Towards the end of Lisa Bluder’s six-year coaching run at St. Ambrose in the late 1980s, her teams featured a 6-foot power forward named Robin Becker, who aspired to get into coaching.
So when Bluder left St. Ambrose for Drake in 1990, she offered Becker a spot as a graduate assistant with the Bulldogs.
Nearly 30 years later, that decision helped set up Sunday’s second-round NCAA Tournament game between Missouri and Iowa, where Becker, now Mizzou coach Robin Pingeton, and Bluder will square off for a trip to the Sweet 16.
Tipoff is slated for 1 p.