Bluder: Don’t overlook her Hawkeyes

CHICAGO - Iowa's women's basketball squad lost three program greats from a team that qualified for the Sweet Sixteen last year. But overlook the Hawkeyes at your own risk, coach Lisa Bluder said Thursday.

'After losing three seniors that played significantly - I mean, left the Big Ten Conference as the leading scoring trio of all time - we're a different look,” Bluder said at Big Ten media days. 'And a lot of people are kind of counting us out because of that. And I would have to disagree with that because we returned quite a bit, actually.”

Iowa lost All-American point guard Sam Logic (13.4 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, 8.1 assists per game), 3-point extraordinaire Melissa Dixon (14.8 ppg) and center Bethany Doolittle (14.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg). The Hawkeyes hope to replace that production with preseason all-Big Ten selection Ally Disterhoft (14.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg), forward Kali Peschel (5.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg), guard Whitney Jennings (9.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.7 apg) among others.

The Hawkeyes finished 26-8 and second in the Big Ten at 14-4. Iowa qualified for the Sweet Sixteen, and was ranked 11th in the final USA Today/Coaches poll. With one of the nation's top 20 recruiting classes and several key contributors, Bluder remains confident her team will compete.

'We do have some good, good elements to work with, and definitely we have some good freshmen,” she said.

Peschel, a 6-foot-1 senior, started only three games but was the team's second-best 3-point shooter behind Dixon. Her 43.4 3-point percentage ranked eighth in Iowa history.

'Nobody remembers that because of how good Melissa Dixon did from the 3-point range,” Bluder said.

Peschel, a team co-captain with Disterhoft, understands the challenges, but she's also excited about the possibilities.

'This year is going to present a lot of open spots and opportunities for younger players and some of the upperclassmen that hadn't gotten minutes just because we've had such great players,” Peschel said. 'We don't have a lot of experience on our team but we've seen what we can be, like to be successful and what it takes. I think it's going to be a fun year.”

COMING HOME

Maryland Coach Brenda Frese, a Cedar Rapids Washington graduate, will bring her Terrapins to Iowa City on Jan. 10 in a showdown between the Big Ten's top two teams last year. It's the first time Maryland - a second-year Big Ten member - will play in Iowa City. It's also a homecoming for the coach.

'Oh, have we discussed it?” she said. 'I mean, even before the schedule came out two years ago, that's all they've been talking about. So, yeah, you know, the summer was spent at my family's home with renovations and to make sure that it's up to par to be able to bring the team over for a team dinner.

'So, yeah, it's going to be a tremendous game. You know, if you saw my big extended family of five other siblings and my parents and all of my cousins that live in Iowa - I don't know. We might have more fans in Iowa with the number of people that we'll be bringing.”

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