Iowa Hawkeyes Women's Basketball
The Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team represents the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States.
The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference as well as the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team plays its regular season games at 15,400-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena, along with men's basketball, wrestling, and volleyball teams.
| Iowa Hawkeyes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
 | ||||
| University | University of Iowa | |||
| Athletic director | Beth Goetz | |||
| Head coach | Lisa Bluder (24th season) | |||
| Conference | Big Ten | |||
| Location | Iowa City, Iowa | |||
| Arena | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Capacity: 15,400) | |||
| Nickname | Hawkeyes | |||
| Student section | Hawks Nest | |||
| Colors | Black and Gold | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
| ||||
| NCAA tournament runner-up | ||||
| 2023, 2024 | ||||
| NCAA tournament Final Four | ||||
| 1993, 2023, 2024 | ||||
| NCAA tournament Elite Eight | ||||
| 1987, 1988, 1993, 2019, 2023, 2024 | ||||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1996, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024 | ||||
| NCAA tournament appearances | ||||
| 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 | ||||
| Conference tournament champions | ||||
| 1997, 2001, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 | ||||
| Conference regular season champions | ||||
| 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2008, 2022 | ||||
History
Iowa women's basketball began in 1974, under head coach Lark Birdsong. The first Iowa team finished 5–16 in 1974–75, its first victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Birdsong coached Iowa until 1978–79, which marked Iowa's first winning season. She was subsequently replaced by Judy McMullen, who led the program for the next four years. McMullen was succeeded in 1983 by former Cheyney University coach C. Vivian Stringer. Prior to her stay at Iowa, Stringer led the Cheyney Wolves to the 1982 NCAA championship.
Beginning with the 1983–84 season, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Stringer coached at Iowa for 12 seasons. In that time, the Hawkeyes won six Big Ten championships, played in nine NCAA Tournaments, and reached the Final Four in 1993. Unprecedented attention was shown to the Hawkeyes under Stringer, as evidenced by the record-setting 22,157 fans that watched Iowa play Ohio State on February 3, 1985, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Stringer, however, left Iowa to coach at Rutgers in 1995, following the death of her husband, Bill.
Angie Lee replaced Stringer, and led the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten championship in her first season. Under Lee, Iowa won another Big Ten title in 1998. In 2000, Lee's successor as head coach was Lisa Bluder. Bluder is Iowa's current women's basketball coach. Under Bluder, the Hawkeyes have won two regular season Big Ten championships (2008, 2022) and five Big Ten tournament championships (2001, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024).
From 2015 to 2019, Megan Gustafson played for Coach Bluder and the women's basketball program at Iowa. Gustafson was named the 2019 National Player of the year, after averaging a double-double of 27.8 points and 13.4 rebounds on 69.9% shooting. The 2018–19 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team had a 29–7 regular season record, winning the Big Ten Conference tournament championship and advancing to the Elite Eight of the 2019 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. The 2021–22 Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team finished the season 24–8 sharing the regular season title with Ohio State. They also won the 2022 Big Ten women's basketball tournament, defeating Indiana 74–67 in the Big Ten Championship. Caitlin Clark was named the Most Outstanding Player for the Tournament. Iowa repeated as Big Ten champions the following year, with Clark being named the most outstanding player. Later that season, they advanced to the Final Four for the first time in three decades.
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Crossover at Kinnick
On October 15, 2023, the Iowa women's basketball team set a record for most people in attendance at a women's basketball game. 55,646 people attended Crossover at Kinnick, which took place at Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes play the majority of their home games in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but coach Lisa Bluder came up with the idea to hold an event in the football stadium. The Hawkeyes played in the national championship game at the end of the previous season. Despite losing, following the championship, the team returned home to a welcome celebration on campus with over 9,000 fans, which inspired Bluder to plan an outdoor event.
Caitlin Clark recorded a triple double with 34 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds. The game was close early, but Iowa took a solid lead and ended up with the win in the exhibition game 94–72. The game was played for charity, and the school presented a check for 250,000 dollars to the Stead Family Children's Hospital. The hospital overlooks the end zone of the stadium, and children in the hospital can watch home football games as well as this special event. At the end of the first quarter, fans and players turned toward the hospital and waved to the children, a continuation of a tradition started by the football team in 2017.
NCAA tournament results
Iowa has appeared in 29 NCAA Tournaments with a record of 34−30.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | #5 | Second Round | #4 Tennessee | L 68−73 |
| 1987 | #3 | Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #6 New Orleans #2 Georgia #1 Louisiana Tech | W 68–56 W 62–60 L 65−66 |
| 1988 | #1 | Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #8 Stephen F. Austin #4 Southern Cal #2 Long Beach State | W 83–65 W 79–67 L 78−98 |
| 1989 | #3 | Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #11 Tennessee Tech #2 Stanford | W 77–75 L 74−98 |
| 1990 | #3 | Second Round | #6 Vanderbilt | L 56−61 |
| 1991 | #6 | First Round Second Round | #11 Montana #3 Washington | W 64–53 L 53−70 |
| 1992 | #1 | Second Round | #8 SW Missouri State | L 60−61 (OT) |
| 1993 | #2 | Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four | #7 Old Dominion #3 Auburn #1 Tennessee #1 Ohio State | W 82–56 W 63–50 W 72−56 L 72–73 (OT) |
| 1994 | #3 | First Round Second Round | #14 Mount St. Mary's #6 Alabama | W 70–47 L 78−84 |
| 1996 | #2 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #15 Butler #7 DePaul #3 Vanderbilt | W 72–67 W 72−71 L 63–74 |
| 1997 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 NC State #1 Connecticut | W 56–50 L 53−72 |
| 1998 | #4 | First Round Second Round | #13 Massachusetts #5 Kansas | W 77–59 L 58−62 |
| 2001 | #4 | First Round Second Round | #13 Oregon #5 Utah | W 88–82 L 69−78 |
| 2002 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 Virginia #1 Connecticut | W 69–62 L 48−86 |
| 2004 | #9 | First Round | #8 Virginia Tech | L 76−89 |
| 2006 | #10 | First Round | #7 BYU | L 62−67 |
| 2008 | #9 | First Round | #8 Georgia | L 61−67 |
| 2009 | #8 | First Round | #9 Georgia Tech | L 62−76 |
| 2010 | #8 | First Round Second Round | #9 Rutgers #1 Stanford | W 70–63 L 67−96 |
| 2011 | #6 | First Round | #11 Gonzaga | L 86−92 |
| 2012 | #9 | First Round | #8 California | L 74−84 |
| 2013 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 Miami (FL) #1 Notre Dame | W 69–53 L 57−74 |
| 2014 | #6 | First Round Second Round | #11 Marist #3 Louisville | W 87–65 L 53−83 |
| 2015 | #3 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #14 American #11 Miami (FL) #2 Baylor | W 75–67 W 88−70 L 66–81 |
| 2018 | #6 | First Round | #11 Creighton | L 70−76 |
| 2019 | #2 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #15 Mercer #7 Missouri #3 NC State #1 Baylor | W 66–61 W 68−52 W 79–61 L 53–85 |
| 2021 | #5 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #12 Central Michigan #4 Kentucky #1 UConn | W 87–72 W 86−72 L 72–92 |
| 2022 | #2 | First Round Second Round | #15 Illinois St. #10 Creighton | W 98–58 L 62–64 |
| 2023 | #2 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship | #15 Southeastern Louisiana #10 Georgia #6 Colorado #5 Louisville #1 South Carolina #3 LSU | W 95–43 W 74–66 W 87–77 W 97–83 W 77–73 L 85–102 |
| 2024 | #1 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship | #16 Holy Cross #8 West Virginia #5 Colorado #3 LSU #3 UConn #1 South Carolina | W 91–65 W 64–54 W 89–68 W 94–87 W 71–69 L 75–87 |
Retired numbers
The Hawkeyes have retired three jerseys in honor of the women's program, the most recent being Caitlin Clark in 2024.
| Iowa Hawkeyes retired numbers | ||||
| No. | Player | Career | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Megan Gustafson | 2015–2019 | 2020 | |
| 22 | Caitlin Clark | 2020–2024 | 2024 | |
| 30 | Michelle Edwards | 1985–1988 | 1990 | |
National award winners
- James E. Sullivan Award (top college or Olympic athlete in the US)
- Caitlin Clark – 2023, 2024
- Academic All-American of the Year (all Division I sports)
- Caitlin Clark – 2023, 2024
- Megan Gustafson – 2019
- Caitlin Clark – 2023, 2024
- Caitlin Clark – 2023, 2024
- Caitlin Clark – 2023, 2024
- Megan Gustafson – 2019
- Caitlin Clark – 2023, 2024
- Megan Gustafson – 2019
- Caitlin Clark – 2023, 2024
- Lisa Bluder – 2019
- Academic All-American of the Year (D-I women's basketball)
- Ally Disterhoft – 2016, 2017
- Caitlin Clark – 2023, 2024
- Lisa Leslie Award (top D-I center)
- Megan Gustafson – 2019
- Nancy Lieberman Award (top D-I point guard)
- Caitlin Clark – 2022, 2023, 2024
- Dawn Staley Award (top D-I point guard)
- Caitlin Clark – 2021, 2022, 2023
- Tamika Catchings Award (USBWA freshman of the year)
- Caitlin Clark – 2021 (shared with Paige Bueckers of UConn)
- Caitlin Clark – 2021 (shared with Bueckers)
See also
- Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball statistical leaders
- The Law Firm — collective nickname for Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano, the key players in Iowa's early-2020s success
- Caitlin Clark
References
External links
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