Hawkeyes on rise; Hoosiers slumping

IOWA CITY, IOWA -- The Hoosiers crossed paths with Iowa Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.\nBoth teams are headed in different directions, as evidenced by the Hawkeyes' 83-56 blowout.\nAfter two consecutive losing seasons, the Hoosiers leaped out to a 12-2 start under new coach Kathi Bennett. It seemed they would be the surprise team of the Big Ten, coming within a point of upsetting traditional powerhouse Louisiana Tech, which visited the Final Four last year and was then ranked No. 8.\nThe Hoosiers garnered as many as 40 votes in the Associated Press poll, peaking at a No. 27 ranking. Then in early January, the Hoosiers ran into the Boilermaker special -- sixth-ranked Purdue held off a second-half comeback bid to win 67-59. \nSince the disappointing loss to its in-state rival, IU has gone on a 2-4 skid. \nIowa (12-8, 7-3 Big Ten) has taken an almost diametrically opposite path.\nAfter winning the Big Ten Conference title in the 1997-98 season, the Hawkeyes were also coming from two consecutive losing seasons, including a 9-18 finish last year.\nAfter struggling through its preconference schedule, Iowa has gone 7-3 in Big Ten play. Now fourth in the Big Ten, the rout of the Hoosiers gave the Hawkeyes their fourth consecutive win.\n"It's been a long while since we've been on a four-game streak," said a grinning Rob Howe, who covers the Hawkeyes for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.\nIt's undeniable -- Iowa is again a competitor.\n"The best part about it is going onto the court knowing we've won a couple straight," said senior guard Cara Consuegra, who matched her season-high assist total with 10 Sunday. "I've never felt so confident. I've never gone into games feeling like this is our game, and we deserve this win."\nConsuegra played on that fabled 1997-98 squad and has since watched her team go 13-20.\nSenior center Randi Peterson is the only other active player to have tasted the glory of a conference title. The whole outlook has changed, she said at the postgame press conference.\n"Right now, there really isn't anything to do but have fun," she said, after having put up her seventh double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds. "We haven't had a lot of things that have hurt us or stopped us from enjoying the whole thing. We've learned how to incorporate fun back into basketball."\nFirst-year coach Lisa Bluder deserves much credit for the turnaround, having brought in a potent high post offense. While the Hawkeyes starting center stands at only 6-foot-2, they managed to score 34 points in the paint Sunday against the likes of 6-foot-5 junior center Jill Chapman. \n"All five players that they put out on the floor can score, and pretty much score from anywhere," Bennett said. "That makes it extremely difficult. Their offense feeds into their talents."\nThe humbling loss Iowa handed IU should prove significant for the team's confidence down the road, Bluder said.\n"I thought this was a changing point in our season, whether we were going to establish ourselves against someone who deserves to be in the top half of the Big Ten," she said. "This has raised the bar."\nWhile Iowa has shown it can beat tough conference foes, the Hawkeyes aren't out of the woods yet. They play host to No. 6 Purdue (20-3, 11-0 Big Ten) Thursday. The Boilers beat Iowa earlier in the season.\n"I don't think there's a better time to be playing Purdue than right now," Bluder said.