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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

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IU looks to bounce back on Senior Day against Iowa

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The IU women’s basketball team has hit a snag in the road to its bid for a second straight NCAA Tournament 
appearance.

IU’s loss to last-place Nebraska on Sunday was shocking and disappointing to the team. What looked like a résumé with no blunders has now turned into one with a loss to a Nebraska team that was ranked No. 199 in the RPI coming into the game.

If the Hoosiers end up on the outside looking in come tournament time, Sunday’s loss could be one they look back on. However, as IU Coach Teri Moren has said, there is still a lot of basketball ahead for the Hoosiers.

IU will look to bounce back as they welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes on Wednesday to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Senior Day for five IU seniors.

“It’s kind of sad because it’s our last home game,” IU senior guard Karlee McBride said. “We need this win and it’s just another game you have to win. I’m glad it’s a game we need to win on my senior day so it makes me want it even more.”

Alongside a loss to a near-200 RPI team, this game also will affect IU’s Big Ten Tournament seeding. The Hoosiers looked like they had the four seed well within their grasp, but all of a sudden, that is no sure thing. There is a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten standings at 8-6 with IU, Purdue, Michigan State and Penn State. Securing a four seed will ensure a double bye through the first two rounds of the conference tournament.

There are a lot of outside distractions for IU, with Senior Day and the bubble watch, but the Hoosiers said they are squarely focused on the task at hand. Moren said she was disappointed with her team’s energy heading into that Nebraska game, but thinks they will be ready to go with so much at stake Wednesday.

“I sound like a broken record, but we had a lot of good shots,” Moren said. “That’s the thing you hope for, that you can find the basket and see some of those shots go down. You have to believe that we are great shooters, we have to be confident.”

The Hawkeyes come into Wednesday’s matchup having lost two of three, most recently a 20-point loss at Purdue. Iowa enters this game in a precarious situation. They sit at 7-7 in conference, one game behind IU.

Iowa is led by 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Megan Gustafson who is scoring just shy of 18 points per game and nearly 10 rebounds. Alongside her, the Hawkeyes feature 6-foot senior guard Ally Disterhoft, who is averaging 16.2 points per game.

Those two are the major weapons the Hawkeyes have to offer and whom the Hoosiers will have to key in on Wednesday night.

“They play like most Midwestern teams, hard, and they have very high basketball IQs,” Moren said. “Disterhoft is also a kid you have to pay particular attention to. We’ve been careful with how we’ve presented Iowa to our group.”

IU will have five seniors celebrating Senior Day on Wednesday with Jenn Anderson, Alexis Gassion, Amber Deane, Tyshee Towner and Karlee McBride. Many of them and Moren have been talking about leaving a legacy on the IU women’s basketball program after their 
departures.

Getting to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season is one of the ways they want to do that.

Playing in Assembly Hall and putting on those candy stripes one last time will be something they will savor, both Moren and 
McBride said.

“We’ve had disappointing losses, but we’ve always managed to bounce back,” Moren said. “We would like nothing more than to not just bounce back, but to leave your seniors with a memory. You want them to leave this floor with a win. That’s probably the most important thing.”

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