Iowa, Drake Meet Friday in Des Moines

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THIS WEEK 

The 15th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team travels to Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday to a contest against Drake. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. (CT) in the Knapp Center. 

WATCH/FOLLOW ALONG 

• Friday’s contest will air live on Mediacom 22 (MC22). It will also be streamed on ESPN+. Links to the broadcast are available on the women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com. 
• Live stats are available on the women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com. 

AUDIO COVERAGE

• Rob Brooks and Jamie Cavey Lang will call the action on the Hawkeye Radio Network. A link to the broadcast is available on the women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.
• Brooks is in his third year as the play-by-play announcer for the Iowa women’s basketball team. He has been Iowa football’s sideline announcer since 2004. He has called seven different Iowa sports on radio or television.
• Lang is in her third year as Iowa’s color commentator. She lettered at Iowa from 2002-05. Lang finished her Hawkeye career with 1,265 points and 506 rebounds. She was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.

NATIONAL RANKINGS 

• Iowa is ranked No. 16 in this week’s AP Poll and 15th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. 
• The Hawkeyes are one of six conference teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the Coaches Poll. No. 5 Maryland, No. 16 Minnesota, and No. 22 Michigan State are also ranked within the top-25, while Indiana (7) and Michigan (1) are receiving votes. 
• Iowa is one of five conference teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the AP Poll. They include: No. 5 Maryland, No. 13 Minnesota, No. 22 Michigan State, and Indiana (11 votes). 

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• The Hawkeyes face four nonconference teams who made the 2018 NCAA Tournament, including Drake, Western Kentucky, Florida State, and defending National Champions Notre Dame. 
• Six Big Ten teams — Ohio State, Maryland, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and Minnesota — made the 2018 NCAA Tournament. 

APPROACHING HISTORY 

• Senior Megan Gustafson’s 2,050 career points rank third all-time at Iowa. 
• Gustafson needs 10 points to surpass Cindy Haugejorde (2,059) for second all time. 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native needs 53 points to become Iowa’s all-time leading scorer. Ally Disterhoft set the current scoring record of 2,102 in 2017. 

SCOUTING DRAKE

• Drake is 8-3 overall and a perfect 3-0 at home. 
• The Bulldogs opened the season 5-0 before falling to No. 1 Notre Dame, 82-64. 
• Drake returns home after dropping a pair of road contests at South Dakota State (80-71) and Iowa State (86-81). 
• Redshirt junior forward Sara Rhine leads the Bulldogs, averaging 18.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Junior guard Becca Hittner (16.5) and senior guard Sammie Bachrodt (10.1) are also averaging double figures in scoring. 
• The Bulldogs lead the nation in total assists with 245 on the season. Drake averages 22.3 assists per game — a mark that ranks second nationally. 

THE SERIES 

• The all-time series is tied, 25-25. 
• The Hawkeyes have won 15 of the last 16 contests, dating back to 2002. 
• Last season, Iowa defeated the Bulldogs, 79-66, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Senior Megan Gustafson led Iowa with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Makenzie Meyer added 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range. 

CROSS COURT CONNECTIONS

• UI head coach Lisa Bluder spent 10 seasons as Drake’s head coach before coming to Iowa. She compiled a record of 187-106 (.659).
• Associate head coach Jan Jensen played collegiately at Drake, graduating in 1991 with a public relations degree. As a senior, she led the nation in scoring with 29.6 points per game and was a Gateway Conference Most Valuable Player. Jensen was also Bluder’s first assistant and recruiting coordinator at Drake.
• Assistant coach Jenni Fitzgerald also played collegiately at Drake, graduating in 1990 with a business administration/management degree. She was the starting point guard for the Bulldogs, and was named team captain and All-Gateway first team as a senior. Fitzgerald also coached at Drake with Bluder, working with the guards, directing summer camps, and handling administrative duties for the program.
• Drake head coach Jennie (Lillis) Baranczyk was a standout player for Bluder at Iowa from 2000-04. She was a three-time captain, three-time All-Big Ten selection, and an All-American. She is one of three Hawkeyes to score 1,700 points and pull down 800 rebounds in her career.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE LINE

• The Hawkeyes are 2-0 this season against in-state rivals.
• Iowa defeated Iowa State, 73-70, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 5. The Hawkeyes then downed UNI, 83-57, in Iowa City on Dec. 16. 
• A win on Friday would give the Hawkeyes back-to-back in-state sweeps for the first time in program history (When playing Drake, UNI, and Iowa State in the same year). 

12 STRAIGHT 

• The Hawkeyes registered their 12th straight victory over UNI on Dec. 16, defeating the Panthers, 83-57, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 
• Iowa committed a season-low eight turnovers and dished out 20 assists in the contest. 
• Senior Megan Gustafson led all scorers with 28 points and 12 rebounds. She shot 79 percent from the field (11-for-14). Junior Kathleen Doyle (13) and seniors Hannah Stewart (10) and Tania Davis (10) also registered double digits in scoring. 
• Doyle dished out a season-high seven assists. 

REBOUNDING RECORD FALLS

• Senior Megan Gustafson broke Iowa’s program record for career rebounds with 4:27 left in the first quarter against Iowa State on Dec. 5.
• Gustafson has 1,102 rebounds in her career. She bested the previous record of 1,067 set by Cindy Haugejorde in 1980. Gustafson registered her 1,000th career rebound at Western Kentucky (11/13). 

NATIONALLY SPEAKING 

• Iowa is ranked in the top-15 nationally in five categories. Iowa is second in the NCAA in free throw percentage (81.1), third in assists (222), assists per game (22.2), and field goal percentage (52.3), and 14th in scoring offense (84.2). 
• Senior Megan Gustafson ranks in the top-12 nationally in eight categories. She leads the nation in field goal percentage (75.4) and double-doubles (9), ranks second in total points (247) and points per game (24.7), fourth in defensive rebounds per game (9), seventh in rebounds (123), and 11th in rebounds per game (12.3). 

IT WAS FOR FREE! SO I SAID “SURE”

• The Hawkeyes are shooting 81.1 percent from the free throw line this season — a mark that ranks first in the Big Ten Conference and second nationally. 
• Iowa was a perfect 15-for-15 from the free throw line against Iowa State on Dec. 5. Junior Kathleen Doyle (6-for-6), senior Megan Gustafson (5-for-5), junior Makenzie Meyer (2-for-2), and redshirt sophomore Alexis Sevillian (2-for-2) all made free throws in the contest. 
• Davis made a career-high 13-of-14 free throws in Iowa’s 24-point comeback win against No. 25/20 West Virginia on Nov. 24. 
• The Hawkeyes made 27 free throws in 32 attempts (84.4 percent) against the Mountaineers. 

MS. 2,000 

• Senior Megan Gustafson became just the third Hawkeye in program history to score 2,000 career points in Iowa’s win over IUPUI on Dec. 8. 
• Gustafson is just the seventh Big Ten student-athlete to register 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career, joining Illinois’ Jenna Smith (2007-10), Minnesota’s Laura Coenen (1982-85), Nebraska’s Jordan Hooper (2011-14), Northwestern’s Nia Coffey (2014-17), and Ohio State’s Jessica Davenport (2004-07) and Jantel Lavender (2008-11).
• Gustafson needs 53 points to break Ally Disterhoft’s all-time career scoring mark of 2,102 set in 2017.  

GUESS WHO’S BACK? 

• Junior Kathleen Doyle returned to the court on Dec. 5 after missing seven games with a pair of broken bones in her left (non-shooting) hand. 
• Doyle scored a game-high 22 points off the bench for the Hawkeyes. She was 7-for-17 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. 
• The LaGrange Park, Illinois, native also registered two steals, an assist, and made a pair of 3-pointers in the contest. 
• Doyle made her first start of the season against UNI on Dec. 16. She scored 13 points, dished out seven assists, pulled down four rebounds, and denied three shots in 30 minutes of action. 
• The Preseason All-Big Ten selection averaged 11.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 3.6 rebounds in 30 games last season. She ranked 12th nationally in assists per game, and led the Big Ten with 7.5 assists per game in conference action. 

THE B1G DUO 

• Seniors Hannah Stewart and Megan Gustafson have dominated down low for the Hawkeyes this season. 
• Stewart and Gustafson are scoring a combined 37.6 points per game and averaging 18.7 rebounds per contest. 
• The duo has 376 points, 187 rebounds, 41 assists, and 24 blocks. They are shooting a combined 69 percent (161-for-235) from the field. 

SHARING IS CARING 

• Through 10 games this season, the Hawkeyes are averaging 22.2 assists per contest — the third-best mark in the NCAA. 
• Eight Hawkeyes have dished out 10 or more assists this season. Junior Makenzie Meyer leads the team with 47 (4.7 per game). 
• The Hawkeyes set new school assist records in back-to-back games against Western Kentucky and North Carolina Central. 
• Iowa dished out 34 assists against Western Kentucky on Nov. 13, before besting that mark with 36 against North Carolina Central on Nov. 17. 

HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE 

• Through 10 games this season, Iowa is averaging 84.2 points per game, a mark that ranks second in the Big Ten and 14th nationally. 
• Iowa’s 52.3 field goal percentage ranks third in the NCAA. 
• Iowa scored 106 points in its win over North Carolina Central on Nov. 17. It marked the second-highest point total in program history. 
• Iowa’s 67-point margin of victory (106-39) against North Carolina Central marked the largest scoring margin for the Hawkeyes since 1992-93. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE

• Megan Gustafson recorded her 64th career double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds against UNI on Dec. 16. It marked her ninth double-double of the season. 
• Gustafson broke the program record (men or women) with her 49th career double-double (25 points, 15 rebounds) against Minnesota on Feb. 4, 2018. Gustafson surpassed former Iowa men’s basketball player Kevin Kunnert’s career total of 48 set in 1971-73. 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native had 28 double-doubles last season — the second most in the NCAA. 
• She has registered a double-double in 41 of her last 49 games. 

STEWART COMES UP B1G

• Senior Hannah Stewart has started all nine games for the Hawkeyes this season — the first nine starts of her career. 
• Stewart is averaging 12.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. 
• The Minot, North Dakota, native has scored 12 or more points in eight of Iowa’s 10 games this season. 

SHE’S ON A ROLL

• Senior Megan Gustafson was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for the fifth time this season on Monday. 
• It is the 15th Player of the Week award of her career. 
• Gustafson has been honored by the conference in each of the first six weeks of the season, including five Player of the Week awards and one honor roll mention. 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native netted a game-high 28 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes to an 83-57 victory over Northern Iowa on Dec. 16. She shot 79 percent from the field and 86 percent (6-for-7) from the free throw line. Gustafson also added an assist and a block in the victory.
• Gustafson broke a Big Ten single-season record last year, winning nine Player of the Week honors. She was also named to the conference’s honor roll six times. 

TANIA DAVIS: THE RETURN

• Senior Tania Davis returned to the starting lineup in Iowa’s season opener for the first time since Dec. 17, 2017. 
• Through 10 games this season, Davis is averaging 11.1 points and 4.3 assists. 
• With 2.6 seconds remaining, Davis hit a game-winning 3-pointer to give Iowa a 73-70 victory over Iowa State on Dec. 5. She ended the game with nine points, three assists, and two steals. 
• Davis averaged 9.7 points and 5.2 assists in 12 games before tearing her ACL in 2017-18.  
• The Flint, Michigan, native’s sophomore season was also cut short due to injury. In 23 games in 2016-17, Davis averaged 10.9 points and 4.3 assists. 

SENIOR CLASS AWARD

• Senior Megan Gustafson was named 1-of-30 finalists for the Senior Class Award. 
• To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. 
• The candidates will be narrowed to 10 in February. Those names will go on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans. 

UP NEXT 

Iowa opens its Big Ten slate at Michigan State on Dec. 30. Tipoff is at 12 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2.