Hawkeyes look to bounce back against Nebraska

IOWA CITY — It's a balancing act for a coach, after a bad loss.

You want to remember it, so you learn from it. You don't want to dwell on it. And you don't want to panic.

'It's every coach's dilemma on how to handle it,' Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder said. 'You have to learn from it. You can't just forget about it. You have to watch film, so you can try to make amends.'

Three days after suffering a 70-65 loss at Illinois, the Hawkeyes (9-5 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) will try to bounce back against Nebraska (4-9, 0-1). Tipoff is 2 p.m. Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'It was a long bus ride home (from Champaign),' Bluder acknowledged. 'We knew we have to play better, with more passion. We've been doing that at home.

'It was a bad loss, but it is one loss. It's not the end of the season. It's not the end of the year.'

It does leave the Hawkeyes in a hole, though. In two days, their RPI sank from 53 to 72.

Saturday, they'll be facing a young team with a new coach. Amy Williams takes over at Nebraska after earning back-to-back Summit League coach-of-the-year honors at South Dakota, which captured the 2016 WNIT championship.

At Nebraska, Williams inherited one of the Big Ten's rising stars in sophomore Jessica Shepard, a 6-foot-4 forward who averages 17.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

'She's a tough person to defend,' Bluder said. 'She can post up, obviously. She shoots 35 percent from 3-point range. She's a really tough matchup.'

Iowa counters inside with Megan Gustafson, who registered 21 points and 13 rebounds Wednesday — her eighth double-double of the season.

'Megan doesn't back down from anybody,' Bluder said. 'That's what I love about that kid. This is a really bold statement, but she is the hardest worker I've ever coached. When you work that hard and stay positive, great things can happen.'

Upon its entrance into the Big Ten in 2011, Nebraska captured the first eight meetings with Iowa. The Hawkeyes have won the last four.

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l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com