UNI Panthers Not Sure What Hit 'Em. Judging from the articles coming out of Iowa this morning, it's been a while since the state has seen a team like Maryland. In fact, the Des Moines Register not only has a full game report, it also has a separate column by Nancy Clark in which she says that Maryland "forced Northern Iowa into such a poor performance Wednesday night that it set women's basketball in Iowa back a decade." Now, Nancy, the BasketCases think you are being unfair. We prefer the upbeat attitude of UNI senior Jessie Biggs, who, despite shooting 1 of 12, said of last night's game, "We were able to rebound against 6-4. We were able to do the little things. We're Division I basketball players, we can hit shots. We'll get confidence out of this. We can only go up from here.'' Way to go, Jessie!

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier alerted its readers about a "Frese Warning" --- telling the story of how Maryland put the UNI team "on ice". Lots of other fun quotes coming out Iowa today. One of our favorites is from UNI Head Coach Tony DiCecco:"The Toliver girl is a player. She's an absolute player." Yes, Tony, we know. Remember, she hit The Shot!! And then there are the assessments from members of a 7th grade basketball team out of Union of La Porte City:

"They're good ballhandlers."

"They're good rebounders."

To which their coach added: "They're very athletic. Just looking at them, they're quick and talented, they jump and they're vertical." Yes, coach, as Tony Di said after the game: "Maryland is as good as they say they are." No wonder he seems to be re-thinking that home-and-home he'd agreed to: "'I'm not really looking forward to going back because most of those kids will be the same kids in a year,' said DiCecco, referring to the four Maryland starters who will return next season." You've got that right, Tony!!

Photo Credit: Harry Baumert, Des Moines Register