Iowa Opens 2019-20 Season Thursday

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team opens the 2019-20 season on Thursday, hosting Florida Atlantic. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $12 for adults and free for youth (18 & younger) and UI students.
 
WATCH/FOLLOW ALONG

• The game will be streamed live on BTN+. To see if your cable package gives you access to BTN Plus content, sign up for BTN Plus, or learn more about it, visit btnplus.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 fourth year as the play-by-play announcer for the Iowa women’s basketball team. He has been Iowa football’s sideline reporter since 2004. He has called seven different Iowa sports on radio or television.
• Lang is in her fourth 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.

 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• Iowa will face 10 2019 NCAA Tournament teams this season, including nonconference opponents Princeton, Towson, Clemson, Iowa State, and Drake, and conference opponents Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, and Rutgers.

 
NATIONAL RANKINGS

• The Hawkeyes received eight votes in the preseason AP Poll and 75 votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
• The Hawkeyes are one of eight conference teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the preseason AP Poll. No. 4 Maryland, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 23 Minnesota, No. 24 Indiana are ranked in the top-25, while Minnesota (38 votes), Nebraska (13 votes), and Michigan (9 votes) are receiving votes.

 
SCOUTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC

• Florida Atlantic finished the 2018-19 season with a 5-25 overall record with eight true freshmen, tying the most in the nation.
• The Owls return statistical leaders and sophomores Juliette Gauthier, Abby Voss, and Glenisha Harkless. Gauthier was the leading scorer last season, averaging 11.2 points per game, Voss led the team in rebounds per game (5.9), and Harkless totaled 56 assists.
• In their exhibition against Nova Southeastern, three Owls scored in double digits, including graduate transfer Crystal Primm (23), freshman Lotta Vehka-Aho (21), and Juliette Gauthier (18).
• Head coach Jim Jabir is in his third season at the helm with his 2019-20 squad being comprised of six returners and 11 newcomers.

 
FLORIDA ATLANTIC — THE SERIES

• Iowa owns a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series.
• The teams last met at a neutral cite during the 1994-95 season. Iowa won 67-42.

 
SEASON OPENERS

• Iowa is 35-10 all-time in season openers.
• The Hawkeyes are 19-0 in season openers under head coach Lisa Bluder.
• Iowa defeated Oral Roberts, 90-77, in its season opener at Carver-Hawkeye Arena last season.

 
HAWKEYE CRUISE TO EXHIBITION WIN

• Iowa defeated Winona State, 98-53, in an exhibition on Sunday afternoon in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• Three Hawkeyes scored in double figures. They include: Monika Czinano (27), Kathleen Doyle (20), and Gabbie Marshall (10).
• Sophomore Monika Czinano went 13 for 13 from the field.
• The Hawkeyes tallied 23 assists on 39 field goals. Makenzie Meyer led the team with eight, while Kathleen Doyle added five.

 
PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN

• Senior Kathleen Doyle earned unanimous preseason All-Big Ten recognition, the conference office announced Oct. 21.
• Doyle, a 2018-19 first team All-Big Ten selection (coaches), earns the second preseason honor of her career. The LaGrange Park, Illinois, native finished last season ranked 15th nationally in assists per game (5.9) and tied for 31st in total assists (170). The senior led the Big Ten with 6.3 assists per game in conference action last season. She scored in double figures 20 times in 29 games, and dished out five or more assists on 21 occasions.

 
2018-19 RECAP

• The Hawkeyes won their first Big Ten Tournament Title since 2001 and advanced to their first Elite Eight since 1993.
• Iowa tied the highest win total in program history (29 wins, 1987-88).
• The Hawkeyes went undefeated in Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the first time since 2014-15 (18-0).
• Last season, Iowa registered seven wins over ranked opponents (No. 20 West Virginia, No. 20 Minnesota, No. 14 Rutgers, No. 21 Michigan State, No. 7 Maryland, No. 8 Maryland, and No. 10 NC State).
• The Hawkeyes set the Big Ten record for assists in a single-season with 775 assists, crushing the previous record of 694 set by Maryland in 2016-17.
• Iowa set a Big Ten record with 392 assists in conference play, topping Ohio State’s mark of 356 set in 1984-85.
• The Hawkeyes averaged 21.8 assists per game during Big Ten contests, passing Iowa’s own Big Ten record of 20.8 assists per game during the 2000-01 season.
• Iowa set new school assists records in back-to-back games, dishing out 34 assists against Western Kentucky (Nov. 13), before besting that mark with 36 against N.C. Central (Nov. 17).
• The Hawkeyes finished the 2018-19 season with a 29-7 overall record.
• Iowa registered its 13th upper division finish in conference, placing second.
• Iowa has advanced to the postseason in 12 consecutive seasons (10 NCAA and two WNIT).
• The Hawkeyes finished the 2018-19 season ranked first nationally in field goal percentage (51.5), second in assists per game (21.5), third in total assists (775), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.55), 12th in free throw percentage (77.3), 13th in fewest fouls per game (13.6), and 14th in scoring offense (78.4).

 
ROSTER AT A GLANCE

• The Hawkeyes return nine letterwinners, including two starters in All-Big Ten selection Kathleen Doyle and Makenzie Meyer. Alexis Sevillian made 12 starts last season.
• Doyle led the team last season in assists, averaging 5.9 per game – a mark that led the Big Ten and ranked 15th nationally. She also led in steals, averaging 2.3 per contest – the second-best mark in the Big Ten. She ranked third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.0 points per game.
• Meyer led the team with 62 3-pointers made and recorded 143 assists.
• Guard Megan Meyer enters her freshman season after averaging 24.9 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists as a senior. Meyer is a four-time all-state honoree and two-time Globe Gazette Player of the Year (2017, 2018).
• Guard/forward McKenna Warnock joins the squad from Monona Grove where she was the all-time leading scorer (boys and girls) and all-time leading rebounder.
• Guard Gabbie Marshall enters her first year after leading Mount Notre Dame to a 2019 Ohio State Championship title, recording 73 steals and shooting 42.6  percent from 3-point range.
• Edwardsville, Illinois, native, Kate Martin will make her debut after redshirting last season with a knee injury. The first-team all-state honoree averaged 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.1 steals per game as a senior.

 
GUARDS ON DUTY

• The Hawkeyes are experienced at the guard position, returning seniors Kathleen Doyle, Makenzie Meyer, and junior Alexis Sevillian.
• Together, the trio accounted for 131 of Iowa’s 201 3-pointers made (65 percent) and collectively averaged 78.9 percent from the free-throw line last season.

 
MEET THE CAPTAINS

• For the third consecutive year, senior Kathleen Doyle has been named captain by her teammates along with senior Makenzie Meyer and junior Alexis Sevillian.
• Doyle, a first team All-Big Ten selection, returns for her senior season after leading the Big Ten with 6.3 assists per game in conference play.

 
RECORD WATCH

• Head coach Lisa Bluder is four wins away from the 400-win mark at Iowa.
• Senior Kathleen Doyle is seven points from 1,000 career points (993) and 59 assists from ranking second all-time at Iowa. Doyle has 517 total assists.

 
UP NEXT
Iowa opens its 2019-20 slate hosting Florida Atlantic on Thursday, Nov. 7. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.