NCAA women's tournament: Mercer not a typical 15th seed visiting Iowa

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          A year ago, the men’s basketball world stopped when a 16 beat a 1.

          Now, Mercer will try to do a version of that on the women’s side when the Bears take on second-seeded Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Iowa City.

          The 2 seed is 100-0 in 25 years of 64-team NCAA women’s tournament basketball.

          So what.

          “I know you all are disappointed that we don't talk about all this stuff behind the scenes, but we really don't,” Mercer head coach Susie Gardner said in Thursday’s press conference. “We did not talk about the streak. My assistant coaches are getting on my last nerves a little bit about all this stuff about 2 and 15.”

          Tipoff is around 2 p.m., and on ESPN2.

          Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder is a win away from 750 career wins and is among 10 coaches with 700 or more wins. Having Megan Gustafson on her side improves the odds against a tough 15th seed.

          She’s the Big Ten player of the year after averaging a monster 28 points and 13.3 rebounds, the former stat boosted by 45 points in the conference tournament finale.

          Gustafson helped Iowa to its 12th straight postseason trip, 10 to the NCAA.

          “First of all, you look at her stats, and you think, man, these stats cannot be real. It's like when I'm watching film and she misses, it's almost like a shock that she's going to miss the shot. Not only is she a great scorer, she's an exceptional passer, and that stood out to me because a lot of times post players aren't the best passers on a lot of teams that we compete against.

          The Hawkeyes are all pretty much Midwest born and bred, with a player from Spain. The entire staff all graduated from somewhere in the region, two of Bluder’s assistants have been with her all 19 years at Iowa.

          “We’re not removed from understanding the history and love of women’s basketball in the state of Iowa,” Gardner said, also citing longtime Iowa head coach Vivian Stringer.

          Mercer (25-7) brings a veteran team to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, including the winningest senior class in program history.

          It’s led by co-SoCon player of the year KeKe Calloway of Mary Persons and boosted by veteran post Rachel Selph of Dodge County.

          Calloway is the SoCon’s active leading scorer with 1,790 points, and was the top player in the conference tournament, averaging 18.6 points.

          Calloway has had to play more point guard than ever in her career, yet the Bears are among the nation’s leaders in fewest turnovers. Which Iowa is aware of.

          “They're very disciplined, very talented,” Iowa’s Tania Davis said. “Takes what the defense gives them. They're going to be very patient on the offensive end. They're not going to rush or get in a hurry-up situation. That's not what they're used to. That's not what their coaches want.

          “They're very disciplined on the offensive end, so we just have to play very solid defense, play our principles, and try our best to just get in their heads.”

          This is unlikely to be a 15th seed with stars in its eyes.

          “When (the seniors) were freshmen, we were picked to finish fifth out of eight in our conference, and one thing that's a strength is that's the first year we won the regular season Southern Conference championship,” Gardner said. “They've won four in a row. I know that's not what you're looking for, but one strength is they've been there, and their confidence, and they've won.

“They know how to win.”