A heartbreaker for the Iowa Hawkeye women as they squandered a 16-point halftime lead in a 74-73 loss at Purdue. An Iowa shot at the buzzer spun in and out of the basket. The lead changed hands three times in the final minute and two free throws by Purdue’s Courtney Moses with seven seconds remaining proved to be the difference.
Iowa coach Lisa Bluder says they had the shot to win it at the end, but they missed too many shots early on. Bluder says Purdue was the more aggressive team in the second half, coming out with a 7-0 run. She says they relaxed in the second half and did not play as aggressive as needed on defense.
The teams are tied for fourth in the Big Ten race with identical 8-5 records. “We know we can play with Purdue, if we see them again it’s probably going to be on a neutral court,” Bluder says. She says losing the 16-point lead is tough to take.