Boilermakers to face Iowa in difficult road matchup

By Anne McLaren
Assistant Sports Editor

Iowa is undefeated at home in the Big Ten. Purdue is undefeated in the Big Ten.

Two of the top conference teams tip off at 8 (EST) tonight in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The No. 5 Boilers (21-3, 11-0) enter tonight’s contest on a 13-game winning streak. The Hawkeyes (12-8, 7-3) have won eight in a row at home.

Because Purdue and Iowa met once last season in Mackey Arena, it’s been two years since the Boilers visited Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Purdue won 71-69 in overtime in that game.

"Everyone keeps telling me, ‘We’ve always had trouble at Iowa; we’ve always had trouble at Iowa,’" said Purdue coach Kristy Curry, who’s in her second season with the Boilers. "Well, we’re the only ones who control whether we have trouble or not.

"We definitely have to go in and really make good decisions on both ends of the floor – take care of all the little things. We can’t afford to have a bad shooting night and a bad defensive effort."

Freshman point guard Erika Valek said she’s heard about the Iowa environment from the upperclassmen.

"We know how tough it is to play in Iowa," said Valek. "We know how different a team they are on their home and off an opponent’s court. We need 40 minutes of intensity to stop them."

All-American Katie Douglas, who is expected to miss her second straight game with an ankle injury, said the game is "as big as it gets."

"Because we’re undefeated, everybody’s going to play their best against us," she said. "Especially Iowa, they’ve got great fan support like we do at Mackey and it’s a hostile atmosphere that we’re going into."

Curry said the Boilers need to do all the little things in the hostile environment.

"From not missing box outs, making our free throws, doing a nice job of staying out of foul trouble," she said. "They’ve been drawing really well and they’re a very good team at home."

Iowa’s top crowd of the year, 11,036, came on Jan. 21 when the team beat No. 16 Penn State 79-64. The Hawkeyes are led in scoring by junior Linsdey Meder at 17.3 points per game. Point guard Cara Consuegra leads the team with 5.6 assists per game.

"Their perimeter play has been outstanding," said Curry. "Possibly at times, it’s been the best backcourt in the Big Ten – especially experience wise. They’re like the Energizer bunny, they just go and go and go. If you don’t jump to the basketball and seal the off man, they’re going to burn you, they’re going to hurt you, they’re going to make you look bad."

But Curry said the Boilers can’t focus too much on the perimeter.

"What’s made a difference of late is (center) Randi Peterson has been posting a double-double," she said. "Really been playing well inside. We’ve got to understand that we’ve really got to have strong, strong play from our perimeter and also in the paint. They’re becoming much more balanced and that’s why they’re having so much success."

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Boilermakers to face Iowa in difficult road matchup

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Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki

Assistant sports editor:
Anne McLaren

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