ten All-Freshman team last year as a point guard. They have done a tremendous job. I am so happy we have both of those young women on our team. I know the future is incredibly bright with the experience they are getting this year.”
Things will presumably not go as smoothly for the Hawkeyes this go-around, because both teams are fighting for an NCAA Tournament berth. Each team is on the outside looking in, but as of now, Iowa has the better résumé with an RPI of 52 compared with Northwestern’s 73.
“We have a lot at stake and a lot to play for,” Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown said Monday on a Big Ten teleconference. “We’re both fighting for our NCAA lives. You have great opportunities for both of us. I think we’re both going to play with a chip on our shoulder Thursday.”
Northwestern won two out of its final three games, and the one loss came at the final buzzer on the road at Purdue. The Wildcats are catching fire at the right time, in hopes of sparking a run in the Big Ten Tournament.
Other than the hot play of Northwestern, the Hawkeyes also will have to focus on one of the Big Ten’s best in the Wildcat’s Nia Coffey. She averages 19.5 points per game as a senior and does not want this game to be her last.
This contest has a lot at stake for the Hawkeyes, who come into the game avenging two late loses with a Senior Day victory on Feb. 26 against Wisconsin.
“Everybody’s goal should be to win it all,” Bluder said. “That’s what everybody wants to do, because that is the automatic bid. Right now, we’re just focused on Northwestern, that is our next opponent, so that is the most important game on our schedule. We’re going to do our best to win that game. You have to win the first one, or you don’t have a chance to win the second one.”