Amanda Ollinger has been on the team the past three seasons and even appeared in all 36 games in 2018-19 but hasn’t gotten a ton of playing time. This year, however, she’ll get more playing time and have a huge impact on the boards.

The Cedar Rapids native, with the confidence she has grown since her freshman year, is ready to step up into a starting role for this team. Last season, she averaged 2.3 PPG and 2.9 RPG.

Ollinger is expected to fit well into an offense that is structured differently than last season. With the loss of Megan Gustafson and others, this team will be playing more on the perimeter like it did three seasons back.

Ollinger has played every position during her time at Iowa and feels like because of that, she can play a valuable role this season.

“I feel like it’s an offense, for my position in particular, works to my advantage,” Ollinger said, who said she will play on the perimeter most of the time and some post defense depending on the opponent.

Senior guard Makenzie Meyer also sees Ollinger doing well in this new offense.

“We’re going to be getting up and down the floor really quick and playing more on the perimeter,” Meyer said. “Amanda has the ability to play both on the perimeter and in the paint, so she is going to be a weapon for us.”

Ollinger wants to contribute in any way possible, as she brings the mindset of basketball being a team game and wanting to win every game first.

She also brings a diverse skillset to the team that will be beneficial as it works towards defending its Big Ten Championship.

“We really like her versatility, ability to post, ability to shoot from outside, ability to catch in traffic,” Bluder said. “Those are things that are going to be really important for us this year.”

On the offensive and shooting, she’s as athletic as they come. But also important is being able to be a versatile defender to go up and get those rebounds.

Gustafson averaged 13.4 rebounds per game, something that Iowa will have to replace somehow.

“The first thing I would say about her is that she is an amazing rebounder, especially on the offensive end,” Meyer said. “She is super athletic and is just able to find a rebound. She is a steady player and I love playing with her.”

This summer was a big one for Ollinger, as the team traveled to Spain in August. There, Ollinger put up some impressive numbers. In a game against the Madrid-All Stars, she had 10 rebounds, with six on defense and four on offense. Against Valencia, she had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and against the Mataro All-Stars, she had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

“I think it really helped me,” Ollinger said. “I got a little break from school and I just got to focus on my game a lot more.” She added that it helped her both individually as well as the team.

If the season started today, Bluder wouldn’t be sure if Ollinger would start because she has had some back issues that have kept her out of practice, which she has dealt with during her time at Iowa. Despite this, Ollinger should be ready to go for the season opener on Nov. 7 at home against Florida Atlantic.

Even with the loss of some key starters from last season, Ollinger’s expectations regarding this have not changed with the faces in the lineup.

“Just win every game, that’s kind of the goal,” Ollinger said. “To play as hard as we can, to keep playing as long as we can, and make it to the NCAA Tournament, win a Big Ten Tournament, those are always our goals every year.”