No. 1 Notre Dame invades Carver-Hawkeye

IOWA CITY — Unless you happen to reside in the American Athletic Conference, home of women's basketball dynasty Connecticut, an occasion such as this doesn't come about every day. Or every year.

No. 1 is coming to town.

'We take a lot of pride in working hard for each game, but this one's more important,' Iowa's Megan Gustafson said. 'This one's more exciting.'

Top-ranked Notre Dame (6-0) visits Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday as part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge against the Hawkeyes (5-2). Tipoff is 8 p.m.

It's the first time a No. 1-ranked team has played at Carver since Nov. 21, 1999, when UConn drubbed the Hawkeyes, 73-45. Lisa Bluder was coaching at Drake then, and the current Iowa players were toddlers.

'When (this matchup was set), I wouldn't say I was really excited,' Bluder said. 'But we look at this as an opportunity. It's going to help our RPI, and there's absolutely no pressure on us.'

Notre Dame's reputation is second to only one — UConn. The Irish are on the next level of perennial powers, with the likes of Baylor, Stanford and Tennessee.

'If there's a Mount Rushmore of women's basketball, Notre Dame is on it,' Bluder said.

The Fighting Irish are unbeaten, but not untested. They survived a battle with Green Bay, prevailing, 71-67, at South Bend on Nov. 17.

'Every team has its weaknesses,' Iowa guard Tania Davis said. 'We'll definitely try to find one and expose it.'

The matchup within the matchup comes in the paint, where Gustafson (17.6 points, 9.3 points per game) squares off with all-American Brianna Turner (13.3 ppg, 7.0).

'Brianna is quick and agile,' Gustafson said. 'She'll be a challenge for me.'

The production of Ally Disterhoft (18.1 ppg), Gustafson and Davis (10.6 ppg) has been pretty much as expected. Hannah Stewart, not so much.

A deep reserve last season, Stewart has flourished as the backup center and averages 8.0 points in 12.7 minutes per contest.

'The move back to the '5' has been very good for her,' Bluder said. 'The '4' just wasn't working last year. She was a fish out of water. She's strong enough to play in there. She's giving us some great minutes.'

Notre Dame has beaten Iowa in each of their previous meetings, both in Iowa City. Most recent was a 74-57 decision in the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament.

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