Iowa Women's Basketball Nabs 2 Seed

Hawkeyes Play Host to SE Louisiana Friday

Iowa's starting five walks out for the opening tip before a game against Iowa State on Dec. 7, 2022 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

The first reaction to the NCAA Tournament bracket that came from the Iowa women’s basketball team was the slightest bit of disappointment when Stanford was announced as the final No. 1 seed during Sunday’s selection show.

It wasn’t long, though, before the Hawkeyes were celebrating.

Iowa was announced as the No. 2 seed in the Seattle 4 Regional, playing 15 seed Southeastern Louisiana on Friday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The other game in the four-team bracket in Iowa City is No. 7 seed Florida State against No. 10 seed Georgia.

A 1 seed vs. a 2 seed?

No big deal, the Hawkeyes said.

“It appears we were the first No. 2 (seed),” coach Lisa Bluder said. “What’s the difference between the last No. 1 or the first No. 2. There’s absolutely no difference.”

“We were going to be one of the two,” center Monika Czinano said. “I really didn’t care, honestly.”

“There’s not a ton of change with that,” guard Caitlin Clark said.

It’s the third No. 2 seed for the Hawkeyes since 2019.

“It never gets old,” Bluder said. “We were talking about that as we were sitting up there. It’s like Christmas morning and you know you’re going to get a present. You just don’t know what it is. And so that’s kind of how we were feeling out there.

“To be a No. 2 seed, I think it shows what the nation feels about Iowa women’s basketball and what we’ve put together all year long.”

The Hawkeyes are at home, again, just like they were last season. Both sessions are expected to be sellouts, just like last season.

What Iowa doesn’t want is a repeat of last season. The Hawkeyes were a 2 seed and got knocked out in the second round by 10 seed Creighton.

It’s a lesson the Hawkeyes have learned.

“It doesn’t matter what number is by your name,” Clark said. “And that’s why I didn’t care if we were a 1 or a 2. Did I think we deserved a 1? Absolutely. Is Stanford absolutely deserving of a No. 1? Absolutely.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. If we want to get to the Final Four, we’re going to have to go through a lot of really, really good teams. So it doesn’t matter if we’re playing a 10 seed, or a 7 seed, or a 15 seed. You’ve got to come prepared every night to play.”

The Hawkeyes haven’t played since last Sunday’s win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.

“We’ve had a couple of days off, so it’s nice to refresh,” Clark said.

“Our bodies are a little old now,” said senior forward McKenna Warnock. “Honestly, I would have rather played this week. We’re playing so well right now.”

Then again, the Hawkeyes know how to prepare for this week.

“I think we have so much experience,” Warnock said. “Every year I’ve been here we’ve been in the tournament, except my first year because of (the COVID-19 pandemic). Making sure that we’re still ourselves, and not doing anything different, that’s the biggest thing.”

The Hawkeyes are so focused on the present, they forgot to bring the Big Ten championship trophy with them to the selection show party.

“It’s behind us now, and we’re moving on to this,” Bluder said. “We know we’ve got the next step.”