Iowa women’s basketball “manifesting” Big Ten Tournament title ahead of matchup with Indiana
If Iowa reigns victorious on Sunday against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game, the 2021-22 Hawkeyes would be the first in program history to claim both regular season and tournament titles in the same year.
The Iowa sideline and fan section react after an Iowa score during a basketball game between No. 2 Iowa and No. 6 Nebraska during the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN, on Saturday, March 5, 2022. The Hawkeyes beat the Cornhuskers 83-66.
March 6, 2022
INDIANAPOLIS — For the Hawkeyes, it’s all about manifesting a tournament championship victory.
Iowa women’s basketball advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game after taking down Nebraska, 83-66, on Saturday night.
Now, the Hawkeyes are in the conference championship game for the third time in four years. Iowa won the tournament championship over Maryland in 2019, 90-76, with former Hawkeye Megan Gustafson taking home the MVP award.
In 2021, the Hawkeyes fell to the Terrapins, 104-84.
Although she redshirted the 2018-19 season with a torn ACL, junior guard Kate Martin was a Hawkeye when they won the tournament in 2019.
Martin is part of the Hawkeyes’ starting five now, and she’s manifesting another tournament title.
“I think getting there once before, how badly you want to get back and experience that again. There’s not quite an experience I’ve ever felt like that, besides maybe winning the regular season,” Martin said following Iowa’s semifinal victory over Nebraska. “But that confetti coming down, it’s just amazing.
“We always want to go manifest that. We’re all about that. So, going into that and manifesting, seeing that confetti, and enjoying those moments with my teammates, we really want to do that.”
Martin and seniors Monika Czinano, Tomi Taiwo, and Logan Cook are the only Hawkeyes remaining on the 2019 Iowa championship squad.
If Iowa wins the tournament title on Sunday, the 2021-22 Hawkeyes will be the first team in program history to win both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships in the same season.
The Hawkeyes won a share of the Big Ten regular season title on Feb. 27, their final home game of the 2021-22 season. Iowa took down Michigan, 104-80, for its first regular season title since 2008.
“Obviously, that would be tremendous,” sophomore point guard Caitlin Clark said of winning the tournament title. “I think this team’s done a really good job of enjoying all the highs that came with last Sunday, but looking forward to this Sunday and wanting to get to this Sunday. We really have brought our focus on going 1-0 every single day. We came back to practice, had great practices, and I think that’s a huge reason why we’re in this spot going forward.”
On Sunday, second-seeded Iowa will be going up against fifth-seeded Indiana for the third time in 15 days. But this time, it’s for a tournament title.
The Hawkeyes and Hoosiers had a home-and-home in the regular season near the end of February. On Feb. 19, Iowa traveled to then-No. 5 Indiana at Assembly Hall, and the Hawkeyes reigned victorious, 96-91.
The two teams then traveled to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a rematch on Feb. 21. The Hawkeyes completed the regular season sweep of the then-No. 10 Hoosiers, 88-82. Iowa’s victories over Indiana were the Hawkeyes’ first Associated Press Top 25 wins of the 2021-22 season.
Although the recent meetings make the scout easier for the Hawkeyes, Bluder said, the Hoosier lineup is still slightly different.
When Iowa and Indiana played in the regular season, Hoosier junior forward Mackenzie Holmes was just returning from injury and playing on a limited basis. Now, Bluder thinks Holmes is back to full strength.
“It just makes it a little bit easier because people haven’t changed a lot from last time,” Bluder said. “There’s not an advantage for one team or the other, in my opinion. I do think that Holmes has gotten healthier over the last week, she looks like she’s playing much stronger, much more confidently than the first time.”
This will be the Hoosiers’ second-ever appearance in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game. Indiana is 20 years removed from its first championship game appearance. The Hoosiers won the tournament in 2002.
“I think we’re keeping it in perspective,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “Our goal when we set out here on Wednesday night was to be here until Sunday, even though we’re a team that tries to take games one day at a time, and we are.”
The Hawkeyes and the Hoosiers will face off on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the tournament title. The game will be streamed on ESPN2.
