Identity of 2015-16 Hawkeyes: Lost leads, lost opportunities

IOWA CITY - The women's basketball season ended unceremoniously for the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday.

In reality and in hindsight, it began to slip away about two months ago.

Iowa was 12-2 overall and seemed to be sailing toward its first 3-0 Big Ten start under Lisa Bluder when it held a 17-point lead at Michigan on Jan. 7.

But the Wolverines stormed back to win, and thus began the first of a series of surrendered, substantial leads that ultimately forged Iowa's identity this season.

Michigan State stormed back in the second half at East Lansing. Indiana did likewise at Bloomington. Then it was Minnesota's turn, on a last-second shot by Rachel Banham in Minneapolis.

Reverse any of those outcomes, and Iowa most likely would have made the NCAA tournament. Instead, the Hawkeyes (19-14) closed with seven losses in their final 11 games, capped by a 77-72 home defeat to Ball State in the first round of the WNIT.

'It's extremely disappointing,” junior Ally Disterhoft said, and her expression said as much. 'There were some ups this season, but I won't look back (at this season) very fondly.

'We have talent, but we didn't always show it. It's just very, very disappointing.”

But not entirely surprising. Whether the Hawkeyes would admit it or not, this was a rebuilding year after the Sweet 16 campaign of 2014-15. You don't lose Samantha Logic, Melissa Dixon and Bethany Doolittle to graduation and expect to maintain the same level.

As Disterhoft said, the Hawkeyes have talent. They'll have more next year.

Kali Peschel is the only notable loss to graduation, and her role diminished about the time the Hawkeyes began to slide. She didn't score Thursday, playing just 10 minutes.

Claire Till was slowed by injuries, and Nicole Smith never found her way into the rotation.

They'll depart, and four freshmen will enter. Makenzie Meyer was Miss Iowa Basketball 2016 at Mason City. Amanda Ollinger of Linn-Mar should be a force on the boards. Alexis Sevillian (Goodrich, Mich.) and Bre Cera (Mukwonago, Wis.) join the Hawkeyes' recruiting class of 2016.

All five starters return, led by Disterhoft, who has a better-than-break-even shot at becoming Iowa's all-time leading scorer next season. She has 1,542 points and ranks 11th on the career chart; Cindy Haugejorde is No. 1 at 2,059.

Megan Gustafson and Tania Davis both blossomed in their freshman seasons.

Gustafson, a 6-foot-3 center, posted double-doubles in nine of her final 13 games this season. She finished seventh in Iowa history among freshmen in scoring (352 points), fourth in rebounds (225), and third in blocks (56).

'It's been up and down, but I learned a lot,” Gustafson said after Thursday's loss. 'This will help motivate me.”

A 5-4 point guard, Davis averaged 8 points per game, and her 111 assists were the second most in a season by an Iowa freshman. She'll be relied upon to lead the team next year as a sophomore.

Also back are starters Chase Coley and Whitney Jennings - both will be juniors - plus key reserves Alexa Kastanek and Christina Buttenham. Carly Mohns will return from injury and should see good minutes as a junior.

Bluder was asked about next year's prospects following Thursday's WNIT exit.

'That's a hard question to ask right now,” she said. 'I think we do have to change some things. We'll have eight freshmen and sophomores on our team, we have to figure out where our leadership is going to come from.”

The Hawkeyes certainly are capable of a top-half finish in the Big Ten and return to the NCAA. A regular-season mark of something like 22-8 sounds about right.

'I really believed it, that we could make the NCAA this year, and I believe it can happen again next year,” Bluder said. 'We obviously have to change a few things in order to do it, and I don't know what those are right now.”

Hanging onto big leads would be a good start.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com