NORMAN, Okla. – The Iowa women’s basketball team has played 33 games this season, but none hit as close to home as the Hawkeyes’ upcoming contest against Oklahoma on Monday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Jennie Baranczyk, head coach for the third-seeded Sooners, will take on her alma mater in sixth-seeded Iowa, where Baranczyk played under former head coach Lisa Bluder from 2000-04.
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“You can have respect and love for a place that you came from and other programs,” Baranczyk, who was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said during a press conference. “You keep it between the lines. You want to win every game that you play, but every other game that Iowa plays, I want them to win. I want them to be really successful.”
As one of the top 16 teams in this year’s women’s bracket, Oklahoma earned the opportunity to host the first and second round games. While a matchup between No. 3 and No. 6 seemed likely from the start, it became inevitable after the Hawkeyes’ 92-57 win over 11th-seeded Murray State on Saturday and the Sooners’ 81-58 win over 14th-seeded FGCU the same day.
“We’re going to handle it just like any other game,” Iowa fourth-year Sydney Affolter said. “We’ve been playing some pretty good basketball. They’re a great team, we give all the respect to them. They like to push the ball, but we also like to push the ball and get up and down. It will definitely be a fast-paced game, and we’re excited.”
First-year head coach Jan Jensen expressed equal admiration for Baranczyk and her program as well as her Hawkeye roots.
“I would prefer to be cheering for her, and I think she would be doing the same thing,” Jensen said during a press conference. “Once a Hawk, always a Hawk, and I believe that Jennie really feels that way. But she’s also an amazing coach, right? Look at the success she’s had, one of the most competitive, fiery kids that I’ve ever coached. She’s really good.”
Jensen also noted Baranczyk’s professionalism in being both a native Iowan and a competitive coach with ambitions of advancing in the tournament.
“She’s just going to get after it and go,” Jensen said. “I think she’s really proud that she’s from Iowa, so I think the only thing is one of us is going to have a really fun moment, going to the Sweet 16. I think it’ll be a really good game, and I think it’ll be competitive.”