The teams haven’t hit the court yet, but Iowa already has made its first mistake.
“They called us a second-tier team,” senior forward Natalie Will said. “That didn’t sit well with us.”
Today, the Northwestern women’s basketball team has an opportunity to make Iowa eat its words in first-round action at the Big Ten Championships in Indianapolis.
The No. 10 seed Wildcats (8-19, 3-13 Big Ten) encountered the No. 7 seed Hawkeyes (14-13, 6-10) only once this season — a 72-60 NU loss in Iowa City, Iowa.
NU boasts an impressive record against Iowa in postseason play. The Cats most recently moved past the first round in 2000 — coincidentally the No. 10 seed NU defeating the No. 7 seed Iowa, 68-59. The Cats also beat the Hawkeyes in the first round of the 1999 tournament.
Will, a freshman on the 2000 team, said although she hopes the Cats continue the postseason domination over the Hawkeyes, tonight’s situation is completely different.
“Our team this year is a lot different than three years ago,” Will said. “But I feel a lot better about our chances this year.”
A trio of solid Iowa players stands in NU’s path to its first second-round appearance in three years. Forward Jennie Lillis was named to the All-Big Ten first team, guard Kristi Faulkner made it onto the third team and forward Johanna Solverson earned All-Freshman props.
For the Cats, sophomore center Sarah Kwasinski earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention for the second year in a row.
Lillis currently ranks as the conference’s fourth-leading scorer and is coming off a 25-point performance against Purdue on Sunday.
“Lillis is the key to their whole offense,” Will said. “She and Faulkner are their go-to players.”
Both the Cats and Hawkeyes head into the tournament having lost their most recent outing. But Iowa lost its game against the No. 12 Boilermakers by 10 points, compared to NU’s 69-38 blowout loss at Michigan State.
“It really made us mad at ourselves,” NU coach June Olkowski said. “We had a really good first half, then lost focus as a team and as individuals.”
This week in practice, the Cats have been working on ways to stop the Hawkeyes’ unique playing style.
“They run a triangle offense, which the other seniors and I ran as freshmen,” Will said. “So we’re familiar with their game.”
After preparing for this weekend all season, NU is ready to add another win to its record as it continues to improve in the Big Ten.
“The only thing that could hurt us is that we played them so long ago,” Kwasinski said. “I’m sure we’re both much different teams.”
The winner of today’s battle earns the privilege of facing No. 2 seed Minnesota in a 5 p.m. match on Friday. Although Olkowski said her team focuses only on the game at hand, the NU players and assistant coaches have looked at the Golden Gophers.
Since the Cats have beaten higher-ranked teams, they’re confident that today will be their day to shine.
“It’s a special time, the mood is different,” Olkowski said. “Anything can happen. We just have to shoot the ball like it’s March.”
NU (8-19, 3-13 Big Ten) vs. Iowa (14-13, 6-10)
4:30 p.m. today
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
