Freshman Megan Gustafson helps Iowa Hawkeyes deny Illini rally, 61-56

IOWA CITY – With Iowa's regular season now officially in the rearview mirror, the only question left for Sunday is who to pack the home or road jerseys for in Thursday's Big Ten women's basketball tournament game.

Iowa clinched at least a No. 9 seed in the conference tournament after holding off a furious Illinois rally and prevailing, 61-56, before 4,610 fans Saturday on Senior Night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'We're glad to get the win today,' Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. 'It was obviously a game of momentum.'

Iowa (18-12, 8-10 Big Ten) could move up a spot to No. 8 if Northwestern pulls an upset Sunday at Nebraska. The Hawkeyes are locked into the 8-versus-9 game – most likely against Nebraska or Michigan – Thursday at 11 a.m. at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Win there, and sixth-ranked Maryland (25-3) awaits in a Friday quarterfinal.

'You know it's a brand new season, right?,' Bluder said. 'Anything can happen. We want to go into that Big Ten tournament and do as well as we can.'

Whether or not two wins in Indianapolis – which would give them 20 overall and include one over a top-10 team – would be enough for Iowa to secure an NCAA tournament berth for the 10th year in a row is uncertain. Either way, the Hawkeyes will need to avoid the types of offensive droughts that nearly derailed them Saturday.

Iowa closed the third quarter with 16 straight points and possessed an 18-point lead with just over seven minutes to play, but scored just six fourth-quarter points and saw its lead whittled down to one at 57-56 with 1:06 left.

'That's kind of been the story for us,' Bluder said. 'We're a game of momentum, game of swings. When we're hitting from 3, we're really rolling. But when we're not hitting from 3, we keep shooting them and we shot too many today.'

Freshman Megan Gustafson delivered a bucket around Illinois center Chatrice White with 45 seconds to play to give the Hawkeyes a 59-56 lead, then two free throws from sophomore Chase Coley sealed victory 30 seconds later.

'I just got the ball and I kind of felt that she (White) was on a different side,' Gustafson said. 'I just turned to the middle and kind of felt the confidence and that was important.'

Coley finished with 10 points, her ninth double-figure scoring effort in the last 12 games. With a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds, Gustafson recorded a double-double for the seventh time in 10 games, nine of which she scored in double figures.

White displayed immense offensive skill that belied her sophomore status. She led all scorers with 29 points, and added 11 rebounds for Illinois (9-20, 2-16).

'It was a little bit different for me guarding her (White) because she is an outside shooter,' Gustafson said. 'I'm used to being physical down in the post, so I thought it was really nice to go against that and see what I could do out there.'

Sophomore Whitney Jennings totaled 14 points with four 3-pointers, while Ally Disterhoft added 13. Guard Alexa Kastanek distributed a career-high seven assists, and Iowa maintained a 44-31 rebounding advantage.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com