By Michael McCurdy
For the Iowa women’s basketball team, handling youth and inexperience has been the biggest theme so far this season. With four sophomores returning and five incoming freshmen, many fans were unsure what direction the team was going to take.
Arguably the most prominent story for the Hawkeyes before opening day was who out of the three highly recruited incoming freshman guards, which one would emerge to be the “X” factor.
After 21 games, freshman Bre Cera, who started earlier in the season, now comes off the bench, where she appears to be more comfortable creating a spark of energy on the defensive end.
For the majority of nonconference play, freshman Makenzie Meyer came off the bench, not yet ready to handle the intensity and physicality of Division-1 basketball. Now, Meyer starts the game out at center court, filling the sharpshooter void the Hawkeyes desperately need to compete in the Big Ten.
Of the three freshman guards, however, Kathleen Doyle has made the biggest impact so far. Early in nonconference play, it was clear what separated her from the rest of the freshmen — fearlessness and aggression. She doesn’t seem to be afraid of failing, a characteristic not found in most freshman college basketball players.
“I am more comfortable getting the experience,” Doyle said. “The flow of the college game is way different than high school, obviously. Once I have a little more experience under my belt, I feel more comfortable and confident out there.”
On Sunday, the Hawkeyes fell on the road against No. 3 Maryland, 100-81. In a frustrating loss, Doyle’s play emerged as the one bright spot in the game, going for 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
“Kathleen had a great game,” Bluder said that day. “She played with defensive intensity and moxie; I really love the way she played.”
With a team filled with youth, early in the season Bluder had the challenge of splitting up minutes for a large ensemble of players.
The first couple of weeks into the season, Bluder instilled a platoon system for the Hawkeyes that saw roughly 10 or 11 players get quality minutes. With such a young team, it was a smart move because Bluder was able to get a clear picture of her team before Big Ten play.
When the Hawkeyes played Northern Iowa and defeated the Panthers by 49 points, Bluder’s platoon system looked like the work of a genius, with numerous players scoring in double figures and the bench producing 39 points.
“It’s nice to see other people getting into the offense,” Bluder said. “Bre Cera, Makenzie Meyer, and Chase Coley. Look at all the people we had at 7 points and 9 points. That’s the balance that we’re looking for with our team.”
In that instance, the platoon system worked out well for the Hawkeyes, but there have been numerous moments in which the second team came in and gave the lead right back. This mostly happened against better competition, such as when the Hawkeyes squared off against Notre Dame.
So far in Big Ten play, only seven players average double digit minutes per game compared with nine during nonconference play.
It is clear Bluder has found her go-to lineup of the season with Ally Disterhoft, Megan Gustafson, Tania Davis, Doyle, and Meyer starting, then Coley, Christina Buttenham, and Cera coming off the bench.
Now that Bluder’s figured out her rotations with eight games left, the question arises on whether the Hawkeyes can finish the season strong and propel this young squad to the NCAA Tournament.