The Northwestern women’s basketball team left Welsh-Ryan Arena with a sour taste in its mouth after its loss to Iowa on Jan. 28. 

The Hawkeyes fought back from a 14-point deficit to tie the Wildcats at the end of the regulation period. In overtime, Iowa took down Northwestern on the Wildcats’ home court.

“I mean, that game, that one stung, for sure,” senior Veronica Burton said on March 3. “That was one we needed and that was one we thought we had. And so to lose at home, overtime, just the way it all went down was tough, tough to swallow.”

Now, the Wildcats will have another crack at the Hawkeyes.

Seventh-seeded Northwestern defeated No. 10 seed Minnesota, 65-60, on Thursday night in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Wildcats will now take on the second-seeded Hawkeyes on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Although the Hawkeyes didn’t know their opponent until Thursday night, they spent the majority of their practice week preparing for the Wildcats.

“Who’s the trickiest to prepare for is Northwestern,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said on March 1. “We’re going to have to spend more of our time preparing for Northwestern, because of the nature of the way that they play.”

Iowa and Northwestern split the 2021-22 season series, with each team collecting road victories. The Wildcats have won three of their past four meetings with the Hawkeyes, including a 77-69 victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 6.

This will be the third meeting between the Wildcats and Hawkeyes in the 2021-22 season. 

“I think the team who wants it more is going to go out there and play hard, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Northwestern guard Lauryn Satterwhite said. “Playing a team three times, I think this is going to be a really fun game because we know each other’s styles pretty well. Iowa’s going to do what they do. We’re going to do what we do. So, I’m super excited.”

The contest will pit the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year — Iowa sophomore Caitlin Clark and Burton — against each other.

“It’s an exciting matchup,” Burton said. “It’s one that I’m looking forward to. I’m sure she’s looking forward to it. And any chance we get to play Iowa, I mean, we had a tough loss to them at home, and so we’re looking forward to matching up with them in the Big Ten Tournament. She’s a great competitor and I’m excited for it.”

Both the Hawkeyes and Wildcats have the opportunity to strengthen their NCAA Tournament resumes with a victory on Friday.

Northwestern is on the national tournament bubble. The Wildcats were the ‘last team in’ in ESPN analyst Charlie Creme’s March 1 Women’s Basketball Bracketology. Northwestern went 3-6 against Quad 1 teams in the regular season.

Iowa’s win against then-No. 6 Michigan in the final game of the regular season propelled the Hawkeyes into a top-16 overall seed. Creme estimated Iowa to be a No. 4 seed in the national tournament, and the NCAA seeded the Hawkeyes No. 14 overall in its final seeding reveal of the 2021-22 season on Feb. 28.

With a win over the Wildcats on Friday, Bluder believes that the Hawkeyes will be a lock to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Iowa City.

“Every game we win is an opportunity not only for us to cut down the nets on Sunday, but it’s an opportunity for us to host in Carver-Hawkeye Arena,” Bluder said. “And that, we really want to do.”