[bears9]

Iowa's Lisa Bluder won her 500th career game, but more importantly to the coach, her Hawkeyes kept their hold on first place in the Big Ten with a 73-65 win over Penn State on Sunday afternoon in State College, Pa.
Bluder, in her 24th season as a coach and her eighth at Iowa, becomes the 35th Division I coach to reach the 500-win milestone.

"It feels good to get career win number 500, but I'm happier about winning eight in a row and staying on top of the Big Ten standings," Bluder said.

Iowa, which hasn't lost in a month, improved to 17-7 overall and 10-3 in the Big Ten, and owns sole possession of first place in the conference -- for a day, at least. Purdue, which plays tonight at Michigan State, is 9-3 in the Big Ten.

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