By Susan Harman 

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa women’s basketball team begins Big Ten Conference play in earnest Thursday when Purdue visits for an 8 p.m. game. The two December conference games were merely introductory acts, particularly because they involved Wisconsin and Minnesota, teams probably fated for the bottom tier of the league.

“The Big Ten is so fun this year,” Associate head coach Jan Jensen said. “If you look at the league there’s been great improvement. Look at Illinois. (Coach) Shauna Green is doing a great job. There is a lot more parity right now. I think it’s exciting to watch that race.

“But you don’t really know yet. That’s what happens in the first couple weeks. After two weeks it’s more notable, that maybe this is the top half. But coming in I think it’s as exciting and as tough and as well-matched as it’s been in a few years.”

The Big Ten’s quirky 18-game schedule gives each team a home-and-home matchup with five teams and a one-game match with the remaining eight. This year Iowa’s draw isn’t the greatest. The Hawkeyes will play Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State and resurgent Illinois only one time and all on the road. The home single-game matchups are with Minnesota, Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern.

The Purdue game is a key starting point. The Boilermakers are the best of the one-timers to visit Iowa City and have been highly competitive in coach Katie Gearlds’ second season. The Boilers are 10-2 and only lost to No. 16 Maryland on a buzzer-beating three. Their other loss was to Florida State by one point.

“They’re 10-2 and playing really, really well,” Jensen said.

Iowa (10-3, 2-0) won the game last season at Purdue, but the Boilers have changed considerably from a year ago when Geralds was thrown into the job at the last minute due to previous coach Sharon Versyp’s unexpected exit.

“They’re very, very fast this year,” Jensen said. “They love to push it on the break. We love to push it on the break, and boy they are pushing it really well. We’re going to have to have great transition defense. They are also kind of salty defensively too. They cover the passing lanes pretty well. They do a great job of helping, too.”

Purdue, like Iowa, returned all its starters but also has benefitted from some transfers who have helped transform the Boilers’ look.

Lasha Petrie, a 6-foot super senior, played previously at Bradley and Rutgers, but Geralds has unleashed Petrie’s versatility and she leads the team in scoring (17.8 ppg) and shoots .352 from 3-point range.

“She’s excellent,” Jensen said. “When she gets on a roll she can score in bunches. She just gives them another dimension. She can hit the 3-ball, but her drives are really good and she has a fearlessness to her. We definitely need to know where she is and keep her in check as much as we can.”

Caitlin Harper is a 6-2 redshirt senior transfer from Cal Baptist who averages 11 points and will step out for an occasional three. Point guard Jeanae Terry played two years at Illinois before transferring before last season. Terry is more of pass-first point guard, so Iowa may sag off her to concentrate on the outside shooters or clog the lane.

Fifth-year senior guard Cassidy Harden is a shooter for whom Iowa will have to account. She shoots .351 from behind the arc and has attempted 72 through 12 games.

Purdue has also employed a press at times, although its effectiveness against a Caitlin Clark-led attack may be minimal.

“If you’re a fan of going and letting it fly then this is going to be a pretty fun game to watch,” Jensen said.

Jensen said she was pleased with the mindset her players have after the holiday break. “They came back with a good focus,” she said. “We’ve had two really solid practices, and we’re ready to open up the Big Ten in earnest.”

“The break was good. I got to see my family, but I was so ready to come back,” freshman Hannah Stuelke said.

“I think they have their eyes on the prize,” Jensen said. “I think they understand how hard it is to get to where you want to go.”