Finals behind, No. 24 Hawkeyes return to action

IOWA CITY — The Iowa Hawkeyes have had eight days to get back to basics.

To study. And to stew.

'After a loss, you want to get back on the floor as soon as you can,' Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said.

Final exams are behind. The Big Ten season is ahead. Between are a pair of non-conference home matchups with Missouri Valley Conference opponents.

The 24th-ranked Hawkeyes (8-2) face Bradley (4-4) at 5 p.m. Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Bluder called this stretch 'a player's paradise.'

'Finals are over, so you just get to be here, play basketball and hang out with your friends,' she said.

Saturday's game will be Iowa's first appearance since falling at Iowa State, 69-66, on Dec. 11. Bluder initiated an unscheduled practice the following day.

'Yeah, we all woke up to a text that we were practicing at 1 p.m.,' said freshman guard Tania Davis. 'Practices have been hard and intense. That happens when you lose a rivalry game, especially to a team that you should have beaten.'

Practices have been intense, focusing on fundamentals.

'It sounds unglamorous, but we've been working on things like jump-stops,' Bluder said.

Monday's practice went sour when sophomore forward Carly Mohns was injured in a non-contact drill. The university released Friday that Mohns will miss the remainder of the season due to a torn left meniscus.

Mohns underwent surgery Thursday. She was averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game.

All waiver opportunities will be explored for Mohns to be granted an additional season, according to the release.

In Bradley, the Hawkeyes will face a team with four Iowans on the roster. They include Leti Lerma, a Muscatine native who averages 10.1 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game, and former Cedar Rapids Prairie player Madison Dellamuth.

Iowa has two more warmups for the Big Ten season (it hosts Drake on Tuesday), and a focus has to be an offensive resurgence by Whitney Jennings and Kali Peschel.

Jennings is shooting 28 percent from the floor, Peschel 33.8 percent.

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