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THE SETTING
The University of Iowa women’s basketball team hosts Lewis in exhibition action on Sunday at 2 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $5 for adults and free for youth (18 and under) and UI students.
WATCH/FOLLOW ALONG
- Sunday’s contest will be streamed live on BTN Plus. To see if your cable package gives you access to BTN Plus content, sign up for BTN Plus, or learn more about it, visit btn2go.com.
- Live stats are available on the Iowa women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.
AUDIO COVERAGE
- Rob Brooks and Jamie Cavey Lang will call Sunday’s game on Hawkeye All-Access. A link to the broadcast is available on the women’s basketball schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
- Brooks has been Iowa football’s sideline announcer since 2004-05 season. He has called seven different Iowa sports on radio or television.
- Lang lettered at Iowa from 2002-05. She finished her Hawkeye career with 1,265 points and 506 rebounds and was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets are on sale for the 2016-17 Iowa women’s basketball season. General public season tickets are $100. UI faculty/staff can purchase tickets for $80. Senior tickets are also $80, while youth season tickets (18 or younger) are $25. UI students are admitted free to women’s basketball games. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting the ticket office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS, or online at hawkeyesports.com.
RECEIVING VOTES
- Iowa is receiving three votes in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll. Three Big Ten teams are ranked in the poll, including No. 5 Maryland, No. 6 Ohio State, and No. 22 Michigan State, and Indiana (51), Michigan (10), Northwestern (7), and Iowa (3) are receiving votes.
- Three Big Ten teams are included in the Preseason Associated Press Top 25. They include No. 6 Maryland, No. 7 Ohio State, and No. 23 Indiana. Michigan State is receiving 78 votes in the poll.
DISTERHOFT EARNS PRESEASON HONOR
Senior Ally Disterhoft was named Preseason All-Big Ten by the coaches and media, the Big Ten Conference announced Oct. 24. The Iowa City, Iowa, native was a second team All-Big Ten selection in 2015 and 2016 and an honorable mention All-Big Ten honoree in 2014. She was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and Big Ten All-Tournament team in 2014.
SCOUTING LEWIS
- Lewis played to a 28-3 overall record and an 18-0 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) mark last season to earn their fourth straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearance.
- The Flyers return 2016 GLVC Freshman of the Year Jessica Kelliher. The 2016 D2CCA All-Region selection averaged 18.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in her freshman campaign.
- Lewis also returns 2015 GLVC Player of the Year Jamie Johnson to the lineup. Johnson missed a majority of the 2015-16 season with a knee injury. The two-time first team All-GLVC selection owns a career scoring average of 15.4 points per game.
A SHOT AT HISTORY
Ally Disterhoft has netted 1,542 points in her career — a mark that ranks 11th on Iowa’s all-time list. The senior is 517 points away from tying Iowa’s all-time scoring record of 2,059 set by former Hawkeye Cindy Haugejorde (1976-80). Disterhoft also ranks 12th on all-time in 3-point field goals (116), 14th in career blocks (53), and 18th (609) in rebounds.
RETURNING EXPERIENCE
- Iowa returns four of its five starters from last season in senior Ally Disterhoft, junior Chase Coley, and sophomores Tania Davis and Megan Gustafson.
- Senior Ally Disterhoft garnered second team All-Big Ten accolades by coaches and media for the second consecutive season and received Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award. The preseason All-Big Ten pick by coaches and media scored in double figures in every game last season and in 78 of her 84 consecutive starts.
- Tania Davis and Megan Gustafson were named to the 2016 Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
- Davis was one of two Big Ten freshmen to lead her team in assists per game (3.4) and average at least one steal per game (1.2) last season. She has dished out 111 assists in 33 games played, the second-highest total recorded by a freshman at Iowa (Samantha Logic; 136).
- Gustafson was the only freshman and one of three players in the conference overall to lead her team in field goal percentage (.554), rebounds (225), and blocks (58) last season.
- Chase Coley averaged 11.1 points per game last season — the second highest mark on the team. The junior compiled 365 points, 194 rebounds, 53 assists, 37 blocks, and 24 steals in her sophomore campaign to receive Iowa’s Most Improved Award.
QUALITY YOUTH
- Iowa’s freshman class was ranked No. 7 nationally by Blue Star — the highest ranked recruiting class for head coach Lisa Bluder and her staff.
- Iowa’s freshmen class consists of Bre Cera (2016 Journal Sentinel Player of the Year), Kathleen Doyle (Illinois Miss Basketball), Makenzie Meyer (Iowa Miss Basketball), Amanda Ollinger (2016 Gazette Female Athlete of the Year), and Alexis Sevellian (finalist for Michigan Miss Basketball).
HAWKEYES CONTINUE POSTSEASON STREAK
- Iowa made its ninth straight postseason appearance (8 NCAA, 1 WNIT) with an at-large bid to the WNIT in 2016.
- The Hawkeyes were selected to host a first round contest inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but made an early exit, falling to Ball State, 77-72.
- Following the loss, Iowa is 7-3 all-time in the WNIT and 3-1 in games played in Iowa City.
- Iowa was one of six Big Ten Conference teams (Minnesota, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Rutgers) and one of three teams from Iowa (Drake, UNI) to be included in the WNIT field of 64.
CALL ON ME
- Ally Disterhoft averaged a team-leading 36.6 minutes per contest last season.
- The senior led Iowa in points per game (17.1) last season, scoring double figures in every game.
- She became the program’s highest scoring junior last season, netting 565 points to break Michelle Edwards’ record of 564 points in 1986-87.
- Disterhoft has played in every game of her collegiate career with 84 consecutive starts. She has netted double figures in 78 of her 84 career starts.
- The Iowa City, Iowa, native closed the 2015-16 season with a .535 field goal percentage, a team-best .413 3-point field goal percentage and a .727 free throw percentage.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
- In the last 13 games of the 2015-16 season, Megan Gustafson posted nine double-doubles — the first of her career.
- The sophomore recorded double-doubles against Michigan (12 rebounds, 10 points), at Northwestern (15 points, 13 rebounds), at Indiana (12 points, 10 rebounds), Ohio State (13 points, 11 rebounds), at Minnesota (14 points, 19 rebounds), at Penn State (15 points, 11 rebounds), and Illinois (16 points, 10 rebounds) in the regular season. She also added 25 points and 10 boards against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament and 22 points and 12 boards against Ball State in the first round of the WNIT.
- Following the 2015-16 campaign, Gustafson was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. She led league freshmen in blocks (58), was second rebounding (225), and fourth in scoring (352). She was one of just two freshmen in the conference to lead their team in rebounds.
THE BLUDER FILE
- Head coach Lisa Bluder begins her17th season at the helm of the Iowa women’s basketball program this season. She owns a 323-188 (.632) overall record and a 160-106 Big Ten record at Iowa. In her 32 seasons as a head coach, Bluder is 679-330 (.673).
- Bluder is one of 14 active Division I coaches to collect 675 or more career wins.
- The head Hawkeye is second in career Big Ten wins (160) and in total wins among Big Ten coaches. She trails only C. Vivian Stringer who has compiled 189 Big Ten wins and 971 career wins.
- Bluder ranks third all-time among all Big Ten coaches with 160 conference victories.
ACADEMIC PROWESS
- Ally Disterhoft was named Academic All-America of the Year for Division I women’s basketball and a CoSIDA first team Academic All-American last season. Disterhoft became the only junior to earn first team Academic All-America recognition and owned the top GPA (4.03) of all Academic All-Americans this year.
- Christina Buttenham, Ally Disterhoft, Alexa Kastanek, and Hailey Schneden, earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition following the 2015-16 season. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten, student-athletes must be letterwinners and be in at least their second academic year at the institution. They must also carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better.
- In 2014-15, Iowa was the only program to have two Academic All-Americans in Disterhoft and Samantha Logic. There were 15 total honorees.
2015-16 IOWA TEAM AWARDS
- Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection Megan Gustafson earned Best Rebounder and Field Goal Percentage Leader recognition following the 2015-16 season. The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native compiled 225 boards, the fourth-highest total recorded by a freshman in program history. Gustafson tallied nine double-doubles in the final 13 games of the season, averaging just shy of a double-double (13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds) in her 14 starts.
- Tania Davis, also a Big Ten All-Freshman Team pick, took home awards for Best Defense and Assists Leader. The Grand Blanc, Michigan, native tallied 37 steals, the third-highest total of all freshmen in program history. Davis paced the Hawkeyes with 111 assists in her 33 games played. She is only the second player in the history of the program to dish out more than 100 assists in her freshman campaign.
- Chase Coley was credited with the Most Improved honor. The Minneapolis native had her best season as a Hawkeye last year, compiling 365 points, 194 rebounds, 53 assists, 37 blocks, and 24 steals. She recorded six double-doubles, scored in double figures in 19 of 33 games, and netted 20 points or more five times.
- Hailey Schneden received the Coaches Award. The two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree is a positive presence on and off the court for the Hawkeyes. The Davenport, Iowa, native also shared the Community Service Award with Alexa Kastanek .
- Ally Disterhoft took home the Dr. Christine Grant Leadership Award. The team captain was a consistent leader throughout the year for the Hawkeyes, scoring in double figures in every game last season and averaging a team-high 17.1 points per game.
UP NEXT
Iowa opens its regular season next weekend, hosting Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. (CT) on Friday, Nov. 6 and Hampton at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13. Both contests are doubleheaders with men’s basketball games following the conclusion of the women’s contests.
