Back problems end Draxten's Iowa career

Hannah Draxten's basketball career is over at the University of Iowa.

Beset by back injuries through the past two seasons, Draxten has applied for a medical exemption. She will remain on the team for her senior season as a student-assistant coach and will retain her scholarship.

“It's really been a struggle the last two years,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said Monday morning. “We hoped surgery would be a cure-all, but it didn't work out that way.”

Draxten played in 30 games as a freshman before the constant back pain began. She saw action in only four games as a sophomore due to a herniated disc, and redshirted.

She had back surgery following the season and returned to the roster for the 2010-11 campaign.  Draxten's back issues continued, but she still managed to play in 24 of Iowa's 31 contests as a reserve.

“This was a really hard decision to make,” Draxten said in a release.  “After talking with the medical staff and coaches, we decided that not playing again was in my best interest.  I absolutely loved my time as a Hawkeye student-athlete.”

Draxten played in 58 games in her three seasons, recording 157 career points. She made 34 3-pointers, including 23 as a freshman.  Draxten netted a career-high 13 points against Northwestern as a freshman on Jan. 18, 2009.

She is a two-time academic all-Big Ten selection and earned the team's Coaches Award this season.

“I'm sad to see this happen,” Bluder said. ”You could see Hannah's potential when she was a freshman. She tried to manage the pain, but it just wasn't in the cards.”

Bluder said that she hasn't decided upon Draxten's duties as a student assistant.

“We haven't nailed that down, but she'll help the team at practices and have some sort of office duties,” she said.