Iowa pursues first 3-0 Big Ten start under Bluder

IOWA CITY — It's a statistical improbability that makes you recheck the media guide, and then do it again.

For all the success that Lisa Bluder has enjoyed as women's basketball coach at the University of Iowa, none of her teams have started 3-0 in Big Ten play.

Not even last year's Sweet 16 squad. That team won its first two league games, then stubbed its toe at Illinois before winning its next six for an 8-1 Big Ten beginning.

'Three-and-0 would be great,' Bluder said Tuesday, as the 23rd-ranked Hawkeyes (12-2, 2-0) geared up for Thursday's game at Michigan (8-5, 0-2). 'To get another Big Ten road win would be special.'

Tipoff is 6 p.m. at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich.

It would be accurate to call this a dangerous game. The Hawkeyes are coming off an emotional win, 69-65 over C. Vivian Stringer and Rutgers on Monday night. No. 8 Maryland, the defending Big Ten champion and the preseason favorite to repeat, comes calling Sunday.

'We have to stay hungry,' said Ally Disterhoft, a junior co-captain. 'We have a team full of competitors. We want to keep winning and keep improving. It won't be hard to rally the troops.'

Iowa's last 3-0 Big Ten start came in 1997-98, under Angie Lee.

After a 7-0 start, Michigan has dropped five of its last six games. The last three losses — against Eastern Michigan, Purdue and Indiana — have come by one point, two points, then eight points in overtime.

'They make me nervous,' Bluder said. 'That's a team that can score.'

The Wolverines are 17th in the nation at 80.1 points per game. Sophomore guard Katelynn Flaherty is averaging 21.2 points per contest, shooting 90 percent from the free throw line.

'She's crafty,' Disterhoft said. 'She has a really quick release. If we can keep track of her, that's key.'

Iowa has one Michigan native on its roster — Tania Davis. Her former high school teammate, Alexis Savillian, will join the Hawkeyes next year.

'It's a big game for Tania,' Bluder said. 'It's an important game for us. We're trying to recruit the state of Michigan.'

Davis is splitting time at point guard with Whitney Jennings. That duo combined for all 16 of their points in the second half against Rutgers.

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