Iowa women will face Purdue in Big Ten quarterfinals in Minneapolis
By Susan Harman
IOWA CITY, Iowa – It’s Purdue.
The Boilermakers rallied from an 18-point first-half deficit against Wisconsin. Sophomore Jayla Smith’s open 3-pointer with 2 seconds left finally gave the Boilers a hard-fought 57-55 victory. Iowa plays Purdue at 5:30 p.m. Friday night in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
“I was just thinking, you have to get it done; there’s no other way around it,” Smith told the Big Ten Network. “We’re trying to move on and advance”
The Boilers (19-9) hadn’t led in the game until Abbey Ellis’s conventional 3-point play with 3 minutes left in the game. Wisconsin took the lead on a three from Maty Wilkie with 10.8 seconds left. Purdue’s timeout enabled it to take the ball out in the front court. Janae Terry drove the right side to within four feet of the basket, sucking in the defense, and then hooked a pass out to Smith on the left side at the arc. Swish.
“We just had to stay together,” Smith said of her team’s faltering start. “We all knew we had to keep our composure, and that’s something that we can do.”
Iowa coach Lisa Bluder confessed earlier in the week that their scout centered on Purdue as the higher seed in its game against Wisconsin. Not that they neglected the Badgers, but the odds were with Purdue. Iowa was in the Target Center for the excitement Thursday night.
“I think it’s good for the players to get up there and live scout to just get a feel for the building and the atmosphere. That’s almost just as important as getting a feel for Purdue and Wisconsin. Also we don’t get a shoot-around the next day in the building. We have to go over to Minnesota for a shoot-around, and so for me that’s another reason why it’s important to get into that building that night.”
Iowa (23-6) had only one game against Purdue this season.
“We played Purdue back on Dec. 29,” Bluder said. “I guess it really was last year, wasn’t it? But it just seems like eons ago, and I think our team is so much better since we played them last time. But I’m sure that they feel the same way.”
Iowa beat Purdue 83-68 behind Caitlin Clark’s 24 points, 19 from McKenna Warnock and 12 from Monika Czinano. Purdue didn’t shoot well making only 35 percent for the game and 29 percent behind the arc.
The tournament’s first five games have all been nailbiters.
“The Big Ten Tournament, I think it might be the toughest ever,” Bluder said. “I mean, for certain you know that the top four teams in this conference are spectacular.”
The top four seeds are Indiana, Iowa, Maryland and Ohio State. Five Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 17 in the latest Associated Press pol“Well, luckily you don’t have to play all five,” Bluder joked.
With the tournament in Minnesota, Iowa is hoping it will attract some of its fan base.
“Excited to go to Minneapolis. I think the Iowa fans will travel really well there,” Bluder said. “We’re glad to have the double bye. I think that’s a very good advantage for us, and we’ve earned it throughout the year.”
Preparing for a tournament is different than preparing for regular-season games. Bluder, with 33 years of coaching experience at the Division I level, said game-day preparation is different, but for a conference tournament it’s maybe not such a big deal because everyone has played each other.
“You just don’t get that actual physical practice where you can go through stuff, so it has to become more mental,’ she said. “And that’s where when you have smart teams and experienced teams it does help.”
She said the freshmen and newcomers have to understand how to take care of themselves physically and mentally with the unrelenting schedule. If Iowa wins Friday it plays in the semifinal in less than 24 hours, and the championship game is also less than 24 hours later should it qualify.
Another big change in preparation is the abandonment of the coaches’ axiom “one game at a time.”
Bluder confessed that the coaches do, in fact, look ahead at the bracket.
“We have to,” she said. “And you know how I am about one game at a time. That’s really important to me. But if you don’t look ahead you will not be prepared because you have no practice time. So you have to be prepared for everything.”
For example, three seed Maryland looms in the semifinals. The Terps dismantled the Hawks on Feb. 21 (96-68).
“We would love to have that opportunity (to play Maryland again), and we would love not to have that opportunity,” Bluder cracked. “They’re an excellent basketball team so if you can avoid them that’s great, but if we have to play them we’ll be more ready this time.”
And first there is Purdue.
“We’re going to keep the same momentum,” Purdue’s Smith said. “I think our intensity is going to be up and we’re looking to win this game. We’re just looking to go all the way.”