Iowa women’s head coach Lisa Bluder made sure her team had practice in cutting down the net heading into this year’s Big Ten Championship.

The Hawkeye women will get a shot at taking the title and cutting down the net –– for real this time –– in a matchup tonight with Maryland.

“I wanted to get them experiencing what it feels like to be a champion and put that visual in their mind,” Bluder said before the weekend. “I felt this team has the potential to cut down a net on Sunday. They need to know how to do it and how good it feels.”

This is a moment this team has been preparing for all season. But for some of the players on the team, it’s been a much more long-term goal.

The amalgamation of Megan Gustafson’s records and leadership have been aimed at bringing home a championship for Iowa. The senior hadn’t even had the chance to play in a semi-final in the Big Ten Tournament heading into this season, but Sunday’s game against Maryland represents everything she has worked for.

“This is the first time I’ve been playing in a semifinal, let alone to be able to get a chance to play in the championship game,” she said. “You know, [Hannah Stewart] could probably agree with me, but right now this is kind of all we’ve got, and we’ve just got to keep it going. We’re going to fight every single day and we’re going to [be prepared].”

Gustafson leads the country in several statistical categories, and the senior has even brought back two Big Ten Player of the Year Awards. More accolades are sure to come. But winning this has been in the back of her head for a long time.

This team is special in other ways, too. Even just watching the Iowa women for a brief amount of time proves their connection and unselfishness. For evidence, Iowa leads the conference in assists and passes the ball more than anyone else.

“They don’t want to let each other down,” Bluder said after the win over Rutgers in the semi-finals. “And that’s the best motivation that you can have. That’s why we work hard in practice every single day, because they don’t want to let each other down, and that’s what’s made them a really, really good basketball team.”

It won’t be easy. Maryalnd is the eighth-ranked team in the nation and has an impressive resume, having taken down top teams like South Carolina this season. Maryland has the No. 1 seed in the tournament and, the Terrapins lead the Big Ten in scoring margin and in 3-point field-goal percentage.

The Terps are led by Kalia Charles and Taylor Mikesell, who average 16.3 and 13.5 points per game, respectively. Stephanie Jones had a big game against Iowa in the first meeting between the two teams, dropping 21 points on 10-for-16 from the field.

Iowa may have won that game by a 13-point margin, but the game really wasn’t decided until the final moments of the matchup. Today’s game will be sure to be similar.

Everything that can be said about this game has already been said. The only thing left to do is for Iowa to put its practice to good use and cut down the net tonight in Indianapolis.