Iowa women suffer first loss

The Iowa Hawkeye women suffered their first defeat last night at home to Penn State. Down by 20-points in the second half the Hawkeyes staged a furious rally but The Nittany Lions made enough plays down the stretch to hold off Iowa 77-71. Iowa coach Lisa Bluder says the team showed a lot of fight and character and it took a great effort to come back. The Hawkeyes trailed by eight at the half and Penn State outscored the Hawks 11-1 to start the second half and it looked as though the rout was on. She says Penn State is a great basketball team that plays well. She says their three-point shooting hurt, as did her team’s turnovers and missed free throws. Iowa is now 13-1 and visits Michigan State on Sunday. Bluder says they can’t dwell on it as it’s one loss in a long season, so they have to go on the road and play two tough games.