Iowa Hawkeyes
Overall Rank: #37
Conference Rank: #6 Big Ten
Iowa Team Page
Iowa is coming off of a great season. The Hawkeyes went 14-4 in Big Ten play, finishing second to only Maryland. As a result, they earned a three seed in the NCAA Tournament. After victories over American University and Miami (FL), the Hawkeyes fell in a hard fought contest against Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen. Coach Lisa Bluder has some major rebuilding to do after losing three of the best players in Hawkeyes history. But this team is still talented, albeit young, so by Big Ten play they should be ready to compete for another tournament berth.
2014-15 Record: 26-8, 14-4
2014-15 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Lisa Bluder
Coach Record: 304-174 at Iowa, 661-315 overall
Strengths:
Last season Iowa had just six players who averaged double digit minutes. The three returning are Whitney Jennings, Ally Disterhoft and Kali Peschel and those three need to turn into leaders. Jennings is just a sophomore, but she started 31 games as a freshman and averaged 9.1 points and 2.7 assists. Last year Jennings was a secondary ball handler, but this is her show to run now. Jennings is a good outside shooter too and she can help replace some of the departed scoring. Disterhoft is a big 6-0 guard who averaged 14.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. She will be the beneficiary of Jennings’ ability to drive and dish. Disterhoft will take on an even bigger load this season. Peschel was the team’s sixth player last year. The 6-1 senior provided much needed depth in the frontcourt. This year Peschel will do more and has a leg up on stepping into one of the vacated starting spots.
Weaknesses:
Replacing Melissa Dixon, Bethany Doolittle and Samantha Logic will be no easy task. Dixon averaged 14.8 points per game, while Doolittle added 14.1 points and 7.0 rebounds. Logic was the best player on the team, averaging 13.4 points, 8.1 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals. The Hawkeyes will rely heavily on underclassmen to fill the void. A talented group of freshmen, led by point guard Tania Davis, will compete for minutes right away. Davis could slide into the starting lineup beside Jennings and play a secondary ball handler role much like Jennings did last season. Sophomores Chase Coley, Christina Buttenham and Carly Mohns all have a little bit of experience and the frontcourt needs them to be ready to contribute major minutes this year.
Final Projection:
This should be an up and down season for Iowa. They have some nice pieces to build around, but the youth and inexperience will be an issue early. But the schedule is manageable early on and Coach Bluder should have enough time to get her rotation set by the time Big Ten play comes around. And if those young players use the early season to develop their game, this could be a very dangerous team come March.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting Five:
Whitney Jennings, Sophomore, Guard, 9.1 points per game
Tania Davis, Freshman, Guard, DNP last season
Ally Disterhoft, Junior, Guard, 14.8 points per game
Kali Peschel, Senior, Forward, 5.1 points per game
Chase Coley, Sophomore, Forward, 2.9 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 79.5 (6th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 72.6 (320, 14)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.6 (8, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.8 (281, 13)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.1 (17, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.4 (3, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.5 (66, 6)
Rebound Margin: -4.6 (296, 13)
Assists Per Game: 18.1 (6, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.4 (32, 1)
Madness 2015 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#53 Tania Davis
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