In the Iowa women’s basketball locker room, there’s a signed piece of paper from six-time Wimbledon winner Billie Jean King that reads “pressure is a privilege.”

When King gave that paper to Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder, she put it up on the wall for her entire team to read.

“It’s something I want my players to see,” Bluder said at Iowa Women’s Basketball Media Day on Thursday. “This is what you work for — to be ranked high in the country. Does it bring pressure? Yes. But man, you worked hard for it, so you’d better enjoy it, too.”

The Associated Press released its preseason women’s basketball poll on Tuesday, and Iowa is ranked fourth in the nation — just behind No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 Stanford, and No. 3 Texas. 

The Hawkeyes’ No. 4 preseason ranking is the highest since 1994 and the second-highest in program history.

“We used to be the hunters,” senior guard Kate Martin said. “Now, we just have a big target on our backs and everybody’s gonna want to give us their best shot, each game, each day. And so we just got to prepare for that and, you know, we are ranked pretty high. So, we just got to walk out with confidence. Like we’re we’re meant to be here.”

Iowa is returning all five starters for the second year in a row — Martin, fifth-year senior Monika Czinano, seniors Gabbie Marshall and McKenna Warnock, and junior Caitlin Clark. Bluder said she’s committed to keep her starting lineup the same.

The Hawkeyes’ high preseason ranking comes after they were upset by Creighton in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. That loss still hangs on Iowa’s head, as Bluder said the Hawkeyes talk about what they could’ve done differently almost every day.

“We needed that to happen to us just kind of have to, I would say, value the offseason, value every single game,” Czinano said. “I don’t think we undervalued Creighton at all, but maybe we weren’t fired up to the level we should have been.”

Iowa was very familiar with Creighton, as the two teams used to play in a closed scrimmage ahead of every season. After seeing the Bluejays twice in recent NCAA Tournaments, the Hawkeyes decided to switch it up.

Iowa is heading to DePaul this weekend to play the Blue Demons in a preseason closed scrimmage.

“I called [Creighton women’s basketball coach Jim Flanery] and explained the situation,” Bluder said. “He was great with it. He totally understood. We’ve been doing that a lot of years, and it was just time for something new and especially after that situation last year.

“In the NCAA Tournament, you’d really like to play people that are unfamiliar with you, and we keep kind of running up against them because they are such a good program,” Bluder added. “Now, it could happen with DePaul again this year; you never know.”

Despite the change in preseason scrimmages, Iowa isn’t taking the easy route with its schedule. Bluder said the Hawkeyes are playing 10 teams that are ranked in the AP Preseason Top 25, as well as Belmont and Kansas State — both of which received votes in the poll.

The Hawkeyes will also play in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament in Portland, Oregon, during Thanksgiving week. Iowa will take on Oregon State in the first round and either Duke or No. 6 UConn in the second round.

Iowa is the Big Ten’s highest-ranked team this season, but five other conference schools appeared in the poll: No. 11 Indiana, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 17 Maryland, No. 22 Nebraska, and No. 25 Michigan.

“We have a tremendous schedule this year,” Bluder said. “Six teams in the Big Ten are ranked in the top 25 poll. That’s the most ever, and it’s the most of any conference in the country. So it’s significant — it’s easy to say that we are playing in the most difficult women’s basketball conference in America.”