WBB Opens 2018-19 Season Friday

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THIS WEEK 

The 13th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team opens the 2018-19 slate on Friday, hosting Oral Roberts. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $12 for adults. Admission is free to youth (18 & younger) and UI students. 

WATCH/FOLLOW ALONG 

• The game 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 women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com. 

AUDIO COVERAGE

• Rob Brooks and Jamie Cavey Lang will call the action on the Hawkeye Radio Network. A link to the broadcast is available on the women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.
• Brooks is in his third 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 is in her third 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.

MILITARY APPRECIATION

• Friday is Military Appreciation Night. All military service members and veterans recieve free admission and a special rate for family and friends. 
• To reserve tickets, visit hawkeyesports.com. 

PARKING

• Due to football RV parking in Lot 40, individuals with a WB40 pass will be shifted to Lot 33, the north half of the Dental Lot. ADA parking will also be available in Lot 33. 
• Public parking will be available in Lot 75 North, Lot 43 North, and Lot 65. 

TICKETS 

• Season tickets are still 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.

NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE

• The Hawkeyes will face three nonconference teams who made the 2018 NCAA Tournament, including Drake, Western Kentucky, and defending National Champions Notre Dame. 
• Iowa has a potential fourth match-up against Florida State at the Junkanoo Jam. 

NATIONAL RANKINGS 

• Iowa is ranked No. 13 in the Preseason AP Poll and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. 
• The Hawkeyes are one of five conference teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the preseason AP Poll. No. 9 Maryland is also ranked in the top-25, while Minnesota (38 votes), Nebraska (13 votes), and Michigan (9 votes) are all receiving votes. 
• Iowa is ranked in the preseason for the first time since 2014. The No. 13 position is the team’s highest ranking since Feb. 16, 2016 (13th). 

SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS

• Oral Roberts opened its 2018-19 season with a 74-46 win over Harris-Stowe State on Nov. 6. Sophomore guard Katie Kirkhart led the Golden Eagles, tying a career-high with 13 points. She was 5-for-8 from the field. 
• Senior guard Lakota Beatty and sophomore guard Keni Jo Lippe had 11 points a piece for the Golden Eagles. Senior guard Jordan Gilbert led the team with eight rebounds. 
• Oral Roberts was picked to finish fourth in the Summit League in the conference’s preseason poll. Sophomore Maya Mayberry earned preseason second team all-conference honors. 
• The Golden Eagles played to a 17-13 overall record in 2017-18. Oral Roberts was 7-7 in Summit League action. 
• The Golden Eagles are led by seventh-year head coach Misti Cussen. She owns a 92-93 overall record.

THE SERIES

• Iowa owns a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series. 
• The teams last met in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Nov. 11, 2016. Iowa won, 96-76. Gustafson netted 25 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the contest. 

SEASON OPENERS

• Iowa is 34-10 all-time in season openers. 
• The Hawkeyes are 18-0 in season openers under head coach Lisa Bluder. 
• Iowa defeated Quinnipiac, 83-67, in its season opener at Carver-Hawkeye Arena last season. 

HAWKEYE CRUISE TO EXHIBITION WIN

• Iowa defeated Dakota Wesleyan, 102-54, in an exhibition on Tuesday evening in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 
• Five Hawkeyes scored in double figures. They include: Megan Gustafson (22), Makenzie Meyer (19), Alexis Sevillian (17), Monika Czinano (16), and Hannah Stewart (15). 
• Stewart led the team with 13 rebounds, while Gustafson added 12. 
• Meyer made 5-of-9 shots from behind the arc. She was 6-for-10 from the field. 
• The Hawkeyes tallied 33 assists on 42 field goals. Makenzie Meyer and Alexis Sevillian led the team with eight a piece, while Tania Davis added seven. 

GUSTAFSON TO WOODEN AWARD WATCH LIST

• Senior All-American Megan Gustafson was named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top-30 Watch List, ESPN’s SportsCenter and ESPNW announced Tuesday. 
• The list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Most Outstanding Player Award. The list is chosen by a preseason poll of national women’s college basketball media members.

TANIA DAVIS: THE RETURN

• Senior Tania Davis returned to the starting lineup on Tuesday for the first time since Dec. 17, 2017. 
• Davis averaged 9.7 points and 5.2 assists in 12 games before tearing her ACL last season. 
• The Flint, Michigan, native’s sophomore season was also cut short due to injury. In 23 games in 2016-17, Davis averaged 10.9 points and 4.3 assists. 

IN THE B1G RANKS

• Senior Megan Gustafson leads all Big Ten returners in career points (1,803) and career rebounds (979). 
• Junior Kathleen Doyle ranks third among active Big Ten student-athletes in career assists (347). 
• Senior Tania Davis ranks eighth on the assists list with 271. 

PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN

• Megan Gustafson was named the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, and junior Kathleen Doyle earned Preseason All-Big Ten honors, the conference office announced Oct. 22. 
• As a team, the Hawkeyes were picked to finish second in the Big Ten by the conference’s head coaches and media.
• Gustafson, the 2017-18 Big Ten Player of the Year (media), was a unanimous preseason All-Big Ten selection by the league media and coaches. The All-American led the NCAA in points per game (25.7), field goal percentage (67.1), and field goals made (320) last season. Gustafson became one of only two NCAA women’s basketball players in the last 10 years to average 24 or more points and 12 or more rebounds (Chiney Ogwumike, 2014).
• Doyle, a 2017-18 second team All-Big Ten selection (coaches), earns the first preseason honor of her career. The LaGrange Park, Illinois, native finished last season ranked 12th nationally in assists per game (6.6) and 21st in total assists (199). The junior led the Big Ten with 7.5 assists per game in conference action last season. She scored in double figures 17 times, and dished out six or more assists on 22 occasions.

GUSTAFSON NAMED TO LISA LESLIE AWARD WATCH LIST

• Senior All-American Megan Gustafson has been named to the 2019 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced Oct. 26. 
• Named after the three-time All-American and 1994 National Player of the Year, the annual award in its second year recognizes the top centers in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.

DOYLE SIDELINED WITH LEFT HAND FRACTURE 

• Junior guard Kathleen Doyle suffered a third and fourth metacarpal fracture in her left (non-shooting) hand in practice on Nov. 2. 
• Doyle is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
• A native of LaGrange Park, Illinois, Doyle averaged 11.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in 30 games last season. The Preseason All-Big Ten selection ranked 12th nationally in assists per game. She led the Big Ten with 7.5 assists per game in conference action last season.

2017-18 RECAP 

• The Hawkeyes finished the 2017-18 season with a 24-8 overall record. 
• Iowa registered its 12th upper-division finish in the Big Ten Conference under Bluder.
• Iowa has advanced to the postseason in 11 consecutive seasons (nine NCAA and two WNIT).
• The Hawkeyes finished the 2017-18 season ranked second nationally in defensive rebounds per game (31), third in assists per game (21.4), fifth in field goal percentage (48.9), seventh in total assists (686) and fewest fouls per game (13.2), eighth in fewest fouls (422), and 12th in free throw percentage (77.1).

THE B1G THREE 

• The Hawkeyes are led by seniors Tania Davis, Megan Gustafson, and Hannah Stewart. 
• Together, the trio accounted for 1,174 of Iowa’s 2,518 total points (47 percent) and 594 of Iowa’s 1,351 rebounds (44 percent) last season. 

MEET THE CAPTAINS 

• For the second straight year, senior Hannah Stewart and junior Kathleen Doyle have been named captains by their teammates. 
• Stewart shot a career-best 49.3 percent from the field in her junior campaign. 
• Doyle, a second team All-Big Ten selection, returns for her junior season after leading the Big Ten with 7.5 assists per game in conference play. 

ROSTER AT A GLANCE

• The Hawkeyes return nine letterwinners, including four starters in All-American and 2017 Big Ten Player of the Year Megan Gustafson, Kathleen Doyle, Makenzie Meyer, and Alexis Sevillian. 
• Six of Iowa’s top-seven scorers from last season return. Megan Gustafson led the 2017-18 squad, scoring a NCAA-leading 25.7 points per game. Juniors Kathleen Doyle (11.1) and Makenzie Meyer (10.8), senior Tania Davis (10.8), redshirt sophomore Alexis Sevillian (8.7), and senior Hannah Stewart (7.3) also return for the Hawkeyes. 
• Guard Tomi Taiwo enters her freshman season after leading three different high school teams to sectional championships.
• Guard Kate Martin joins the squad after leading Edwardsville to an Illinois state runner-up finish in 2017. She will redshirt this season with a torn ACL.
• Forward Logan Cook enters her first year after leading Iowa City West to two Class 5A State Semifinal appearances.
• Forward/Center Monika Czinano joins the Hawkeyes after guiding her high school team, Watertown Mayer, to back-to-back Wright County West Championships (2016, 2017).

ALL-AMERICAN MEGAN GUSTAFSON 

• Senior Megan Gustafson was named an All-American by seven different media outlets last season. They include: Sports Illustrated (first team), the Associated Press (second team), USBWA (second team), College Sports Madness (second team), USA Today (second team), ESPNW (third team), and WBCA (honorable mention).
• Gustafson became the fifth Hawkeye in program history to earn Big Ten Player of the Year honors. She is the first Hawkeye to win the award since Tangela Smith in 1998. 
• Gustafson led the nation in points per game (25.7), field goal percentage (67.1), and field goals made (320). 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native finished the year ranked in the top-nine nationally in nine statistical categories. She led the nation in points per game (25.7), field goal percentage (67.1), and field goals made (320), ranked third in double-double (28) and total points (823), fourth in defensive rebounds per game (9), fifth in rebounds per game (12.8), sixth in total rebounds (411), and ninth in free throws made (183).
• Gustafson was one of only two NCAA women’s basketball players in the last 10 years to average 24 or more points and 12 or more rebounds (Chiney Ogwumike, 2014).

RECORD WATCH

• Senior Megan Gustafson has 1,803 career points. She needs 300 points to break Ally Disterhoft’s all-time career scoring mark of 2,102 set in 2017. 
• Gustafson has 979 career rebounds. She needs 89 rebounds to break Cindy Haugejorde’s career rebounding record of 1,067 set in 1980. 
• Gustafson is 21 rebounds shy of career rebound No. 1,000. Only Cindy Haugejorde (1976-80) has surpassed 1,000 career rebounds. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE

• Megan Gustafson has 55 career double-doubles. 
• Gustafson broke the program record (men or women) with her 49th career double-double (25 points, 15 rebounds) against Minnesota on Feb. 4, 2018. Gustafson surpassed former Iowa men’s basketball player Kevin Kunnert’s career total of 48 set in 1971-73. 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native had 28 double-doubles last season — the second most in the NCAA. She has registered a double-double in 33 of her last 40 games. 

UP NEXT 

Iowa travels to Bowling Green, Kentucky, for a matchup with Western Kentucky on Nov. 13. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (CT).