What's better than winning five Big Ten games in a row? Winning six Big Ten games in a row, a feat the Iowa women accomplished in dramatic fashion on Thursday night against Michigan. They started the game a ghastly 2/20 (!) from the field, didn't crack double-digits until almost the five-minute mark of the first half, and trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half. In fact, they didn't lead the game at all until Kamille Wahlin made the game-winning three-pointer with 0:46 left in the game. To call this win improbable makes a mockery of that word.
Wahlin led the team in scoring (18 points) and played the entire 40 minutes. But freshman point guard Samantha Logic also deserves some plaudits: she added 12 points, a team-high 4 assists, and oh yeah, a team-high 18 rebounds. From the point guard spot. It was her second-straight points-rebounds double double and her fifth-straight game as the team's leading rebounder. She's certainly upped her game tremendously in the absence of Jaime Printy.
The win moves Iowa to 17-10 overall and 9-5 in league play, good enough for 4th place in the Big Ten. They could be tied for third by the end of the weekend if Purdue loses to Michigan State on Sunday. Two games remain in the regular season, but this has already been yet another impressive February surge for Bluder's bunch. If you were inclined to quibble you could bemoan the fact that they so often need a hot February to make the NCAA Tournament; it might be nice if that wasn't the case, but there are far worse things than playing your best ball at the end of the season and riding a wave of momentum into the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. Iowa will try to run their winning streak to seven games next Thursday when they host head to just Northwestern (14-12, 4-9 B1G).