Iowa, Illinois Meet Wednesday in Carver

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THE SETTING
The University of Iowa women’s basketball team returns to Big Ten action on Wednesday, Jan. 11, hosting Illinois at 7 p.m. (CT) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $12 for adults and free for youth (ages 18 & under) and UI students. 

WATCH/LISTEN

• Wednesday’s contest will be streamed live on BTN Plus. Links can be found on the Iowa women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com. 
• Rob Brooks and Jamie Cavey Lang will have the call on the Hawkeye Radio Network. Links to the broadcast are available on the women’s basketball schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.

PROMOTIONS

• Dollar Dog Night — $1 hotdogs 
• Girls Night Out — Local salon & spas will be on the concourse for free sampling. 

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. 

SCOUTING ILLINOIS

• Illinois enters Wednesday’s matchup with a 7-9 overall record and a 2-1 mark in Big Ten play 
• Sophomore forward Alex Wittinger (14.4) and freshman guard Brandi Beasley (11.2) are each averaging double digits in scoring, while freshman guard Petra Holesinska is averaging 9.9 points. Wittinger also leads the team with 8.7 rebounds per game. 
• The Illini lead the Big Ten Conference and rank 19th nationally in free throw percentage, shooting .770 from the line. 
• Wittinger ranks 11th nationally with 41 blocks this season. She leads the Big Ten in both blocked shots (41) and blocks per game (2.56). 

THE SERIES

• Iowa leads the all-time series, 53-19.
• Illinois defeated the Hawkeyes, 70-65, in Champaign, Illinois, on Dec. 28. Megan Gustafson (21 points, 13 rebounds) and senior Ally Disterhoft (11 points, 12 rebounds) each posted double-doubles in the contest. 
• The Hawkeyes won the lone meeting between the two teams last season. Iowa defeated Illinois, 61-56, in Iowa City Megan Gustafson led the Hawkeyes with 16 points and 10 rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. 
• The Hawkeyes have won 18 of the last 22 meetings, including four of the last six games. 

UNSELFISH BASKETBALL 

• The Hawkeyes rank fourth in the Big Ten and 14th nationally in assists (292). 
• Iowa also ranks second in the conference and 13th in the NCAA in assists per game (18.3).
• Seven Hawkeyes have dished out 20 or more assists on the season. Sophomore Tania Davis leads the team with 66. She is joined by freshman Kathleen Doyle (58), senior Ally Disterhoft (42), freshmen Makenzie Meyer (24) and Bre Cera (22), junior Chase Coley (20) and senior Alexa Kastanek (20). 

MARGIN OF VICTORY 

• Iowa has won by 20 or more points six times this season, including wins against Oral Roberts (96-76), Hampton (84-51), Massachusetts (71-30), Northern Iowa (88-39), Robert Morris (81-60), and Kent State (83-48). 
• The Hawkeyes are averaging 76.1 points per game and holding their opponents to 64.4 (+11.9). 

I’LL TAKE THAT, PLEASE

• Freshman Kathleen Doyle leads the team with 34 steals on the season. 
• The LaGrange Park, Illinois, native is tied for sixth in the Big Ten Conference, averaging 2.1 steals per game. 
• Doyle’s 2.1 steals per game average is the highest among all Big Ten freshmen. 

GUSTAFSON EARNS 2ND STRAIGHT B1G HONOR ROLL PLAUDIT

• For the second straight week, sophomore Megan Gustafson was named to the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Honor Roll, the conference office announced Jan. 2. It marked the fourth weekly honor of Gustafson’s career and her third of the season.
• Gustafson averaged 21.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in a pair of Big Ten Conference games against Illinois and Nebraska last week.
• She led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 7-of-12 (.583) from the field at Illinois. Gustafson pulled down 13 boards (6 offensive) to register her eighth double-double of the season. She also dished out three assists and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line against the Illini.
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native recorded a team-high 22 points and a team-leading nine rebounds to lead Iowa to its first Big Ten victory of the season. She shot an impressive .750 from the field (9-for-12) and added two blocks and a pair of steals.
• On the season, Gustafson is averaging 17.5 points and 9.9 rebounds. She’s shooting .669 (117-of-175) from the field — a mark that ranks second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally. 
• Gustafson earned Big Ten Player of the Week accolades on Nov. 14 before being named to the Honor Roll on Dec. 26. She garnered Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 22, 2016. 

DYNAMIC DUO

• Sophomore Megan Gustafson has scored in double figures in every game this season, while senior Ally Disterhoft has netted double digits in 15-of-16 games. 
• Gustafson has netted 20 or more points eight times this year, while Disterhoft has accomplished the feat four times. Both Hawkeyes have scored 20 or more points in games against Oral Roberts, James Madison, and Drake. 
• Together, the pair averages 33.9 points per game.

DOUBLE THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE

• Sophomore Megan Gustafson and senior Ally Disterhoft each registered double-doubles against Illinois on Dec. 28. 
• Gustafson led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed a game-high 13 boards to register her eighth double-double of the season and the 17th of her career. 
• Disterhoft netted 11 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. It marked her first double-double of the season and the seventh of her career. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE

• Sophomore Megan Gustafson registered the 17th double-double of her career against Illinois on Dec. 28. It was her eighth double-double of the season.
• Gustafson is one of 31 NCAA student-athletes to record eight or more double-doubles this season. 
• Gustafson has led Iowa in boards in 15-of-16 games this season. 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native ranks sixth nationally in field goal percentage (.669), 13th in field goals made (117), 18th in double-doubles (8), 20th in rebounds (159), and 28th in rebounds per game (9.9).

RUNNIN’ RUNNIN’

• Down 11-2 in the first quarter to Kent State, the Hawkeyes used a 40-5 run over a 12-minute span to ultimately defeat Kent State, 83-48, on Dec. 20. 
• Iowa made 12-of-18 field goals in the second quarter and held Kent State to 3-of-16 shooting. Iowa also dominated the boards in the second frame, 18-3. 
• Megan Gustafson (20 points), Ally Disterhoft (18 points), and Makenzie Meyer (12 points) all scored in double figures for the Hawkeyes. 
• Junior Christina Buttenham registered her first career start in the contest. She netted five points and pulled-down a career-high six boards in 18 minutes of action. 

MOVIN’ ON UP 

• Senior Ally Disterhoft now ranks fifth on Iowa’s all-time career scoring list. 
• Disterhoft has 1,805 career points and is 254 points from tying Iowa’s all-time scoring record of 2,059 set by Cindy Haugejorde (1976-80). 
• Disterhoft also ranks ninth all-time in 3-point field goals (140), 13th in career blocks (62), and 13th in rebounds (695). 

HAVE A DAY, TANIA

• A career day by sophomore Tania Davis led the Hawkeyes past in-state foe Iowa State on Wednesday, Dec. 7. 
• Davis registered career highs in points (23), 3-pointers made (5), and field goals made (7). 
• The Flint, Michigan, native was 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range in 30 minutes of action. 

FAST FACTS 

• The Hawkeyes are 10-0 when leading at the half. 
• Iowa is 10-0 when scoring 70 points or more. 
• The Hawkeyes rank 14th nationally in total attendance (41,782). 
• Iowa shot .688 (11-for-16) from three point range against UNI on Dec. 4, marking the second-highest 3-point field goal percentage in a single game this season (Tennessee, .857, vs. Navy). 

IN THE POLLS

• Two Big Ten teams are included in the week 10 (Jan. 9) Associated Press Top 25. They include: No. 3 Maryland and No. 11 Ohio State. 
• Maryland (No. 3) and Ohio State (No. 11) are also included in the week 10 USA TODAY Coaches Poll (Jan. 10). Michigan (8), Michigan State (7), and Northwestern (3) are receiving votes. 

AROUND THE NATION

• The Hawkeyes rank 13th nationally, averaging 18.3 assists per game. Iowa’s 292 total assists on the season rank 14th. 
• Iowa also ranks 13th in field goal percentage (.472) and 17th in defensive rebounds per game (30). 
• Sophomore Megan Gustafson ranks sixth nationally in field goal percentage (.669), 13th in field goals made (117), 18th in double-doubles (8), 20th in rebounds (159), and 28th in rebounds per game (9.9).
• Senior Ally Disterhoft ranks 40th nationally with a .543 field goal percentage. 

AROUND THE LEAGUE 

• Iowa leads the Big Ten Conference in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.273) and field goal percentage defense (.358). 
• The Hawkeyes also rank second in assists (18.3), third in defensive rebounds (30.0), fourth in field goal percentage (.472), and fifth in rebounding offense (41.9). 
• Two Hawkeyes rank within the top-10 in field goal percentage. They include: Megan Gustafson (.669; 2nd) and Ally Disterhoft (.543; 9th). 
• Gustafson ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (.669) and offensive rebounds (3.5), third in defensive rebounds (6.4), fourth in rebounding (9.9), seventh in blocked shots (1.5), and 10th in scoring (17.5) and free throw percentage (.780). 
• Sophomore Tania Davis is shooting .867 from the free throw line — the third-highest total in the conference. She also ranks 12th in assists, averaging 4.1 per game. 
• Disterhoft ranks seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (.393), ninth in field goal percentage (.543), and 13th in scoring (16.4). 
• Freshman Kathleen Doyle is tied for sixth in the conference in steals (2.1). 

CALL ON ME

• Senior Ally Disterhoft has netted double figures in 93 of her 100 career starts, including 48 of her last 49 games. 
• The Iowa City, Iowa, native has started 100 consecutive games and appeared in every game of her Hawkeye career (118). 
• Disterhoft has 1,805 career points and is 254 points from tying Iowa’s all-time scoring record of 2,059 set by Cindy Haugejorde (1976-80). 
• Disterhoft has registered 20 or more points in four games this season. 
• Last season, Disterhoft became the program’s highest scoring junior, netting 565 points to break Michelle Edwards’ record of 564 points in 1986-87. 

HISTORICALLY GOOD DEFENSE

• The Hawkeyes held Massachusetts to just 30 points in the first game of the Hawkeye Challenge on Nov. 19, tying a Carver-Hawkeye Arena record for fewest points allowed. It also marked the second-fewest points allowed in the Big Ten this season (27, Purdue vs. North Carolina Central). 
• Iowa held the Minutewomen to just 10 first half points, breaking a program record for fewest points allowed in a first half. 
• The Hawkeyes allowed just 39 points against UNI on Dec. 4. It marked the second time this season Iowa has held an opponent to under 40 points. 

DAVIS NAMED MADNESS B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK 

• Sophomore Tania Davis was named the Madness Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, College Sports Madness announced Dec.12. 
• Davis averaged a team-high 18.5 points, shot .526 from the field (10-of-19), .600 from 3-point range (6-for-10) and a perfect 1.000 (11-for-11) from the free throw line to lead Iowa to a pair of wins over Iowa State and Robert Morris. 
• The Flint, Michigan, native registered career highs in points (23), 3-pointers made (5) and field goals made (7) to guide the Hawkeyes past in-state rival Iowa State (88-76) on Wednesday. 
• Two days later, Davis netted 14 points and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe to help the Hawkeyes to an 81-60 win over Robert Morris. 

GUSTAFSON NAMED B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Center/forward Megan Gustafson was named Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference office announced Nov. 14.  It is the second weekly honor of Gustafson’s career. 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native posted back-to-back double-doubles to lead Iowa to wins overall Oral Roberts and Hampton on Nov. 11 and 13. The sophomore tied a career high in points (25) and recorded 12 rebounds, an assist and a block in 26 minutes of action against Oral Roberts on Nov. 11. Two days later, Gustafson netted 14 points and pulled down 11 boards to lead the Hawkeyes past Hampton. She also went a combined 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
• Gustafson earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 22, 2016. She is the first Hawkeye to win Big Ten Player of the Week since Samantha Logic won the award on March 2, 2015.  

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. 

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.
• 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.

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). 
• Cera has started all seven games this season, while Meyer has started five and Doyle has started the last two. 

THE BLUDER FILE

• Head coach Lisa Bluder begins her 17th season at the helm of the Iowa women’s basketball program this season. She owns a 333-194 (.632) overall record and a 161-108 Big Ten record at Iowa. In her 32 seasons as a head coach, Bluder is 689-336 (.672).
• 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 (161) 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 161 conference victories.

IOWAWBB.COM 
Check out the Iowa women’s basketball team’s website, iowawbb.com, devoted to everything on and off the court surrounding the program. Iowawbb.com allows fans to go behind the scenes with the Hawkeye basketball program. The site is complete with exclusive videos, photo galleries, and content featuring the basketball program. 

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, hosting No. 3 Maryland. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised on BTN.