Spartans down, but still dangerous

IOWA CITY - For two teams in the bottom half of the Big Ten women's basketball standings, Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder had a rooting interest in Thursday's game in East Lansing.

'I hope when we go up there (Sunday), we're facing a 1-5 team instead of an 0-6 team,” Bluder said Wednesday.

Wish granted.

Michigan State downed Illinois, 63-56, to end a five-game slide. The Spartans (9-8, 1-5) host No. 21 Iowa (13-3, 4-1) at 2 p.m. (Iowa time) Sunday at the Breslin Center.

'All of a sudden, when the Big Ten season started, they had some injuries, some flu, some upheaval,” Bluder said. 'But (MSU Coach) Suzy (Merchant) is a competitor. They'll be ready.”

It's Iowa's first road game since suffering a 73-61 loss at Illinois on Jan. 8. The Hawkeyes have won two home games since - against Purdue and Northwestern - to move into a tie for second place in the Big Ten, a game behind Maryland.

'As a competitor, you keep those games (like the one at Illinois) in the back of your mind,” Iowa point guard Samantha Logic said. '(Michigan State) is still a good basketball team. They've just hit a couple bumps.

'We know we can play the good teams. We can play on the road.”

Iowa is 2-2 in true road games this season, and will try to end a six-game losing streak at East Lansing.

Senior post Bethany Doolittle has put together back-to-back dandies, including a career-high 29-point outing Sunday against Northwestern.

'I'm just getting more confident as the season goes,” she said. 'I tried to go to the basket a little harder, and I looked for open spots.”

While Iowa relies on balance, Michigan State is dependent on Aerial Powers (21.3 points, 11.5 rebounds per game) and Tori Jankoska (17.4 ppg).

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