Perfect time to panic about NCAA bid

[ 0 ] January 25, 2012 | Ryan Suchomel

It’s the perfect time to hit the panic button.

The Iowa women’s basketball team is sitting at 11-9 and 3-4 in the Big Ten Conference. If the Hawkeyes want to go dancing in March for the fifth-straight season, the wins have to start piling up, and quickly.

“We need to start winning some of these anybody-can-win type of games,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “They need to start sliding our way. You make your own breaks, and we’ve got to start making some of our own.”

Iowa has a vital 72-hour stretch starting at 7 p.m. today at No. 19 Nebraska (16-3, 5-2) and ending Saturday afternoon at home against No. 13 Purdue (17-3, 7-0).

“We know we have a tough couple of games ahead of us, but we’re just excited,” junior Jaime Printy said. “Once you get that feeling of winning back, you just kind of get on a roll.

“I know my freshman year, we struggled a lot early in the Big Ten.”

The Hawkeyes have started Big Ten play slowly in each of the past four seasons, starting 2-3, 1-3, 1-6, and 3-4. Iowa finished those seasons 11-2, 12-2, 9-2, and 7-2.

“I am optimistic that it can happen, but we have to play a 40-minute game,” Bluder said. “We’ve been right there with the top teams in our Big Ten. So I don’t think anybody looks at us and thinks, oh … I think they look at us and think we’re pretty dangerous.”

Iowa lost to Nebraska 77-72 on Jan. 8, and 57-55 at Purdue on Jan. 15. And in all of its Big Ten losses, the Hawkeyes have led in the second half.

“We’ve had a couple tough losses we definitely could have had,” freshman Samantha Logic said. “Going into this, we were close the first time around with these teams. We just have to take it.”

The first go-round with Nebraska the Huskers simply got hot, hitting 7-of-11 from 3-point range in the second half.

Kelly Krei got the job of sticking to top scorer Jordan Cooper, who ended up with 17 points, but only four rebounds.

“She’s a great player and is going to get her points,” Krei said. “When she hits a three, I know that’s going to happen every once in a while.”

Point guard Lindsey Moore had 22 points in the last meeting. Freshman forward Emily Cady has become a real force and is averaging 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in her last two games.