Hawkeyes cruise, hand Lisa Bluder 800th win

IOWA CITY — At the postgame news conference, Lisa Bluder was all smiles.

She had 800 reasons to be grateful.

The ninth-ranked Iowa women’s basketball team (5-1, 1-0) knocked off Michigan State (6-4, 0-1), 88-61, in a Big Ten Conference opener Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

With the win, Bluder became the 14th women’s basketball coach to hit the 800-win mark and the fifth active Division I coach to do so.

“It’s just one more game,” Bluder said. “It’s not like that big of a deal. But I think people make a big deal about the century ones, but it really gives you a time to kind of reflect a little bit. And you always reflect on the women you’ve been able to coach and you’ve been around. And you reflect on the staff that you have.

“Just to be able to share all these memories with them. And your family, how much they give up to be a part of it. I was really glad that my family could be here today. You’re just grateful.”

Bluder, the program’s all-time winningest coach, entered the 2021-2022 season with 795 wins. The Hawkeyes started 4-0, setting the stage for a potential milestone win at home on Nov. 21 against Drake, a team Bluder coached from 1991-2000 before being named Iowa’s coach on April 7, 2000.

However, the Hawkeyes were forced to cancel the game against Drake, as well as the following two contests (Seton Hall and USC in the Cancun Challenge), because of a COVID-19 outbreak on the team.

With a 15-day gap between games and nearly two weeks without a practice, Bluder finally had an opportunity to crack 800 as the Hawkeyes took on Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday. The rust of two weeks away from basketball showed as the Hawkeyes came up short, 79-64.

While her quest was temporarily delayed, Sunday’s second shot at win No. 800 was enjoyable for Bluder nevertheless.

“Well, I still wish we would’ve won at Duke,” Bluder said with a chuckle. “And I wish we would’ve beat Drake a few weeks back. But, you know, it is special being on your home court, obviously.

“... Honestly, these women on this team are so much fun and I enjoy them so much. And so, I’m very thankful I get to be around them every day.”

Paving the way for Bluder’s milestone win was an impressive performance by Caitlin Clark, who recorded her second triple-double of the season with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

Clark was grateful she could be a part of Bluder’s milestone win.

“More than anything, she’s (Bluder) just a good person,” Clark said. “That’s more of the reason I came here is because she cares about you more as a person than as a player.

“Obviously, we like to win more than anybody, she hates to lose. I think we’re the same person there. I think she’s the best of all-time. She downplays it sometimes, but she deserves it. I’m so happy for her.”

McKenna Warnock also played a key role for the Hawkeyes, adding 21 points and six boards.

“Coach Bluder obviously is an amazing coach,” Warnock said. “But Coach Bluder’s an even better person. We talk a lot about our vision and our culture, and Coach Bluder really strives for that. And she’s really the foundation of it.”

Bluder improved her all-time record to 800-377 and her record at Iowa to 444-235. This season is Bluder’s 22nd at Iowa and her 38th overall.

Iowa led just 39-37 at the half, but shifted gears coming out of the locker room and outscored the Spartans 33-11 in the third quarter.

“We come out of the locker room with a two-point lead, and we win that quarter 33-11,” Bluder said. “I said to the team, ‘Iowa basketball is back.’ And that’s how I felt.”