Iowa Hosts Missouri State on Thursday

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THE SETTING
The University of Iowa women’s basketball team hosts Missouri State (16-14; 12-6 MVC) in the first round of the 2017 WNIT on Thursday, March 16. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

TICKET INFORMATION 

• Tickets for Thursday’s WNIT contest are on sale now through the UI Athletics Ticket Office. To order, call 1-800-IA-HAWKS or visit hawkeyesports.com. 
• Fans can also purchase tickets in person between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (CT) at the UI Athletics Ticket Office located inside the main entrance of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 
• Tickets are $10 for adults and free for youth (18 & younger) and college students. 

WATCH/LISTEN

• Thursday’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.

POSTSEASON NOTABLES

• Iowa has made 10 consecutive postseason appearances (8 NCAA Tournaments, 2 WNIT). 
• The Hawkeyes have made a postseason appearance in 16 of head coach Lisa Bluder’s 17 seasons at the helm of the program, appearing in the NCAA Tournament 12 times and the WNIT three times (2003, 2005, 2016, 2017). 
• Iowa is 7-3 all-time in the WNIT and 3-1 in games played in Iowa City. 
• Iowa is one of four Big Ten Conference teams (Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, and Penn State) to be included in the 64-team WNIT field. 

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE

• Missouri State, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, enters Thursday’s contest with a 16-14 overall record. 
• The Lady Bears finished third in the MVC with a 12-6 mark in league action. 
• Junior guard Liza Fruendt leads the Lady Bears, averaging 16.9 points per game. 
• Fruendt earned first team All-MVC honors this season, while senior Lisa Hughes (9.5 ppg) earned honorable mention accolades. Freshman Alexa Willard (8.2 ppg) was named to the All-Freshman Team. 
• Missouri State’s rebounding margin of +6.4 ranks 33rd nationally, while its 40.4 rebounds per game average ranks 67th. 

THE SERIES

• The all-time series between Iowa and Missouri State is tied, 4-4. 
• The teams last met in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 19, 2012. The Hawkeyes defeated the Lady Bears, 97-43. 

RECORD WATCH

• Senior Ally Disterhoft ranks second on Iowa’s all-time career scoring list with 2,040 points. She is 19 points from tying Iowa’s all-time scoring record of 2,059 set by Cindy Haugejorde (1976-80). 
• Sophomore Megan Gustafson has scored a team-high 550 points on the year — the most points by a sophomore in program history. 
• Gustafson has tallied a team-leading 297 rebounds on the season — just nine shy of tying Iowa’s all-time record for rebounds in a single season (306, Amy Herrig, 1998-99). Gustafson is also three boards away from matching Iowa’s record for rebounds in a sophomore season (300, Cindy Haugejorde, 1977-78). 
• Freshman Kathleen Doyle has dished out a team-best 125 assists on the season. She is 11 assists away from tying Sam Logic’s record of 136 (2011-12) assists in a freshman campaign.

GUSTAFSON AT THE B1G TOURNAMENT 

• Sophomore Megan Gustafson netted a career-high 27 points against Northwestern at the Big Ten Tournament on March 2. 
• Gustafson’s 27 points moved her season total to 550 points — the most points scored by a sophomore in program history. Former Hawkeye Kristi Faulkner previously held the record with 539 points (2002-03). 
• Gustafson is three rebounds shy of matching Iowa’s program record for rebounds in a sophomore season (300, Cindy Haugejorde, 1977-78). 
• She is nine rebounds away from tying Iowa’s all-time record for rebounds in a single season (306, Amy Herrig, 1998-99). 

DISTERHOFT NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA OF THE YEAR

• For the second consecutive season, senior Ally Disterhoft has been named the CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year for Division I women’s basketball. The announcement was named on March 2 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). 
• Disterhoft is the fifth scholar-athlete to win Academic All-America of the Year for women’s basketball in back-to-back years since its inception in 1987-88 and the second Big Ten athlete to accomplish the feat. She joins Elena Delle Donee, Maya Moore, Karen Jennings, and Michele Flamoe as the only athletes to earn the honor in consecutive seasons. 
• Disterhoft is a three-time Academic All-American. She received first team Academic All-America honors in each of the past two seasons, and was the only sophomore to receive the honor in 2015. 
• The finance and accounting major owns a 4.03 GPA and is one of two student-athletes with a GPA above 4.0 on the Academic All-America team. 

ALL-BIG TEN RECOGNITION 

• Three Hawkeyes — sophomore Megan Gustafson, senior Ally Disterhoft, and freshman Kathleen Doyle — earned All-Big Ten accolades, the league office announced Feb. 27.  
• Gustafson garnered first team recognition from the league coaches and media, Disterhoft notched first team honors from the coaches and second team accolades from the media, and Doyle was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. 
• It marks the sixth time in school history that two or more Hawkeyes earned first team accolades, and the first time since Iowa had three first team selections in 2001 (Cara Consuegra, Lindsey Meder, and Randi Peterson). 
• Doyle is the fourth Hawkeye in the last four years to be named to the All-Freshman Team. Disterhoft earned the honor in 2014, while Gustafson and sophomore Tania Davis were both named to the team in 2016. 
• Gustafson leads the team in scoring (18.3), rebounding (9.9), and field goal percentage (.634). She has scored in double figures in every game this season. Guatafson has paced the team in rebounds in 26-of-30 games and led the Hawkeyes in scoring 16 times.
• Disterhoft, a preseason All-Big Ten selection by league coaches, earned her third straight All-Big Ten honor after being named to the second team in each of the last two seasons. The Iowa City, Iowa, native ranks second on the team in points (16.6) and rebounds (5.4). She’s shooting .515 from the field and .344 from 3-point range in 32.9 minutes per game. 
• Doyle is averaging 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game. She has scored in double figures in 13 games, including nine times in conference action. Doyle leads all league freshmen, averaging 2.0 steals per game. 

HOME SWEET HOME 

• Iowa went 14-3 in games played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena during the regular season. The Hawkeyes were 7-1 in conference action on their home court. 
• Two of Iowa’s three losses at home came to top-5 teams (No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 3 Maryland). 
• Iowa shot .483 from the field and .349 from 3-point range in Carver. In true road contests, Iowa shot .440 from the field and .254 from distance. 
• The Hawkeyes averaged 43.2 rebounds per game in home contests compared to 35.1 rebounds per game on the road. 

APPROACHING HISTORY

• Head coach Lisa Bluder has 696 career wins and is just four away from recording career win No. 700. 
• Bluder is in her 33rd season as a head coach and her 17th at the helm of the Hawkeyes. 
• In her 17 seasons in Iowa City, Bluder — Iowa’s all-time winningest coach — has accumulated 340 wins. 
• The Hawkeyes have advanced to 15 postseasons (12 NCAA and three WNIT) under Bluder’s direction, including NCAA Tournament berths in eight of the last nine seasons. 

INCREASED PRODUCTION

• Sophomore Megan Gustafson has seen a big rise in both offensive and defensive production during her sophomore campaign. 
• After averaging 10.7 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game as a freshman, Gustafson leads the team, averaging 18.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest. 
• Gustafson has registered a double-double in 15-of-30 contests and led the Hawkeyes in rebounds 26 times. 

MISS. 2,000

• With 23 points at Indiana on Feb. 22, senior Ally Disterhoft surpassed the 2,000-point milestone. 
• Disterhoft is just the second Hawkeye in program history to score 2,000 or more points in a career and the first to do so since Cindy Haugejorde in 1980. 
• Disterhoft currently ranks second on Iowa’s all-time scoring chart with 2,040 points. Cindy Haugejorde owns the current record with 2,059. 

GUSTAFSON EARNS 5TH WEEKLY HONOR

• Sophomore Megan Gustafson was named to the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Honor Roll, the conference office announced Feb. 27. It is the sixth weekly honor of Gustafson’s career and her fifth of the season. 
• Gustafson averaged 20.5 points and 16.0 rebounds in a pair of conference games against Indiana and Wisconsin. She shot .667 from the field and registered a pair of double-doubles in 78 minutes of action. 
• On the season, Gustafson is averaging 18.3 points and 9.9 rebounds. She is shooting .634 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, Jan. 2, and Jan. 23. She garnered Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 22, 2016. 

I’LL TAKE THAT, PLEASE

• On Feb. 26, freshman Kathleen Doyle broke the program record for steals in a freshman season. 
• Doyle’s team-high 60 steals bested Johanna Solverson’s record of 57 set in 2002-03. 
• The LaGrange Park, Illinois, native is tied for sixth in the Big Ten Conference, averaging 2.0 steals per game. 
• Doyle’s 2.0 steals per game average is the highest among all Big Ten freshmen. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE

• Sophomore Megan Gustafson registered the 24th double-double of her career against Wisconsin on Feb. 26 (22 points, 14 rebounds). It was her 15th double-double of the season.
• Gustafson is one of 27 NCAA student-athletes to record 15 or more double-doubles this season. 
• Gustafson has led Iowa in boards in 26-of-30 games this season. 
• Gustafson has netted 20 or more points 14 times this year. 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native ranks fifth nationally in field goal percentage (.634), 15th in double-doubles (15), 20th in field goals made (227), 20th in rebounds (291),  29th in rebounds per game (9.9) and defensive rebounds per game (7), and 33rd in rebounds (297). 

SENIOR DAY VICTORY

• The Hawkeyes capped off the regular season with a 71-60 Senior Day win over Wisconsin on Feb. 26. 
• In her last regular season game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, senior Alexa Kastanek came up with a crucial steal that led to a basket by senior Ally Disterhoft to put the Hawkeye ahead for good. Kastanek followed with back-to-back 3-point field goals within a 46 second span to extend Iowa’s lead and give the Hawkeyes momentum. 
• Sophomore Megan Gustafson registered her 15th double-double of the season with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Disterhoft scored 19 points with six rebounds and three blocked shots. 

CAREER-HIGHS IN BLOOMINGTON

• Freshman Kathleen Doyle dished out a career-high eight assists in Iowa’s double-overtime loss at Indiana on Feb. 22. Doyle also tied a career high with four steals. 
• In her first start of the season, senior Alexa Kastanek pulled down a career-best seven rebounds. She also added seven points and a pair of assists. 
• Sophomore Megan Gustafson registered a season-high 18 rebounds against the Hoosiers — just one rebound shy of tying her career high (19, at Minnesota, 2/15/16). 

MEYER, DISTERHOFT GARNER B1G WEEKLY HONORS

• Freshman Makenzie Meyer and senior Ally Disterhoft earned Big Ten weekly accolades, the conference office announced Feb. 13. Meyer was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, while Disterhoft earned Player of the Week Honor Roll plaudits. 
• Meyer shot .700 (7-of-10) from the field and .750 (3-for-4) from 3-point range in a pair of conference contests last week to earn the first Big Ten weekly award of her career. 
• The Mason City, Iowa, native set career highs in points (14), free throws made (12), and free throws attempted (14) in Iowa’s overtime win against Michigan State on Feb. 9. Meyer made 11 of her 14 free throws in the fourth quarter and overtime period to seal the win for the Hawkeyes.
• Three days later, Meyer set her second career high in as many games with 16 points at No. 13 Ohio State. Meyer was 6-of-7 (.857) from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range. 
• Disterhoft averaged 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds last week to earn her fourth Big Ten Honor Roll accolade. She shot .556 (15-of-27) from the field and .625 (5-of-8) from 3-point range in a combined 80 minutes of action. 
• The Iowa City, Iowa, native registered her second double-double of the season with a team-high 25 points and a team-leading 12 rebounds to guide the Hawkeyes to an overtime win against Michigan State. 
• In a road contest at No. 13 Ohio State, Disterhoft scored a team-high 22 points and pulled down seven boards. 

MEYER HAS CAREER DAY… AGAIN

• Freshman Makenzie Meyer netted a then-career-high 14 points in Iowa’s win over Michigan State on Feb. 9. Three days later, Meyer registered her second career high in as many games with 16 points at Ohio State. 
• The Mason City, Iowa, native also set career bests in free throws made (12) and free throws attempted against Michigan State. Eleven of her 12 free throws came in the fourth quarter and overtime period.  
• Meyer was 6-for-7 from the field at No. 13 Ohio State on Feb. 12. She was also a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range. 

DAVIS OUT FOR THE SEASON WITH TORN ACL

• Sophomore guard Tania Davis will miss the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee. The injury occurred in the fourth quarter of Iowa’s Feb. 5 contest at Michigan. 
• Davis, a native of Flint, Michigan, started 23 games this season as Iowa’s point guard, averaging 10.9 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebound, and 30.4 minutes per game. 

IOWA WINS OT THRILLER

• Iowa defeated Michigan State, 87-83, in overtime on Feb. 9 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 
• In Iowa’s first game without starting point guard Tania Davis, five Hawkeyes scored in double figures. Senior Ally Disterhoft led the team with 25 points, while sophomore Megan Gustafson (18), freshmen Makenzie Meyer (14) and Kathleen Doyle (12), and junior Chase Coley (10) also reached double digits.
• Disterhoft registered her second double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds. 
• Disterhoft was 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
• Meyer’s 14 points marked a then-career high. The freshman also registered career highs in free throws made (12) and free throws attempted (14). 
• Iowa made 7-of-16 3-point field goals –its best percentage from distance in 14 games. 

IT WAS FOR FREE, SO WE SAID SURE

• Iowa made a season-high 32 free throws in its overtime win against Michigan State on Feb. 9. The Hawkeyes were 32-of-41 (.780) from the charity stripe. 
• The Hawkeyes netted 20-of-24 (.833) free throws in the fourth quarter and overtime period. Freshman Makenzie Meyer made 11 of Iowa’s 20 free throws during the stretch. 

DYNAMIC DUO

• Sophomore Megan Gustafson has scored in double figures in every game this season, while senior Ally Disterhoft has netted double digits in 27-of-30 games. 
• Gustafson has netted 20 or more points 14 times this year, while Disterhoft has accomplished the feat eight times. Both Hawkeyes have scored 20 or more points in games against Oral Roberts, James Madison, Drake, and Rutgers. 
• Together, the pair averages 34.9 points per game.

DOYLE HAS CAREER DAY

• Freshman Kathleen Doyle set career highs in points (21), field goals made (8), and 3-point field goals made (3) against Maryland on Jan. 29. 
• Doyle also registered a team-high three steals and dished out five assists in the contest. 
• In 16 conference games this season, Doyle is averaging 10.1 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. 

MOVIN’ ON UP 

• Senior Ally Disterhoft now ranks second on Iowa’s all-time career scoring list. 
• Disterhoft has 2,040 career points and is 19 points from tying Iowa’s all-time scoring record of 2,059 set by Cindy Haugejorde (1976-80). 
• Disterhoft also ranks eighth all-time in 3-point field goals (159), 11th in rebounds (772), and 12th in career blocks (72). 

UNSELFISH BASKETBALL 

• The Hawkeyes rank third in the Big Ten and 13th nationally in assists per game (17.4).   
• Iowa also ranks fourth in the conference and 20th in the NCAA in total assists (523).
• Eight Hawkeyes have dished out 20 or more assists on the season. Freshman Kathleen Doyle leads the team with 125. She is joined by sophomore Tania Davis (98), senior Ally Disterhoft (78), freshman Makenzie Meyer (53), junior Chase Coley (41), senior Alexa Kastanek (40), freshman Bre Cera (33), and sophomore Megan Gustafson (20).
• Doyle dished out a career-high eight assists at Indiana on Feb. 22.  

FAST FACTS 

• Iowa is ranked 12th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting .467 on the season. 
• Sophomore Megan Gustafson is one of 27 student-athletes to record 14 or more double-doubles on the season. 
• The Hawkeyes rank 16th nationally in total attendance (77,888) and 18th in attendance average (4,582). Iowa’s largest crowd of the season (7,191) came against Minnesota on Jan. 21. 

IN THE POLLS

• Two Big Ten teams are included in the March 13 Associated Press Top 25. They include: No. 4 Maryland, No. 11 Ohio State. Purdue is receiving five votes. 
• Maryland (No. 2), Ohio State (No. 12), and Michigan (No. 20) are also included in the week 15 USA TODAY Coaches Poll (Feb. 14). Northwestern (4) and Northwestern (1) are receiving votes. 

HISTORICALLY GOOD DEFENSE

• Iowa currently ranks second in the Big Ten Conference in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.299). 
• 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. 

CALL ON ME

• Senior Ally Disterhoft has netted double figures in 105 of her 114 career starts, including 60 of her last 63 games. 
• The Iowa City, Iowa, native has started 114 consecutive games and appeared in every game of her Hawkeye career (132). 
• Disterhoft has 2,040 career points and is 19 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 eight games this season. 

AROUND THE NATION

• Iowa is ranked 12th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting .467 on the season. 
• The Hawkeyes rank 13th nationally, averaging 17.4 assists per game. 
• Iowa’s 523 total assists rank 20th nationally. 
• The Hawkeyes also rank 23rd in defensive rebounds per game (28) and scoring offense (75.6).
• ranks fifth nationally in field goal percentage (.634), 15th in double-doubles (15), 20th in field goals made (227), 20th in rebounds (291),  29th in rebounds per game (9.9) and defensive rebounds per game (7), and 33rd in rebounds (297). 

HAWKEYES CONTINUE POSTSEASON STREAK

• Iowa has made 10 straight postseason appearances (8 NCAA, 2 WNIT) with an at-large bid to the WNIT this season.
• Iowa was one of four Big Ten Conference teams (Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Penn State) to be included in the WNIT field. 

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 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). 

THE BLUDER FILE

• Head coach Lisa Bluder is in her 17th season at the helm of the Iowa women’s basketball program this season. She owns a 340-201 (.630) overall record and a 168-114 Big Ten record at Iowa. In her 32 seasons as a head coach, Bluder is 696-343 (.670).
• 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 (168) 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 168 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. 

WITH A WIN
With a win against Missouri State, the Hawkeyes would advance to play the winner of South Dakota and North Dakota. Day, time, and location will be annouced at a later date.