Women's Basketball: Hawks seek to end 10-game Mackey skid

IOWA CITY - Lisa Bluder made little to no attempt to mask her feelings.

Her disdain for Mackey Arena flowed freely during Wednesday's press conference.

“I don't like the set-up there,” she said. “The band is very active by your bench. The floor is raised, so your knees are at the level of the court. There's no leg room.

Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder is 0-9 at Mackey Arena.

“It's unusual, and it's uncomfortable.”

For the Iowa Hawkeyes, it's torture.

The Hawkeyes have dropped 10 straight games at Mackey, and only one of those 10 has been close. Bluder is 0-9 at West Lafayette.

There are a lot of reasons.

“The fans are right on top of you and the band is big, really big,” said guard Kachine Alexander. “They're pretty wild.”

But the main reason is this:

“(Purdue) plays really well at home,” Alexander said.

Assuming the 20th-ranked Hawkeyes (17-5 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) can make it there, they'll face the Boilermakers (14-7, 5-4) at 5:30 Thursday night in a game televised by the Big Ten Network.

As of early Wednesday afternoon, the Hawkeyes' flight for later today is on as scheduled. Bluder made it from her house in rural Iowa City to Carver-Hawkeye Arena with a tractor/snowmobile escort, according to assistant coach Jan Jensen's Twitter report.

Thursday's encounter is the only game this season between Iowa and Purdue; sole possession of fifth place in the Big Ten is on the line. And with Penn State (18-5, 7-2) playing at Michigan (13-8, 6-3) and Michigan State (18-3, 6-2) traveling to Wisconsin (12-9, 7-2) Thursday, two of the top four teams will be coming closer into view.

Alexander needs two assists to become the first Hawkeye - and the fifth player in Big Ten - to register 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists in a career. Junior Kamille Wahlin needs 23 points to become the 28th Iowa player to reach 1,000 points.

Brittany Rayburn leads Purdue at 13.6 points per game.

Big Ten standings

Conf.

All

Penn State

7-2

18-5

Wisconsin

7-2

12-9

Michigan State

6-2

18-3

Michigan

6-3

13-8

Iowa

5-4

17-5

Purdue

5-4

14-7

Ohio State

4-5

13-8

Northwestern

3-6

14-8

Minnesota

2-7

10-12

Indiana

2-7

8-13

Illinois

2-7

7-15

Thursday's Games

Iowa at Purdue, 5:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Indiana

Penn State at Michigan

Michigan State at Wisconsin

Illinois at Northwestern

Sunday's Games

Penn State at Iowa, 2 p.m.

Illinois at Michigan

Wisconsin at Indiana

Purdue at Michigan State

Northwestern at Ohio State