Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball

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Iowa Hawkeyes
Basketball current event.svg 2023–24 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team
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UniversityUniversity of Iowa
Athletic directorBeth Goetz
Head coach Lisa Bluder (24th season)
Conference Big Ten
Location Iowa City, Iowa
Arena Carver-Hawkeye Arena
(Capacity: 15,400)
Nickname Hawkeyes
Student sectionHawks Nest
ColorsBlack and Gold
Uniforms
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Home
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Away
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Alternate
NCAA tournament runner-up
2023, 2024
NCAA tournament Final Four
1993, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1987, 1988, 1993, 2019, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1996, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament appearances
1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champions
1997, 2001, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference regular season champions
1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2008, 2022

The Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represents the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference as well as the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team plays its regular season games at 15,400-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena, along with men's basketball, wrestling, and volleyball teams.

Contents

History

Iowa women's basketball began in 1974, under head coach Lark Birdsong. The first Iowa team finished 5–16 in 1974–75, its first victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Birdsong coached Iowa until 1978–79, which marked Iowa's first winning season. [1] She was subsequently replaced by Judy McMullen, who led the program for the next four years. McMullen was succeeded in 1983 by former Cheyney University coach C. Vivian Stringer. Prior to her stay at Iowa, Stringer led the Cheyney Wolves to the 1982 NCAA championship. [2]

Beginning with the 1983–84 season, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Stringer coached at Iowa for 12 seasons. In that time, the Hawkeyes won six Big Ten championships, played in nine NCAA Tournaments, and reached the Final Four in 1993. Unprecedented attention was shown to the Hawkeyes under Stringer, as evidenced by the record-setting 22,157 fans that watched Iowa play Ohio State on February 3, 1985, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. [3] Stringer, however, left Iowa to coach at Rutgers in 1995, following the death of her husband, Bill. [4]

Angie Lee replaced Stringer, and led the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten championship in her first season. Under Lee, Iowa won another Big Ten title in 1998. In 2000, Lee's successor as head coach was Lisa Bluder. Bluder is Iowa's current women's basketball coach. Under Bluder, the Hawkeyes have won two regular season Big Ten championships (2008, 2022) and five Big Ten tournament championships (2001, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024).

Members of Iowa's women's basketball team celebrate their 2008 regular season Big Ten championship on March 2, 2008 2008 Iowa women's basketball celebration.jpg
Members of Iowa's women's basketball team celebrate their 2008 regular season Big Ten championship on March 2, 2008

From 2015 to 2019, Megan Gustafson played for Coach Bluder and the women's basketball program at Iowa. Gustafson was named the 2019 National Player of the year, after averaging a double-double of 27.8 points and 13.4 rebounds on 69.9% shooting. The 2018–19 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team had a 29–7 regular season record, winning the Big Ten Conference tournament championship and advancing to the Elite Eight of the 2019 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. [5] [6] The 2021–22 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team finished the season 24–8 sharing the regular season title with Ohio State. They also won the 2022 Big Ten women's basketball tournament, defeating Indiana 74–67 in the Big Ten Championship. Caitlin Clark was named the Most Outstanding Player for the Tournament. Iowa repeated as Big Ten champions the following year, with Clark being named the most outstanding player. Later that season, they advanced to the Final Four for the first time in three decades. [7] [8]

Members of Iowa's women's basketball team celebrate their victory in the 2023 Big Ten women's basketball tournament Iowa Hawkeyes B1G champions (52757660611).jpg
Members of Iowa's women's basketball team celebrate their victory in the 2023 Big Ten women's basketball tournament

Crossover at Kinnick

On October 15, 2023, the Iowa women's basketball team set a record for most people in attendance at a women's basketball game. 55,646 people attended Crossover at Kinnick, which took place at Kinnick Stadium. [9] The Hawkeyes play the majority of their home games in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but coach Lisa Bluder came up with the idea to hold an event in the football stadium. The Hawkeyes played in the national championship game at the end of the previous season. Despite losing, following the championship, the team returned home to a welcome celebration on campus with over 9,000 fans, which inspired Bluder to plan an outdoor event. [10]

Caitlin Clark recorded a triple double with 34 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds. The game was close early, but Iowa took a solid lead and ended up with the win in the exhibition game 94–72. The game was played for charity, and the school presented a check for 250,000 dollars to the Stead Family Children's Hospital. The hospital overlooks the end zone of the stadium, and children in the hospital can watch home football games as well as this special event. At the end of the first quarter, fans and players turned toward the hospital and waved to the children, a continuation of a tradition started by the football team in 2017. [11] [12]

NCAA tournament results

Iowa has appeared in 29 NCAA Tournaments with a record of 34−30. [13]

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
1986 #5Second Round#4 TennesseeL 68−73
1987 #3Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#6 New Orleans
#2 Georgia
#1 Louisiana Tech
W 68–56
W 62–60
L 65−66
1988 #1Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#8 Stephen F. Austin
#4 Southern Cal
#2 Long Beach State
W 83–65
W 79–67
L 78−98
1989 #3Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#11 Tennessee Tech
#2 Stanford
W 77–75
L 74−98
1990 #3Second Round#6 VanderbiltL 56−61
1991 #6First Round
Second Round
#11 Montana
#3 Washington
W 64–53
L 53−70
1992 #1Second Round#8 SW Missouri StateL 60−61 (OT)
1993 #2Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
#7 Old Dominion
#3 Auburn
#1 Tennessee
#1 Ohio State
W 82–56
W 63–50
W 72−56
L 72–73 (OT)
1994 #3First Round
Second Round
#14 Mount St. Mary's
#6 Alabama
W 70–47
L 78−84
1996 #2First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#15 Butler
#7 DePaul
#3 Vanderbilt
W 72–67
W 72−71
L 63–74
1997 #9First Round
Second Round
#8 NC State
#1 Connecticut
W 56–50
L 53−72
1998 #4First Round
Second Round
#13 Massachusetts
#5 Kansas
W 77–59
L 58−62
2001 #4First Round
Second Round
#13 Oregon
#5 Utah
W 88–82
L 69−78
2002 #9First Round
Second Round
#8 Virginia
#1 Connecticut
W 69–62
L 48−86
2004 #9First Round#8 Virginia TechL 76−89
2006 #10First Round#7 BYUL 62−67
2008 #9First Round#8 GeorgiaL 61−67
2009 #8First Round#9 Georgia TechL 62−76
2010 #8First Round
Second Round
#9 Rutgers
#1 Stanford
W 70–63
L 67−96
2011 #6First Round#11 GonzagaL 86−92
2012 #9First Round#8 CaliforniaL 74−84
2013 #9First Round
Second Round
#8 Miami (FL)
#1 Notre Dame
W 69–53
L 57−74
2014 #6First Round
Second Round
#11 Marist
#3 Louisville
W 87–65
L 53−83
2015 #3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#14 American
#11 Miami (FL)
#2 Baylor
W 75–67
W 88−70
L 66–81
2018 #6First Round#11 CreightonL 70−76
2019 #2First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#15 Mercer
#7 Missouri
#3 NC State
#1 Baylor
W 66–61
W 68−52
W 79–61
L 53–85
2021 #5First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#12 Central Michigan
#4 Kentucky
#1 UConn
W 87–72
W 86−72
L 72–92
2022 #2First Round
Second Round
#15 Illinois St.
#10 Creighton
W 98–58
L 62–64
2023 #2First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Championship
#15 Southeastern Louisiana
#10 Georgia
#6 Colorado
#5 Louisville
#1 South Carolina
#3 LSU
W 95–43
W 74–66
W 87–77
W 97–83
W 77–73
L 85–102
2024 #1First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Championship
#16 Holy Cross
#8 West Virginia
#5 Colorado
#3 LSU
#3 UConn
#1 South Carolina
W 91–65
W 64–54
W 89–68
W 94–87
W 71–69
L 75–87

Retired numbers

The Hawkeyes have retired three jerseys in honor of the women's program, the most recent being Caitlin Clark in 2024. [14]

Iowa Hawkeyes retired numbers
No.PlayerCareerYear
10 Megan Gustafson 2015–20192020
22 Caitlin Clark 2020–20242024
30 Michelle Edwards 1985–19881990

National award winners

James E. Sullivan Award (top college or Olympic athlete in the US)
Academic All-American of the Year (all Division I sports)
Naismith Trophy
Wooden Award
Wade Trophy
AP Player of the Year
USBWA Player of the Year
Naismith Coach of the Year
Academic All-American of the Year (D-I women's basketball)
Lisa Leslie Award (top D-I center)
Nancy Lieberman Award (top D-I point guard)
Dawn Staley Award (top D-I point guard)
Tamika Catchings Award (USBWA freshman of the year)
WBCA Freshman of the Year

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and are members of the Big Ten Conference. Currently, the school's athletic director is Beth Goetz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Bluder</span> American basketball player and coach (born 1961)

Lisa Marie Bluder is the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball program. Formerly, she served as coach of St. Ambrose University and the Drake Bulldogs.

The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team is part of the University of Iowa athletics department.

The 2017–18 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes, led by 18th year head coach Lisa Bluder, played their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 24–8, 11–5 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. They defeated Northwestern in the second round before losing to Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten women's tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA women's tournament as the No. 6 seed in the Kansas City region. There they lost in the First Round to Creighton.

The 2018–19 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes, led by 19th year head coach Lisa Bluder, played their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 29–7, 14–4 in Big Ten play to finish in second place. Iowa won the Big Ten Conference tournament championship game over Maryland, 90–76. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Greensboro region where they defeated Mercer and Missouri in the first and second rounds, NC State in the sweet sixteen to advance to the elite eight for the first time since 1993. They lost to eventual national champion Baylor in the elite eight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megan Gustafson</span> American basketball player

Megan Gustafson is a Spanish-naturalized American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and Olympiacos of the Greek Basketball League and Euroleague.

The 2019–20 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represents the University of Iowa during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes, led by 20th year head coach Lisa Bluder, play their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA as members of the Big Ten Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caitlin Clark</span> American basketball player (born 2002)

Caitlin Clark is an American basketball player. She played college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes and is regarded as one of the greatest collegiate players of all time. Clark is the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer and was a two-time national player of the year with the Hawkeyes.

The 2020–21 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes were led by twenty-first year head coach Lisa Bluder and played their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA as members of the Big Ten Conference.

The 2021–22 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes were led by head coach Lisa Bluder in her twenty-second season, and played their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–23 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2022–23 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes were led by head coach Lisa Bluder in her twenty-third season, and played their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

Jan Jensen is an American basketball coach and former basketball player. Jensen currently serves as the assistant head coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes women's team. She spent her playing career at Drake, where she led NCAA Division I women's in scoring in 1990–91.

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The 2023–24 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes were led by head coach Lisa Bluder in her twenty-fourth season, and played their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crossover at Kinnick</span>

Crossover at Kinnick was an American exhibition women's college basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the DePaul Blue Demons. Held at Kinnick Stadium, the home stadium of the Hawkeyes football team, the game set the women's basketball single-game attendance record (55,646). Led by reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark, who had a 34-point triple-double, Iowa defeated DePaul, 94–72.

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The 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game was the final game of the 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. It determined the champion of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season and was contested by the Iowa Hawkeyes from the Big Ten Conference and the South Carolina Gamecocks from the Southeastern Conference. The game was played on April 7, 2024, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. South Carolina defeated Iowa 87–75 to capture the third national championship in program history. Iowa finished as runner-up for the second season in a row.

The 2001–02 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa as members of the Big Ten Conference during the 2001–02 NCAA women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes, led by second-year head coach Lisa Bluder, played their home games in Iowa City, Iowa, at Carver–Hawkeye Arena. They finished the season 18–11 overall, 10–6 in Big Ten play, to occupy fourth place in the conference regular season standings. The team was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, but received an at-large bid to the women's NCAA basketball tournament. After an opening round win over Virginia, the Hawkeyes were dominated by No. 1 and eventual national champion Connecticut.

The 2005–06 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2005–06 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes, led by sixth-year head coach Lisa Bluder, played their home games at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished with an overall record of 17–12 to finish fourth in the regular season conference standings. Iowa lost to Michigan State in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament. Iowa received an at-large bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament where they were defeated by BYU, 67–62, in the opening round.

The 2003–04 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represented the University of Iowa as members of the Big Ten Conference during the 2003–04 NCAA women's basketball season. The Hawkeyes, led by fourth-year head coach Lisa Bluder, played their home games in Iowa City, Iowa, at Carver–Hawkeye Arena. They finished the season 16–13 overall, 10–6 in Big Ten play, to occupy fourth place in the conference regular season standings. The team was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, but received an at-large bid to the women's NCAA basketball tournament. Playing as the No. 9 seed in the East region, the Hawkeyes were eliminated in the opening round by No. 8 seed Virginia Tech.

References

  1. "Hawkeye Sports Official Athletic Site - Women's Basketball". Hawkeyesports.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  2. "C. Vivian Stringer". Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
  3. Carver-Hawkeye Arena: Celebrating 25 Years. Iowa Sports Information, 2008.
  4. Smith, Claire (1995-12-10). "COLLEGE BASKETBALL - A Coaching Legend Comes Home - Personal Loss Spurs Stringer's Move to Help Rutgers Rebuild - NYTimes.com". New York Times. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  5. "Women's college basketball player of the year: Iowa's Megan Gustafson". 2019-03-15.
  6. "Women's NCAA tournament 2019: Megan Gustafson's double-double delivers Iowa to Sweet 16". 2019-03-24.
  7. "2022 Big Ten Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team (PDF) - Big Ten Conference" (PDF).
  8. "2023 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament - All-Tournament Team (PDF) - Big Ten Conference" (PDF).
  9. "History from Kinnick! Iowa's sets women's basketball attendance record at 55,646 | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  10. "Clark's triple-double highlights game at Kinnick. Women's basketball record crowd of 55,646 shows up". KAMR - MyHighPlains.com. 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  11. "The Hawkeye Wave". University of Iowa Athletics. 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  12. "Iowa draws 55K in women's basketball record". ESPN.com. 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  13. "2022 Media Guide" (PDF). hawkeyesports-com. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  14. [usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaw/bigten/2024/04/10/iowa-retiring-caitlin-clark-22-jersey/73282893007/ "Iowa will retire Caitlin Clark's No. 22 jersey: 'There will never be another one'"]. 10 April 2024.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  15. "Iowa's Clark wins 2022-23 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award" (Press release). United States Basketball Writers Association. March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  16. "Iowa's Clark repeats as USBWA's Ann Meyers Drysdale Award winner" (Press release). United States Basketball Writers Association. April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.