February may be winding down, but the women’s basketball season is ratcheting up, and the Hawkeyes are poised for an exciting March. But first, they have to finish the regular season with a game against Indiana. Luckily, it will be in front of their fans at Carver-Hawkeye at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Not only is this game the final regular-season game of the season for the Hawkeyes, it will also be the final regular-season home game for seniors Carly Mohns and Chase Coley.
The two will be recognized for their dedication to the program.
“We have two fabulous seniors, and these two women deserve it,” head coach Lisa Bluder said in a release. “[Carly] is a picture of courage, and perseverance. Chase is the life of the party.”
Another person who will surely be recognized will be Iowa’s new season scoring record holder Megan Gustafson. Her 27 points in Wednesday’s thriller over Rutgers was more than enough to give her the record and, with 698 points; she is sure to become the first Hawkeye, female or male, to reach 700 points in a season.
While Gustafson did what Gustafson has done all season on Wednesday, Kathleen Doyle was the hero. With the clock winding down and the Hawkeyes down 3, she sank a trey, then ran back on defense to get a stop to force overtime.
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It didn’t take long in overtime for Iowa to put the game away and keep its winning streak alive. The win improved the Hawkeyes’ overtime record to 3-0 this season.
Stepping up in big situations is something expected for a leader, and Doyle has embodied that for the Hawkeyes this season, especially after the injury to Tania Davis.
“Since Tania [Davis] has been out [with a knee injury], Kathleen has accepted the leadership role of this team and really been a very, very good leader,” Bluder said in a release. “She has been composed, brought energy, brought defense against the hardest defensive assignments every single night. And she is handling it and playing her heart out for us.”
Iowa will need that type of leadership in March, but first it needs to finish out the regular season on a high note. The focus of the game against Indiana won’t just be to keep a six-game winning streak alive, it will also have implications in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
Wednesday night’s win, coupled with Minnesota’s loss to Indiana on Tuesday, has put Iowa as the fourth seed in the upcoming tournament. The Hawkeyes need a win to secure that spot, which would clinch a two-round bye in the tournament — something useful for a depth-starved team.
The Hoosiers will not be an easy opponent by any means.
Their record might only be 16-12, but like the Hawkeyes, they’ve been riding a late-winter surge. They’ve won eight straight, including two against top-five Big Ten opponents.
Iowa’s getting only two days’ worth of rest after having to play an extra five minutes Wednesday certainly won’t help, but a little boost from the fans might just be the cure for their tired legs.
“I want to have a great crowd and a great Hawkeye victory,” Bluder said in a release. “But we will need everybody to help us with this, because we will have tired legs.”
