Iowa, 12-17 overall and 5-3 in conference, has jolted itself back into contention for the Big Ten title with a four-game winning streak of its own.

The Hawkeyes, fresh off a 77-69 win against Michigan, are on fire of late and have been getting huge performances from their upperclassmen. Guard Kristi Smith and forward Wendy Ausdemore combined for 42 points to beat the Wolverines, including going 10-for-21 from behind the arc.

“(Smith) can really shoot,” MSU head coach Suzy Merchant said. “I think the kid, in the Big Ten, is shooting 50 percent from the arc … They can really score the basketball from the perimeter, as well as to get into gaps.”

Smith is a tough matchup to guard because of her ability to play at a high level for 40 minutes and not get tired, Merchant said.

“I think those are challenging kids because you’re going to have to take two or three people to try to catch up with one of theirs,” Merchant said. “At the same time, Ausdemore is a kid that can really shoot. She’s a kid that came off a 5-for-10 shooting night as well. They’re
both seniors and they’re playing pretty well for their team.”

The matchup to watch will be on the perimeter, where Iowa leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage, and MSU leads in defending 3-pointers, but the stat that might decide the game is free throws. Iowa leads the conference in free throw percentage and uses its team speed to get into gaps and create opportunities to get to the charity stripe.

“That’s challenging in and of itself,” Merchant said. “They shoot almost 80 percent from the line so one thing you don’t want to do is send them to the line. They’re very quick and they’re smart on top of that. So you add their quickness to kids that really know how to penetrate a gap and kick or see the back side of a defense and hit the open 3-point shooters, it makes it pretty challenging.”

The game could go a long way in deciding if MSU is a legitimate contender for the Big Ten championship, although Merchant was cautious to project anything too soon.

“The fact that we’re in the position that we have the opportunity to do that is something you have to talk about if you want to be a champion,” Merchant said. “You have to perform in the moment and have no regrets and no excuses.

“I think our kids are excited about where they’re at but understand there’s a heck of a lot of the season left. We have to go on the road and play some tough teams. We have Iowa coming in here (tonight), who’s very challenging … We still have Ohio State and Purdue and Minnesota twice. There’s a lot on the table right now.”