Get ready, Hawks: Here comes Hilton

IOWA CITY - Been digging out lately? So has the Iowa women's basketball team.

Slow starts have been the norm for the Hawkeyes, and another one won't cut it when they try to end a streak of futility at Hilton ColiseumThursday.

“It's something we want to avoid,” said Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder. “We've changed our warmup, making it not so strenuous. There's not a lot we can do technique-wise. It's more emotional and mental than physical.”

Iowa (5-4) has had to play from behind on a regular basis. In their most recent game, a 54-51 loss to Michigan on Sunday, the Hawkeyes fell into a 15-2 deficit and never made it all the way out.

The Big Ten is back on the back burner, replaced in priority for now by the chase for a mythical state title.

To achieve it, the Hawkeyes will have to win at Hilton, something they haven't done since 1989. Iowa State has beaten Iowa six straight times in Ames.

“It will be a really exciting experience for us freshmen,” said Jaime Printy. “We have to go out and play our game.”

The Cyclones (5-1) are averaging nearly 10,000 fans at home. Bluder said the Hawkeyes haven't done anything special to simulate the noise.

“We'll use a lot of hand signals, and we'll have to huddle up at every opportunity,” she said.

Due to injuries and discipline issues, Iowa is using an eight-player rotation. Five are freshmen, and three of them (Printy, Morgan Johnson and Theairra Taylor) start.

Trisha Nesbitt is an Ames native. The Hawkeyes will eat their pregame meal at the parents' house.

“I don't know what's on the menu, but I know it will good,” Bluder said. “I've eaten there before.”

The battle at point guard will be key. Other than the Michigan game, Iowa's Kamille Wahlin (17.3 ppg) has been solid. She'll match up against Alison Lacey, who leads ISU at 16.0 ppg.

“She is so good. She can take the ball to the hole, and she has gret range,” Wahlin said. “I have to stick with her, do what I can to defend the drive and the long-range shooting.”