Iowa, UNI Meet Sunday in Carver-Hawkeye Arena

Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Hawk Talk Monthly — December | Hawk Talk Daily links | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch – 2018-19 | Game Notes (PDF)

THIS WEEK 

The 15th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team hosts Northern Iowa on Sunday, Dec. 16. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. (CT) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for youth, and free for UI students. 

WATCH/FOLLOW ALONG 

• Sunday’s contest can be streamed on BTN Plus. Links to the broadcast are available on the women’s basketball schedule page on hawkeyesports.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.

NATIONAL RANKINGS 

• Iowa is ranked No. 16 in this week’s AP Poll and 15th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. 
• The Hawkeyes are one of six conference teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the Coaches Poll. No. 6 Maryland, No. 16 Minnesota, and No. 22 Michigan State are also ranked within the top-25, while Indiana (6) and Michigan (2) are receiving votes. 
• Iowa is one of five conference teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the AP Poll. They include: No. 6 Maryland, No. 13 Minnesota, No. 23 Michigan State, and Indiana (12 votes). 

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• The Hawkeyes face four nonconference teams who made the 2018 NCAA Tournament, including Drake, Western Kentucky, Florida State, and defending National Champions Notre Dame. 
• Six Big Ten teams — Ohio State, Maryland, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and Minnesota — made the 2018 NCAA Tournament. 

APPROACHING HISTORY 

• Senior Megan Gustafson’s 2,022 career points rank third all-time at Iowa. 
• Gustafson needs 38 points to surpass Cindy Haugejorde (2,059) for second all time. 
• The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native needs 81 points to become Iowa’s all-time leading scorer. Ally Disterhoft set the current scoring record of 2,102 in 2017. 

SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA 

• Northern Iowa is 5-3 on the season with wins over Delaware, Creighton, Long Beach State, IUPUI, and North Dakota. 
• The Panthers have won four of their last five contests, including two straight. 
• UNI played its last contest on Dec. 4 — a 64-60 win over North Dakota. 
• Sophomore guard Karli Rucker leads UNI with 15.6 points per game. Redshirt senior guard Ellie Howell is second with 12.0 points per game. 
• UNI’s leading rebounder — Megan Maahs — will miss the remainder of the season with an injury. Howell is second on the team in rebounding with 4.6 per game.
• As a team, the Panthers are averaging 64.0 points per game and holding opponents to 64.9. 

THE SERIES 

• Iowa leads the all-time series, 21-2. 
• The Hawkeyes have won the last 11 contests dating back to 2007. 
• Last season, Iowa defeated UNI, 71-47, at the McLeod Center. Senior Megan Gustafson led the Hawkeyes with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Alexis Sevillian added 11 points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range. 

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN 

• Iowa defeated IUPUI, 72-58, to improve to 7-2 on the season on Dec. 8. 
• Senior Megan Gustafson paced Iowa with 32 points (12-for-17) and 10 rebounds. Senior Hannah Stewart also scored in double figures with 10 points. 
• Gustafson scored 16 of her 32 points in the fourth quarter. She was 4-for-5 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free throw line over the final 10 minutes. 
• Iowa’s post players accounted for 42 of Iowa’s 72 points. 
• The Hawkeyes registered a season-high 13 steals. Senior Tania Davis and junior Kathleen Doyle led the team with four apiece. 

GUESS WHO’S BACK? 

• Junior Kathleen Doyle returned to the court on Dec. 5 after missing seven games with a pair of broken bones in her left (non-shooting) hand. 
• Doyle scored a game-high 22 points off the bench for the Hawkeyes. She was 7-for-17 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. 
• The LaGrange Park, Illinois, native also registered two steals, an assist, and made a pair of 3-pointers in the contest. 
• The Preseason All-Big Ten selection averaged 11.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 3.6 rebounds in 30 games last season. She ranked 12th nationally in assists per game, and led the Big Ten with 7.5 assists per game in conference action. 

MS. 2,000 

• Senior Megan Gustafson became just the third Hawkeye in program history to score 2,000 career points. 
• Gustafson is just the seventh Big Ten student-athlete to register 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career, joining Illinois’ Jenna Smith (2007-10), Minnesota’s Laura Coenen (1982-85), Nebraska’s Jordan Hooper (2011-14), Northwestern’s Nia Coffey (2014-17), and Ohio State’s Jessica Davenport (2004-07) and Jantel Lavender (2008-11).
• Gustafson needs 81 points to break Ally Disterhoft’s all-time career scoring mark of 2,102 set in 2017.  

REBOUNDING RECORD FALLS

• Senior Megan Gustafson broke Iowa’s program record for career rebounds with 4:27 left in the first quarter against Iowa State on Dec. 5.
• Gustafson has 1,090 rebounds in her career. She bested the previous record of 1,067 set by Cindy Haugejorde in 1980. Gustafson registered her 1,000th career rebound at Western Kentucky (11/13). 

IT’S A HAWKEYE STATE 

• Senior Tania Davis’s step-back 3-pointer with 2.6 second remaining in regulation gave Iowa a 73-70 win over Iowa State in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 5. 
• Three Hawkeyes scored in double figures. They include Kathleen Doyle (22), Hannah Stewart (14), and Megan Gustafson (13). 
• Gustafson led the team on the boards, collecting 16 rebounds. She broke the school record for rebounds in a career with 4:27 remaining in the first quarter. She now has 1,090 career boards. 
• The Hawkeyes were a perfect 15-for-15 from the free throw line. It marked Iowa’s first perfect free throw shooting performance since going 15-for-15 against NIU on Nov. 15, 2017. 

IT WAS FOR FREE! SO I SAID “SURE”

• The Hawkeyes are shooting 82.3 percent from the free throw line this season — a mark that ranks first in the Big Ten Conference and third nationally. 
• Iowa was a perfect 15-for-15 from the free throw line against Iowa State on Dec. 5. Junior Kathleen Doyle (6-for-6), senior Megan Gustafson (5-for-5), junior Makenzie Meyer (2-for-2), and redshirt sophomore Alexis Sevillian (2-for-2) all made free throws in the contest. 
• Davis made a career-high 13-of-14 free throws in Iowa’s 24-point comeback win against No. 25/20 West Virginia on Nov. 24. 
• The Hawkeyes made 27 free throws in 32 attempts (84.4 percent) against the Mountaineers. 

THE B1G DUO 

• Seniors Hannah Stewart and Megan Gustafson have dominated down low for the Hawkeyes this season. 
• Stewart and Gustafson are scoring a combined 37.6 points per game and averaging 19.1 rebounds per contest. 
• The duo has 338 points, 172 rebounds, 40 assists, and 22 blocks. They are shooting a combined 698percent (145-for-212) from the field. 

SHARING IS CARING 

• Through nine games this season, the Hawkeyes are averaging 22.4 assists per contest — the second-best mark in the NCAA. 
• Six Hawkeyes have dished out 13 or more assists this season. Junior Makenzie Meyer leads the team with 44 (4.9 per game). 
• The Hawkeyes set new school assist records in back-to-back games against Western Kentucky and North Carolina Central. 
• Iowa dished out 34 assists against Western Kentucky on Nov. 13, before besting that mark with 36 against North Carolina Central on Nov. 17. 

HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE 

• Through nine games this season, Iowa is averaging 84.3 points per game, a mark that ranks second in the Big Ten and 15th nationally. 
• Iowa’s 52.2 field goal percentage ranks third in the NCAA. 
• Iowa scored 106 points in its win over North Carolina Central on Nov. 17. It marked the second-highest point total in program history. 
• Iowa’s 67-point margin of victory (106-39) against North Carolina Central marked the largest scoring margin for the Hawkeyes since 1992-93. 
• Five Hawkeyes are averaging double figures in scoring. Senior Megan Gustafson leads the team with 24.3 points per game. Juniors Kathleen Doyle (14.0), senior Hannah Stewart (13.2), junior Makenzie Meyer (12.2), and senior Tania Davis (11.2) are also averaging double figures. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE

• Megan Gustafson recorded her 63rd career double-double with 32 points and 10 rebounds against IUPUI on Dec. 8. It marked her eighth double-double of the season. 
• 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 40 of her last 48 games. 

STEWART COMES UP B1G

• Senior Hannah Stewart has started all nine games for the Hawkeyes this season — the first nine starts of her career. 
• Stewart is averaging 13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. 
• The Minot, North Dakota, native has scored 12 or more points in eight of Iowa’s nine games this season. 

SHE’S ON A ROLL

• Senior Megan Gustafson has been honored by the conference in each of the first five weeks of the season. She has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week four times and was named to the Player of the Week Honor Roll once. 
• She has 14th Player of the Week awards in her career. 
• Gustafson averaged 22.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, and shot 66.7 percent from the field in a pair of Iowa wins last week. 
• She registered 13 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocks in Iowa’s win over Iowa State on Dec. 5. The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native made history with 4:27 left in the first quarter, breaking the school record with her 1,068th career rebound. She bested the previous record of 1,067 set by Cindy Haugejorde in 1980.
• On Dec. 8, Gustafson tied a season high with 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting (70.1 percent) from the field in Iowa’s win over IUPUI. She grabbed 10 rebounds to record the 64th double-double of her career. 
• Gustafson also became the third Hawkeye in program history to reach 2,000 career points. She is the seventh Big Ten student-athlete to register 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career.
• Gustafson broke a Big Ten single-season record last year, winning nine Player of the Week honors. She was also named to the conference’s honor roll six times. 

TANIA DAVIS: THE RETURN

• Senior Tania Davis returned to the starting lineup in Iowa’s season opener for the first time since Dec. 17, 2017. 
• Through nine games this season, Davis is averaging 11.2 points and 4.3 assists. 
• With 2.6 seconds remaining, Davis hit a game-winning 3-pointer to give Iowa a 73-70 victory over Iowa State on Dec. 5. She ended the game with nine points, three assists, and two steals. 
• Davis averaged 9.7 points and 5.2 assists in 12 games before tearing her ACL in 2017-18.  
• 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. 

SENIOR CLASS AWARD

• Senior Megan Gustafson was named 1-of-30 finalists for the Senior Class Award. 
• To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. 
• The candidates will be narrowed to 10 in February. Those names will go on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans. 

ALL EYES ON GUSTAFSON

• Senior All-American Megan Gustafson was named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top-30 Watch List, ESPN’s SportsCenter and ESPNW announced Nov. 6. 
• 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.
• Gustafson was 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.

UP NEXT 

Iowa travels to Des Moines, Iowa, on Dec. 21 for an in-state matchup with Drake. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (CT). It is Iowa’s final nonconference game of the season.