For the first time in her career, Hawkeye freshman standout Megan Gustafson has earned conference honors, the Big Ten announced Monday.

The 6-3 forward from Port Wing, Wisconsin, was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after averaging 14 points and 10.7 rebounds against Minnesota, Purdue, and Indiana last week, pushing Iowa to a 2-1 record.

This is the first Freshman of the Week honor for an Iowa player since Samantha Logic earned the award in February 2012.

Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder had high praise for the freshman after the award was announced Monday.

“I’m really happy for [Megan]. She’s worked so hard ever since she’s arrived on campus. She’s been so productive in the last nine games she’s been in the starting lineup,” Bluder said. “She’s putting up some pretty impressive numbers. I’m really happy to see everyone else recognizing the effort and significant impact she’s had on this team.”

After coming off the bench to begin the season, Gustafson has started the last nine games for the Hawkeyes. On the season, she averages 9.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in slightly fewer than 21 minutes.

Gustafson hasn’t just been an offensive force for the Hawkeyes this season. She’s been quite the rim-protector, leading all Big Ten freshman with 50 blocks. That mark is good enough for third-place in school history among freshmen.

The Hawkeyes also announced that senior forward Claire Till underwent knee surgery Monday, effectively ending her career at Iowa. Over the course of her career, Till appeared in 95 games, averaging 1.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest.

— by Jake Mosbach