The Pontiac, Mich., native plans to transfer somewhere closer to home to be with her family because her father is suffering a serious illness.

“We are sad to hear about Gabby’s decision to return to Michigan,” Bluder said in a statement. “We certainly respect her decision to be with her family and father, as he is very ill.  We are in complete support as she finds a place closer to home to continue her academic and basketball career.”

The 6-0 forward played in 31 games and averaged 3.7 points and 3.4 rebounds. In Iowa’s second-round loss to No. 1-seeded Stanford in the NCAA Women’s Tournament, Machado had nine points and a team-high seven rebounds on March 22.

– by Evelyn Lau

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PALO ALTO, Calif. — For the first in eight years, the Iowa women’s basketball team (20-13) is advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 8 seeded Hawkeyes defeated No. 9 Rutgers (19-15), 70-63, in the Maples Pavilion in the first-round matchup at Stanford on Saturday.

Iowa had balanced scoring with junior Kachine Alexander leading the way. Alexander had 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

Sophomore Kamille Wahlin and freshman Jaime Printy had 15 points a piece, Morgan Johnson added 12, and sophomore Kelly Krei had 10. The team is a perfect 14-0 when four or more players score in double figures in a game.

After injuries and illness hampered the team early in the season, the Hawkeyes have finished strong by winning 12 of their last 15 games.

“We’re extremely happy,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “This is a team that has come through so much this year. I continue to be amazed by them. I continued to be so proud of their effort.”

Both teams had a sloppy start, but Iowa went on an 8-2 run to hold a 28-21 edge at halftime. During the second half, Rutgers turned to using a full court press to put defensive pressure on the Hawkeyes — causing 18 Iowa turnovers in the process.

With 4:12 left in the game, the teams were tied, 56-56. A string of plays by Wahlin helped put away the Scarlet Knights. The sophomore was fouled on a made layout for the three-point play and then hit a 3-pointer the very next possession to give the Hawkeyes a 62-56 advantage before free-throws sealed the victory.

Alexander was quick to commend her young teammates on their ability to remain calm and collected under the pressure of a close game.

“When we were going through that time with Rutgers really on a run, we had to stick together and stay together,” she said. “Usually with a young team they might just crumble, especially in the NCAA Tournament, but we really stuck it out and kept our composure the whole time and kept playing very well.”

This was the first time the Hawkeyes have defeated the Scarlet Knights, losing the two previous times the teams met back in 2005 and 2006.

For Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer, the loss was bittersweet. As the former Iowa coach from 1983 until 1995, Stringer brought Iowa to their only Final Four appearance and No. 1 ranking in school history.

After the game, despite her disappointment, she still showed love to her old program.

“It’s always tough this tiem of the year, especially when you get bounced early on,” she said. “Honestly, if we had to lose to somebody, there’s no other team I would have rather have loss to than the Iowa Hawkeyes. We played hard, but Iowa was just better.”

The Hawkeyes are now 17-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and improve to 8-4 in the first round games. Iowa plays the winner of No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 16 University of California-Riverside on Monday at 8:30 p.m. (central time) for a chance to go to the Sweet 16.

Ryan Miller/The Daily Iowan Iowa freshman Morgan Johnson makes a pass under the defensive reach of Rutgers forward Chelsey Lee on Saturday, March 20, 2010 in Maples Pavillion on the campus of Stanford University. Iowa led 28-21 at the half.

PALO ALTO, Calif — The No. 8 Iowa women’s basketball team leads No. 9 Rutgers, 28-21, at halftime at the Maples Pavillion in Stanford for the first-round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Freshman Morgan Johnson paced the Hawkeyes with eight points, five rebounds, and one block. Freshman Jaime Printy also had eight points and four rebounds, while junior Kachine Alexander added seven points and four rebounds.

Rutgers is lead by senior Brittany Ray who had seven points and three rebounds in the first half.

This is the third-straight year Iowa has made the NCAA Tournament. However, it hasn’t won a first-round game since 2002.

– By Evelyn Lau

After starting the Big Ten season 1-6, the Hawkeyes won 11 out of their last 14 games en route to making a run to the Big Ten championship. Despite falling to then-No. 10 Ohio State, Iowa (19-13) did enough to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

On Monday, the Hawkeyes were announced as the No. 8 seed selected to take on No. 9 Rutgers (19-14) in the Stanford, Calif., regional on March 20. This is the third straight year the team has received an at-large berth.

“I really felt confident that we were in, so I wasn’t nervous,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “But it’s always a good thing to see your name up there. No matter how many times you do this, it’s always fun to see your name go up there and just to see what your path is.”

For many of the players, there was a mix of excitement and relief in the air. Just finally knowing who they would see in the first-round was comforting.

“I think it takes a lot of pressure off the coaches right now,” freshman Morgan Johnson said. “They know how to practice us, what we need to work on, and what [Rutgers'] strengths are. Now they can use that and we can prepare better for them. It’s really exciting because now we know and it just makes it all the more real right now.”

Members of the team sat in front of a big screen TV on the third floor of Carver-Hawkeye Arena eagerly awaiting to hear who and where they’d play. After the unveiling of the first 1-16 seed match-up, Iowa celebrated as it’s name was revealed alongside with Rutgers in the 8-9 seeding, during just the second pairing to be released.

“You know I was a little bit surprised that we were seeded eighth,” Bluder said. “There’s no difference between being seeded eighth or ninth. I thought we might be a 10-seed but I’m thrilled that the selection committee thought we were better than what we thought we are sometimes.”

The two squads have only met twice in their history, with the Scarlet Knights winning both times. The last time they played, Rutgers defeated Iowa, 70-53, in 2006.

Along with the first round match-up comes the storyline of Rutgers’ head coach C. Vivian Stringer. She coached the Iowa women’s team for 12 years, compiling a 269-84 record from 1983 until 1995. Stringer led the Hawkeyes to its only Final Four appearance in 1993 and only No. 1 ranking in school history. She also recruited and coach All-American, Michelle Edwards, the only female basketball player to have her number retired by the program.

“She put Iowa on the map, there’s no doubt about that,” Bluder said of Stringer. “Iowa wasn’t really thought of as a women’s basketball contending program until [she] got here. … Obviously, going against one of the very best in our business.

“We’re proud of Vivian and all of the success she brought to our program. And we’re proud she’s a Hawkeye and we hope she kind of remembers that come Saturday.”

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As a No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament, the Hawkeyes put together a remarkable run to the championship game against top-seeded and 10th-ranked Ohio State.

After leading for most of the contest — as well as holding a 16-point advantage at one point in the second half — Iowa just couldn’t hold on, falling 66-64 to the Buckeyes.

The turning point of the game came when Ohio State had possession of the ball with 26 seconds left. While both squads were tied, 64-64, with 1.9 seconds left, the referees called a foul on freshman Trisha Nesbitt. It allowed reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and junior Jantel Lavender to reach the free-throw line. Her two freebies gave Ohio State the lead and sealed the game.

During the postgame press conference, head coach Lisa Bluder addressed the issue of the foul call.

“Obviously, I wish [the ref] wouldn’t have made the call,” she said. “I think it would have been a great overtime. And it seemed like after that game the way it was going it should have went into overtime. … So it is what it is.”

While the 10th-year Iowa coach won’t say it, I will.

To determine a game with less than two seconds left by calling a foul when it hasn’t been called the previous 39 minutes in the contest is questionable. And with so much on the line, how they can feel good about that decision is beyond me.

I’ll give Lavender credit, she was clutch. She nailed both of them perfectly. She was named the Most Outstanding Player for a reason. I had to bite my tongue in disbelief with that ruling.

I almost had the same feeling in my stomach while watching Lavender drain those feel throws as I did when Devin Barclay hit the game-winning overtime field goal for Ohio State back in November.

Slow, painful, and inevitable.

However, what’s done is done. While the team may be left in tears now, they are undoubtedly a force in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes should have been ranked in the top 25 coming into this game, but because of a slow start during the beginning of the season, weren’t.

Even though they were the third seed in the tournament, they were also considered underdogs. Boasting one of the youngest starting line-ups in the country, Iowa has shown impressive maturity the last two months.

The Hawkeyes’ strong play the last month and a half  — where they’ve won 11 out of their last 14 games — has likely guaranteed them a spot int he NCAA tournament. There isn’t a more deserving team to receive an at-large bid to the Big Dance.

Losing to Ohio State twice by a mere eight points, I hope the Hawkeyes get a chance to redeem themselves. Bloodied and battered from this weekend, I don’t think they’re done yet.

“I feel like we played hard,” Bluder said. ” We didn’t get the victory and it hurts right now, but I think we’ll ounce back and be ready for the tournament.”

Me too.

— by Evelyn Lau

Iowa will play either UCLA or Illinois State on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Iowa was without freshman Gabby Machado, sophomore Hannah Draxten, and its lone senior in JoAnn Hamlin. Freshmen Jaime Printy and Morgan Johnson made their Hawkeye debuts, filling in for Draxten and Hamlin, respectively.

Johnson scored 15 points and collected five rebounds, while Printy recorded six assist and five rebounds.

Junior Kachine Alexander amassed 19 points and five assists and grabbed 18 total rebounds, which ties a Hawkeye Challenge record set by North Carolina State’s Trena Trice in 1985.

— by Jordan Garretson