The first-seeded Iowa women’s basketball team has its opponent for the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the 16th-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders.

The Hawkeyes and Crusaders will tip off at 2 p.m. inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday after the Crusaders toppled the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks, 72-45, in the play-in game on Thursday.

Holy Cross is 21-12 on the season but just 5-10 in away games, which is sure to serve as an Iowa advantage as Hawkeye fans will be in full force inside CHA come game time. 

But the Crusaders went on an impressive nine-game win streak in the middle of the season and ultimately won the Patriot League Tournament, besting Boston University, 61-55, in the championship game.

In Thursday’s play-in win, despite the blowout, Holy Cross did not by any means explode offensively, although the three-point attempts are a primary source of points. The Crusaders shot:

• 28-of-61 from the field — 45.9 percent
• 12-of-32 from three — 37.5 percent
• 4-of-6 from the free throw line — 66.7 percent

5-foot-3 senior guard Cara McCormack led the Crusaders with 23 points on a hot 8-of-11 from the field and 7-of-10 from deep in just 22 minutes of play, adding seven rebounds to her line.

Following her came Bronagh Power-Cassidy, a 5-foot-10 senior from Ireland. She had 15 points on 6-of-15 from the field and 3-of-10 from three in 29 minutes on the floor — the most of the team — but no other Crusader scored more than seven points. Three of them had six.

Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes have had two weeks of rest since their third-straight Big Ten Tournament win on March 10 to relax, regroup, and prepare for another postseason run — and to scrimmage.

“[The break has been] really welcomed as far as we were exhausted after playing in the Big Ten Tournament — it took us a while to get our feet back underneath us, mentally and physically,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “It’s a situation where we’re ready to play. It’s been a long time … we are ready to go.”

Although Clark, by her standards, struggled to put the ball in the cup throughout the Big Ten Tournament, her assisting abilities boosted the Iowa offense and aided forward Hannah Stuelke and guards Sydney Affolter, Gabbie Marshall, and Kate Martin in shaping the team effort nicely.

This game’s winner will play the winner of the first round matchup between the eighth-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers and ninth-seeded Princeton Tigers. That game follows Iowa’s on Saturday, tip-off set for 4:30 p.m. also inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“We know [the Crusaders] are going to give it their all and give us their best shot, so I think it’s important for us to guard that three-point line and play good, solid defense,” Marshall said. “And honestly don’t do anything we haven’t done all year. Just play Iowa basketball and get better.”