Iowa Women Advance to Elite 8
The Iowa women's basketball team won their 20th game of the season Thursday night and will host an N.I.T. quarterfinal game this weekend at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa went on a 17-0 run in the second quarter and led by 19 at halftime on their way to defeating Colorado, 80-62, to advance to the Elite 8 in the women's National Invitational Tournament.
The Hawkeyes had four players score in double figures Thursday night. They were led by Alexa Kastanek with 19 points. Iowa's all-time leading scorer, Ally Disterhoft, had 15. Freshman Makenzie Meyer had 13 and sophomore Megan Gustafson added 12.
On the strength of her 12 points Thursday night, Gustafson became only the fourth Iowa player in history to score 600 points in a season and the first to do it since 1990. According to the University of Iowa Sports Information Department, the other three were Cindy Haugejorde (693; 1979-80), Michelle Edwards (621; 1987-88), and Franthea Price (614; 1989-90).
Next up for Iowa is a Sunday afternoon (2 p.m.) game in Iowa City against Washington State. It could be a very special day for University of Iowa women's coach Lisa Bluder. She'll be going for her 700th career victory and her team will be playing for a chance to go to the N.I.T. Final Four.
[via University of Iowa Sports Information & Women's NIT]