Iowa Hosts Northern Illinois on Wednesday

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THIS WEEK 
The University of Iowa women’s basketball team hosts Northern Illinois on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $12 for adults and free for youth (18 & younger) and UI students.

WATCH/FOLLOW ALONG 

•  Wednesday’s contests 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 both games on Hawkeye All-Access. A link to the broadcast is available on the women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.
• Brooks is in his second 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 enters her second 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.

TICKETS 

• Season tickets are available for purchase. Tickets are $100 for adults, $80 for seniors and UI faculty/staff, and $25 for youth (18 & younger). For more information, visit hawkeyesports.com/tickets. 
• Single-game tickets are also available for purchase. Tickets may be ordered online at hawkeyesports.com/tickets, in person at the UI Athletics Ticket Office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, or by calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS. 

700 CLUB

• Head coach Lisa Bluder collected her 700th victory on Friday, Nov. 10 against Quinnipiac. 
• Bluder is one-of-10 active Division I head coaches with 700 or more victories and one-of-29 women’s coaches to ever accomplish the feat. Bluder is one of 80 coaches (men or women) to with 700 or more contests.
• Bluder is in her 34th season as a head coach and her 18th at the helm of the Hawkeyes.
• In her 18 seasons in Iowa City, Bluder — Iowa’s all-time winningest coach — has accumulated 345 wins.
• Bluder has collected 10 20-win seasons as a Hawkeye.

MS. 1,000

• Junior Megan Gustafson surpassed the 1,000 career point milestone on Saturday, Nov. 11.
• She is the 35th Hawkeye in program history to surpass 1,000 career points.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• Seven of Iowa’s nonconference opponents made the 2017 NCAA Tournament, including Quinnipiac, Western Kentucky, Elon, Florida State, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, and Drake. 
• Three of Iowa’s nonconference opponents are ranked or receiving votes in the AP Top-25 Poll (Nov. 13).They include: No. 17 Florida State, Western Kentucky (24 votes), and Drake (5). 
• Iowa received four votes in this week’s poll. 

SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS

• Northern Illinois played to a 21-12 overall record and a 12-6 mark in the Mid-American Conference in 2016-17.
• The Huskies earned an invite to the WNIT last season, marking their first postseason berth since 1995. NIU fell to South Dakota State, 94-84, in the opening round in Brookings, South Dakota.
• NIU advanced to the MAC Tournament Championship — its best conference tournament performance in two decades — last season.
• Northern Illinois returns three starters — Kelly Smith, Mikayla Voight and Courtney Woods — all of whom averaged double figures in scoring last season.
• Woods is NIU’s returning leading scorer. She averaged 16.6 points per game, while Voight averaged 11.5 and Smith scored 10.7. Smith led the Huskies in rebounds with 6.3 boards per game.
• The Huskies opened the 2017-18 season with a 93-64 win at Eastern Illinois. Four Huskies finished in double figures. Kelly Smith led the way with a career-high 26 points. She connected on 11-of-15 field goals and dished out four assists.

SEASON OPENING WIN

• Iowa outscored Quinnipiac, 28-13, in the fourth quarter to win its season opener, 83-67, on Nov. 10 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• The Hawkeyes were 15-17 from the free throw line in the second half after getting to the line just two times in the first half.
• Iowa held a 50-29 rebounding advantage, led by Gustafson’s 15 and a career-high nine from Kathleen Doyle.
• Hannah Stewart led the Hawkeyes with a career-best five assists.

HAWKEYES WIN OVERTIME THRILLER

• The Hawkeyes battled back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Western Kentucky, 104-97, on Nov. 11.
• Down by five with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter, Makenzie Meyer knocked down a three to bring Iowa within two. After a defensive stop, Gustafson grabbed the rebound and drew a foul. Gustafson, who finished the day 7-7 from the charity stripe, knocked down both shots to tie the game at 93.
• Gustafson scored six of Iowa’s 11 points in the overtime period to lead the Hawkeyes to the Hawkeye Challenge Tournament title.
• Iowa’s three starting guards — Tania Davis, Kathleen Doyle, and Makenzie Meyer — combined for 23 of Iowa’s 28 assists.
• The Hawkeyes shot 92 percent (23-of-25) from the free throw line.

HAWKEYE CHALLENGE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

• Junior Megan Gustafson was named the Hawkeye Challenge Most Valuable Player, while sophomore Kathleen Doyle was named to the all-tournament team. 
• Gustafson averaged 25.5 points and 16.0 rebounds and shot .677 from the field to take home MVP honors. 
• Doyle averaged 16.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. She shot .579 from the field and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. 

GUSTAFSON NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK 

• Junior Megan Gustafson was named Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, the conference office announced Nov. 13.
• Gustafson averaged 25.5 points and 16.0 rebounds and shot 67.7 percent from the field in a pair of season-opening wins over Quinnipiac and Western Kentucky last weekend. 
• It marked the seventh weekly honor of Gustafson’s career. 

LOCKED IN AT THE LINE

• Iowa leads the Big Ten Conference and ranks fourth in the nation in free throw percentage (90.9). 
• The Hawkeyes made 17-of-19 (89.5 percent) from the line against Quinnipiac, including 10-of-11 in the fourth quarter. 
• Iowa shot 92.0 percent from the line against Western Kentucky. The Hawkeyes were a perfect 8-for-8 in the fourth quarter and overtime period.

FOURTH QUARTER DOMINANCE 

• Junior Megan Gustafson is averaging 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the fourth quarter this season. 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native registered five points and seven of her 16 rebounds in the final frame to lead the Hawkeyes past Quinnipiac. 
• Gustafson netted 12 points and six rebounds to help the Hawkeyes overcome a fourth-quarter deficit against Western Kentucky. 

MEYER BOUNCES BACK

• After going 0-for-3 from 3-point range against Quinnipiac on Nov. 10, sophomore Mackenzie Meyer knocked down 50 percent of her 3-point field goal attempts against Western Kentucky on Nov. 11. 
• Meyer’s four 3-pointers made matched a career high. She also dished out a career-high seven assists in the contest. 

SHARING IS CARING 

• Iowa ranks second in the conference and 13th in the nation in assists (44). 
• The Hawkeyes recorded assists on 28-of-35 field goals against Western Kentucky on Nov. 11. 
• Iowa’s three starting guards — Kathleen Doyle (7), Tania Davis (8), and Makenzie Meyer (7) — accounted for 23 of Iowa’s 28 total assists against the Hilltoppers. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE

• Junior Megan Gustafson has 29 double-doubles in her Hawkeye career, including double-doubles in seven of her last 10 games. 
• Last season, Gustafson broke a program record with 18 double doubles on the season. 
• Gustafson led Iowa in rebounds in 30-of-34 games last season. 
• Gustafson netted 20-or-more points 15 times in her sophomore campaign. 

HOME SWEET HOME 

• Iowa was 17-4 in games played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena last season. The Hawkeyes were 14-3 in games played in the regular season and 7-1 in non-conference action on their home court. 
• Two of Iowa’s four losses at home came to top-five teams (No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 3 Maryland). 
• Iowa shot .486 from the field and .338 from 3-point range in Carver. In true road contests, Iowa shot .440 from the field and .254 from distance. 

HAWKEYES ROLL TO EXHIBITION WIN

• Iowa defeated Minnesota State-Moorhead, 85-56, in an exhibition contest on Nov. 5 evening in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 
• Junior Megan Gustafson led the team with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. 
• Junior Tania Davis scored 12 points, sophomore Kathleen Doyle had 10, and senior Chase Coley, sophomore Makenzie Meyer, redshirt freshman Alexis Sevillian, and junior Hannah Stewart scored eight. 
• Coley and sophomore Amanda Ollinger each registered a team-high 10 rebounds. 

TANIA DAVIS — THE RETURN

• Junior point guard Tania Davis returned to the Iowa lineup on Nov. 10 after suffering a season-ending knee injury at Michigan on Feb. 5, 2017. 
• In 23 games last season, Davis averaged 10.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. 
• Davis averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 assists and shot 56.6 (5-9) from 3-point range last weekend.

EXPERIENCED SOPHOMORES 

• Iowa’s sophomore class of Kathleen Doyle, Makenzie Meyer, and Amanda Ollinger combined for 89 games played and 52 starts last season. 
• The class accounted for a combined 38 percent of Iowa’s total steals (88/231), 37 percent of Iowa’s assists (221/600), and 22 percent of Iowa’s total points (565/2588).  

GUSTAFSON EARNS PRESEASON HONOR 
Junior Megan Gustafson was named Preseason All-Big Ten by league coaches and media, the conference office announced Oct. 23. The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native was a first team All-Big Ten selection (league coaches and media) in 2016. She was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2015.  

600-POINT CLUB

• Gustafson became just the fourth Hawkeye in program history to score over 600 points in a single season and the first to do so since 1990. She netted 628 points in her sophomore campaign. 
• Gustafson joins Cindy Haugejorde (672; 79-80), Michelle Edwards (621; 87-88), and Franthea Price (614; 89-90) as the only Hawkeyes to break the 600-point mark in a single season. 

SINGLE-SEASON RECORD HOLDER

• Sophomore Megan Gustafson became Iowa’s single-season rebounding record holder with 10 boards against Missouri State on March 16. 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native surpassed former Hawkeye Amy Herrig’s record of 306 (1998-99). Gustafson recorded 343 rebounds on the season. 
• Gustafson tallied a team-high 628 points on the year — the most points by a sophomore in program history. 

DOYLE SUCCESSFUL FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN

• Kathleen Doyle was named to the Big Ten All-Freshmen Team last season. 
• The LaGrange Park, Illinois, native averaged 9.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per game in her freshman campaign. 
• Doyle’s 148 assists on the season broke a program record for assists in a freshman campaign. She bested Sam Logic’s previous record of 136 set in 2012.
• Doyle broke the record for steals in a freshman season, tallying 71 to best the previous record of 57 set by Johanna Solverson in 2003.
• Doyle’s 70.1 free throw percentage and 2.1 steals per game led all Big Ten freshmen last season.

QUICK FACTS 

• Iowa finished the 2016-17 season with a 20-14 overall record and an 8-8 mark in conference action. 
• The Hawkeyes made their 10th consecutive postseason appearance last season (8 NCAA, 2 WNIT), earning an at-large bid to the WNIT. 
• Iowa has made a postseason tournament appearance in 16 of head coach Lisa Bluder’s 17 seasons at the helm of the program, receiving 12 NCAA Tournament and four WNIT (2003, 2005, 2016, 2017) bids. 
• The Hawkeyes recorded their 10th 20-win season under head coach Lisa Bluder last season. 
• Iowa returns nine letterwinners, including starters Megan Gustafson, Tania Davis, Kathleen Doyle, and Makenzie Meyer. 

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 host Western Michigan on Sunday, Nov. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. (CT) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.