INDIANAPOLIS -- Iowa (20-8) has long awaited the chance to pay back the Lady Lions for the Jan. 6 loss that stole its distinction of being the last remaining undefeated team in the country.

Third-seeded Penn State (18-9), on the other hand, had less than a week to recover from its loss to Ohio State on Sunday, a game in which the Lady Lions' streak of two consecutive Big Ten championships ended.

Last night, the sixth-seeded Hawkeyes built an 11-point halftime lead against No. 11 seed Michigan and coasted on to the second round, winning, 70-42, to set up the rematch. Iowa guard Crystal Smith and center Jamie Cavey led the way with 23 and 15 points, respectively. The duo combined for just 16 points against the Lady Lions the first time this season, less than half of what they normally average.

Regardless of the particular motivation, both teams will try to move on to the Big Ten tournament semifinal at 8:30 tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse.

"This group hasn't done it," Penn State coach Rene Portland said about the senior class not winning the conference tournament, "but, you know, it's three games, and it's a pride thing about what Penn State wants to do in this league. When you let one get away, you fight like hell to get the other one."

The Lady Lions haven't won the Big Ten tournament since 1996, despite their recent dominance in the conference. Iowa won it in 2001, but it has been a reversal of fortunes since the early January battle.

Coming into that game, Penn State was sitting at .500, while the Hawkeyes were 13-0. The Lady Lions went on to win five straight and 11 of its last 14. Iowa, meanwhile, lost seven of its next 10 games.

The Hawkeyes have won their last four games and are excited for another chance at Penn State.

"Right now we're anxious to play anybody," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "We're in the tournament, we won our first game, so we're anxious to play anybody. But, yeah, we're looking forward to playing Penn State."

The first key for the Hawkeyes to pull the upset is to try to stop senior guard Tanisha Wright. In six career games vs. the Hawkeyes, the three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year is averaging 17.3 points per game, better than against any other conference foe.

Wright was just above her average in the first meeting with 18, but it was senior point guard Jess Strom who led the way. Strom scored a career-high 29 points in the win.

Iowa, who is one of four teams currently with 20 wins or more, is hoping to solidify a spot in the NCAA tournament with a good showing this weekend.

"We have a lot of teams in our league that can salvage themselves this weekend, and Iowa is one of them," Portland said. "Will it be a tough matchup? Yeah, it'll be a tough matchup. ... [Iowa] is the one making statements about Penn State. I don't really see any other teams picking out teams."