Hawkeyes aim to square Big Ten record

IOWA CITY -- Penn State and Michigan combined to make for a miserable start to the Big Ten women's basketball season last year for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Will it happen again?

Penn State outscored No. 14 Iowa, 20-4, in the final minutes to upend the Hawkeyes, 68-59, Thursday in their conference opener.

"We did a nice job for 35 minutes, but we were completely outplayed for the final five minutes," said Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder.

Next up: Michigan, which comes to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday. Tipoff is 1 p.m.

Like Penn State, Michigan swept Iowa last season as the Hawkeyes started the league slate at 1-6 before turning it around for a third-place finish.

Michigan (8-5 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) opened its conference campaign by whacking No. 12 Ohio State, 64-51, at Ann Arbor.

"It's good to win games in this conference," Michigan Coach Kevin Borseth said afterwards. "To beat a team of that caliber means a lot. One game doesn't make a season, but it makes the night a lot easier."

The Wolverines shot to a 24-4 lead behind a barrage of 3-point shots, then went on to beat the Buckeyes for only the sixth time ever.

Seven Michigan players average between 7 and 11 points per game, led by Veronica Hicks at 10.8.

Iowa (12-2, 0-1) lost an opportunity to gain a game on the preseason-favorite Buckeyes. The Hawkeyes have won 12 straight games at Carver.

"It's an important game for us, because you want to dominate your home games," Bluder said. "We only play Michigan once, so it's an important game in case we (tie in the conference race)."

Big Ten standings

Conf.

All

Penn State

1-0

12-3

Michigan

1-0

8-5

Indiana

1-0

7-6

Wisconsin

1-0

6-7

Illinois

1-0

6-8

Michigan State

0-0

12-1

Iowa

0-1

12-2

Northwestern

0-1

11-3

Purdue

0-1

9-4

Ohio State

0-1

8-4

Minnesota

0-1

8-6