Iowa women looking to bounce back against Purdue
The usual response to an unusual loss like the one Iowa suffered Thursday at Illinois is often to move on as quickly as possible.
Samantha Logic wasn't buying that.
On Friday the senior point guard wasn't ready to completely let go of the 73-61 loss to Illinois that dropped Iowa to 2-1 in Big Ten play.
Instead, Logic planned to let Thursday's loss that saw Iowa relinquish a 14-point first-half lead burn for a while.
"I think you have to hold on to it a little bit, you have to have that chip on your shoulder," Logic said of moving past the loss. "Once we start practice we have to start thinking about Purdue because obviously we can't change the Illinois game so you just have to be able to have selective memory."
However the Hawkeyes plan to deal with their first Big Ten loss, they'll have to do it in a hurry.
Iowa faces a quick turnaround with a 1 p.m. matchup with Purdue (9-6, 2-2 Big Ten) looming Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Boilermakers are one of seven Big Ten teams currently with two conference wins.
"The great thing about the Big Ten is there are a lot of games to play," senior Melissa Dixon said. "We have a quick turnaround and we can bounce back really fast. We are excited to get back to work and turn it around."
Thursday night's loss has the feel of an anomaly for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa committed a season-high 22 turnovers against the Illini and shot 38.1 percent from the floor.
The Hawkeyes entered the game a 46 percent field-goal shooting team on the season, with five players averaging double figures.
Only two Hawkeyes reached double figures against Illinois as Iowa produced its lowest scoring output since falling to Louisville on Dec. 4.
"It was a pretty somber bus ride because that was one that we feel like we should have won, could have won and we let it slip away," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "You can't have too many of those in the Big Ten."
• 100 PERCENT: With eight points, 14 assists and seven rebounds Logic filled the stat sheet like her old healthy self on Thursday night.
Friday, the senior point guard was asked if she was feeling close to 100 percent healthy after playing the last month with a sprained knee suffered in the Dec. 4 loss to Louisville.
"It's a sprain, it's going to stay there for a little bit while you are playing on it but it's just something that you have to deal with," Logic said.
Logic is averaging 11.3 points, 6.7 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game this season.
• SHORT BENCH: Purdue could be playing without one of its starters Sunday after sophomore forward Bridget Perry left Thursday's loss to Maryland with an ankle injury.
Purdue described the 6-foot-2 Perry as questionable for Sunday's matchup with the Hawkeyes.
Perry has started 14 of 15 games this season and is third on the team with 9.3 points per game.
"They aren't real deep anyway so I feel like that could hurt them," Bluder said of Perry's injury.
• LEAVING THEM IMPRESSED: In her preparation for Purdue one thing, or more accurately one player, stood out to Bluder — senior Whitney Bays.
The 6-foot-2 Bays leads the Boilermakers with 14.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
Bays has nine double-doubles this season, including six in a row entering Sunday.
"I'm very impressed by Whitney Bays," Bluder said. "She is playing very well and she is a little bit of a matchup problem for us because she is a post that can step out. She is strong, she is agile, she is a very tough matchup for us."
Reach Ryan Murken at 319-339-7369 or rmurken@press-citizen.com and follow him on twitter at @rmmurken.