Aug. 8, 2005
University of Iowa Head Women’s Basketball Coach Lisa Bluder announced Monday that senior small forward Johanna Solverson tore her anterior cruciate ligament on her right knee. Solverson becomes the second Hawkeye starter to suffer an ACL injury this summer and will miss the 2005-06 season. Point guard Lindsay Richards sustained her third ACL injury in as many years in July.
Like Richards, Solverson sustained the injury while playing a “pick-up” game. Solverson suffered her injury while playing a game at a DePaul Sports Camp last week. Solverson has been a camp instructor at the DePaul the last two summers.
“We are tremendously disappointed,” said Bluder. “In a matter of six weeks, we have lost two key players to injury. We feel so badly that Johanna has to endure this setback, but we are confident that she will have a strong rehab and return for a great senior campaign.”
Solverson played in all but one game her first three seasons. The only game she missed was a regular season game vs. Kansas State on Dec. 12, 2003 due to an ankle injury. One of Iowa’s most versatile players ever, she boasts a career average of 8.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.02 apg and 1.67 spg in 94 games.
Last year, Solverson became only the second Iowa player to amass over 350 points, 125 assists and rebounds and 70 steals in a single season (Michelle Edwards). She averaged 10.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.12 apg and 2.12 spg in 33 contests. Her 4.12 assists average ranked third in the Big Ten and led all conference juniors.
The native of Lake Zurich, IL, ranks ninth in Iowa career assists (284), 12th in steals (157), 19th in rebounding (408) and 28th in scoring (802). She has scored in double figures 34 times in her career, including 17 times her junior season.
Solverson was named to the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge all-Tournament team her freshman and junior seasons and was recognized on the 2003 all-Big Ten Freshman Team. She tied a Carver-Hawkeye Arena record for 3-point field goal percentage when she drained all four 3-point attempts vs. Southern Illinois on Nov. 19, 2004.
Both Richards and Solverson played in the 2002 McDonald’s High School All-American Game and both played on the same Illinois Hustle AAU Team that was a four-time Illinois State Champion.
Other small forwards on the 2005-06 Hawkeye roster include senior Tiffany Reedy, sophomore Jenee Graham and freshman Wendy Ausdemore.