3 toughies in 8 days for 18th-ranked Iowa women

IOWA CITY -- Seven times, the Iowa Hawkeyes have held serve.

They've won the games they should have won, and the result is the fourth-best start in school history.

Now comes the toughest stretch of the season.

"Ever since the schedule came out, I highlighted this stretch -- three games in eight days," said Iowa's Kachine Alexander. "If we come out of it with three wins, it would be amazing."

It starts Thursday night, when the 18th-ranked Hawkeyes (7-0) face No. 14 North Carolina (7-0) in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at Carmichael Auditorium in Chapel Hill, N.C. Tipoff is 6 p.m. (Iowa time).

After that, it's the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge, with the Hawkeyes taking on Kansas State (6-0) on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa hosts No. 19 Iowa State (5-1) next Thursday.

"It's an important stretch for us," said Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder. "It's so important with recruiting, fan support and national rankings.

"It's an opportunity to open some eyes with a signature win."

Carolina will be a handful. The Tar Heels have demolished their opposition by an average score of 91.9-47.3. They average 22 offensive rebounds per game and outrebound their foes by more than 18 boards per game.

"North Carolina is a very balanced team. A very big team. Athletic and fast," Bluder said. "Let's not get into a jumping contest. We're going to lose that."

The Hawkeyes have sidestepped a couple of upset bids against Arkansas State and James Madison. Against JMU, Iowa came back from a 10-point second-half deficit, holding the Dukes without a field goal for the final 9 1/2 minutes.

Iowa's defense has been far superior to last year. The Hawkeyes are allowing 56.3 points per game, compared to 66.9 in 2009-10.

"We actually play defense this year, which is good," said Jaime Printy.

Kamile Wahlin said, "Our defense is a whole lot better. You can't even compare the two seasons. We anticipate so much better. We try to get deflections and steals."

A strong showing in the next eight days will do wonders for an RPI that already is lofty. The Hawks stand at No. 6, according to realtimerpi.com.

"It's great to play them, but nothing is more important than wins," Bluder said.

That said ...

"We can't get wrapped up into winning or losing," Bluder added. "We just need to play disciplined basketball -- Iowa basketball.

"We're 7-0, and we can get so much better. That's exciting."