Iowa women’s basketball will try to pick up where it left off with new additions.
By Mario Williams | [email protected]
The Iowa women’s basketball team is entering this season with many doubters and perhaps even some haters. The team lost its one of the best trios in Big Ten history: Melissa Dixon, Bethany Doolittle, and Sam Logic.
While those players will certainly be missed, the Hawkeyes want to continue where they left off. It will be a challenge to prove everyone wrong, especially with its No. 23 ranking in the USA Today poll, but this team is hungry.
The only question facing the team right is, will that offense still be as good?
While the trio left, the team also welcomes back a number of players who saw lots of playing time, including junior Ally Disterhoft and sophomore Whitney Jennings. Both played in the starting lineup last season, and their hard work on the court couldn’t have been unnoticed.
“The faces have changed in the program,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “But the culture remains the same.”
Aside from its returning players, Iowa will also welcome four freshmen, two of whom could potentially see a lot of playing time, Tania Davis, and Megan Gustafson.
Many fans have probably heard their names on several occasions, because they’re fighting and pushing for the minutes of playing time that are up for grabs.
“They just look like they belong,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. “They don’t look like they’re questioning whether they belong in an Iowa uniform; they know they belong, and you have to have that confidence coming in here, and both of them do.”
The freshman effect this season will be imperative, and many players on the squad are waiting for some to break through.
The wait will be over soon, because with what these two have experienced in high school, they may be ready for the big challenge that’s headed their way.
Both freshmen competed in their respective states’ tournaments, and Bluder called them “proven winners.”
The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan named Davis Michigan’s Miss Basketball last season, and she was also a five-star recruit. In addition to this, she is her high school’s all-time leader in scoring and assists. She averaged 18.9 points and 6.3 assists, and there’s no denying she can make the transition to college ball. She may be seen playing with Jennings as well.
Gustafson was recognized as the all-time leading scorer in Wisconsin history, notching more than 2,000 points. She’s left-handed in the post and could add a different feel for the Hawks.
These two freshmen may spark the team, something it’ll need with the absence of its long-gone seniors.
As a co-captain, Disterhoft says it is impressing that the young Hawks are eager to learn about Iowa’s offense.
“They’re already invested in the team and being a Hawk,” she said. “If they keep working hard, they’re going to get a lot of playing time just because their class is extremely talented.”
Davis devotes her time to stick with one of the many characteristics of Iowa basketball: unselfishness.
As a freshman, she’d like to finish off where Logic left when it comes to being a vocal leader this season.
“I want to be able to put my teammates in positions where they’ll be great and successful,” Davis said. “Things are going to be tough, but I’m ready for the challenge.”