Christina Buttenham suffered a a career-ending concussion in early February, but despite all of the negatives, she got some good news on July 20: The Big Ten granted her a noncounter waiver.
By Jess Westendorf
Iowa senior Christina Buttenham received good news on July 20.
Her medical noncounter waiver was approved by the Big Ten, Hawkeye women’s basketball head coach Lisa Bluder announced.
The medical noncounter waiver will allow Buttenham to be a part of the women’s basketball team with no contact as well as finish up her degree in human physiology.
Buttenham, a native of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, suffered a concussion in February that ultimately ended her Hawkeye basketball career.
She made 26 appearances with four starts last season. She averaged 3.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 13.7 minutes per game during those 26 appearances.
Last season, Buttenham made her first career start against Kent State, and she scored 5 points with 6 rebounds in 18 minutes.
Since joining the Hawkeyes, Buttenham has been an Academic All-Big Ten letterwinner. During her freshman year at Iowa, she was also named to the Canadian Junior Women’s National Team.
In 2015, she led the Canadian Junior Women’s National Team to a silver medal at the FIBA Americas Women’s U18 Championship held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Even though this is probably not how she wanted her senior season at Iowa to go, she will still have the opportunity to support her teammates from the sideline. Her health and safety come first, especially for Bluder and the Iowa program.
“Injuries are an uncontrollable and unfortunate part of the game of basketball, but with the national discussions and information that we now have about concussions, we feel that Christina’s long-term well-being is more important than a few more months on the basketball court,” Bluder said. “We are glad that Christina will remain a part of our program from the sidelines as she completes her degree.”