After a 2-round bye, Hawks draw Huskers

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - Senior-day celebrations are over. The 18-game regular season grind has come to a close.

Now it's time for the Iowa women to get down to business in the postseason as the Hawkeyes (23-6) prepare to play seventh-seed Nebraska (21-9) in the quarterfinals of Big Ten Tournament at 6 tonight in Sears Centre Arena.

'This time of year is what you play for,” senior guard Melissa Dixon said.

Dixon and fellow seniors Bethany Doolittle, Samantha Logic, and Kathryn Reynolds lead Iowa as it comes to suburban Chicago confident and battled-tested.

'That is the benefit of having four seniors and one of the more veteran teams in the conference,” Coach Lisa Bluder said. 'They've been through a lot of Big Ten games and Big Ten Tournament games. I hope that will bode well for us.”

This senior class has accomplished a lot, but one item it hasn't checked off its to-do list is to win a conference tournament championship. Iowa last won the Big Ten title in 2001.

'I would not call it pressure,” Doolittle said about taking that next step. 'We have a chance to leave our mark as a senior class. We've been looking forward to this part of the season and now we have a chance to accomplish goals we set.”

During last season's run to the conference championship game, the Hawkeyes were attempting to win four games in four days. That won't be necessary this time around. Iowa's second-place finish during the regular season allowed the Hawkeyes the luxury of bypassing the first two rounds.

But the Hawkeyes also have their eyes on a much bigger prize, hoping to solidify their place in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

'This is an important weekend as far as improving our seeds,” Bluder said. 'I believe we are in the NCAA tournament and believe wholeheartedly that we deserve to be a top-four seed.”

The team everyone is chasing this week is Maryland, which successfully navigated its first regular season in the Big Ten by going 18-0.

The Terrapins, coached by Cedar Rapids Washington graduate Brenda Frese, enter the postseason tournament having won 21 straight games.

If Iowa were to meet Maryland it would be in Sunday night's championship game.

But first things first.

A win in the quarterfinals would advance Iowa into Saturday night's second semifinal game, which is scheduled to start around 8:30 p.m.