Tag: Iowa women’s basketball

Legendary Iowa head women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder announces retirement

An Iowa icon is stepping away. Thanks, coach Lisa Bluder.

In a spring shocker, the greatest coach in Iowa Hawkeye women’s basketball history is stepping away.

Iowa head women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder announced on Monday that she is retiring after 24 seasons guiding the Hawkeye program. Bluder exits the helm in Iowa City with the Iowa program in the best position in its history.

Alongside superstar guard Caitlin Clark and a talented cast of players, Iowa made back-to-back trips to the Final Four and national championship game. The Hawkeyes won 30-plus games in each of the past two seasons, captured the Big Ten regular season championship during the 2021-22 season and won each of the past three Big Ten Tournaments.

“It is with a range of emotions that I share with you today that I have decided to step down from leading the Iowa women’s basketball team after 24 memorable years. … It has been the honor of my career to be a part of the Iowa Hawkeye family, and to lead a women’s basketball program filled with so many talented and remarkable young women, who have gone on to do great things in their careers and, more importantly, in their lives.

“There is no denying that this past season was incredible for so many reasons, and we could not have accomplished our achievements without all of you. After the season ended, I spent time with our student-athletes and coaches reviewing the season and preparing those moving on for what comes next. With that also came personal contemplation about what this journey has meant to me, how to best champion this program, and what the future looks like for my family and me. After then taking some time away with my husband, David, it became clear to me that I am ready to step aside.

“There is never an ideal time to retire and I am sure this fall that I will miss the games, the practices, the road trips, the atmosphere, the tremendous fans and, most importantly, the players. But my belief in the foundation of this program, knowing that success is now an unrelenting component of women’s basketball at the University of Iowa gives me comfort as I transition to become the program’s biggest champion,” Bluder said in her statement.

The longtime Hawkeye head coach accomplished much in Iowa City. Bluder departs Iowa as the winningest coach in program history, racking up a record of 528-254 (262-145 Big Ten) with the Hawkeyes.

Bluder’s overall coaching mark was 884-396 across stops at St. Ambrose, Drake and Iowa. The Hawkeyes have elevated assistant coach Jan Jensen as their next head women’s basketball coach.

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Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut set to be first live sports event to air on Disney+

Caitlin Clark continues to break the mold. Her debut, streaming on Disney+, is set to be the first live sports event to air on the platform.

Caitlin Clark is changing the way things are done. She had the Iowa Hawkeyes getting primetime treatment and national coverage during her final two years. She is bringing the same, and likely many more, sets of eyeballs to her WNBA games.

The Indiana Fever open up their season next Tuesday, May 14th, against the Connecticut Sun. The game is going to be available on ESPN2 and ESPN+. It has just been announced that the game is also going to be streaming on Disney+, which will be the first live sporting event on the platform.

Alex Werpin of Hollywood Reporter reported that this is going to be a full broadcast that will include studio productions and the full nine yards.

The WNBA games will be the full, studio productions, not animated simulcasts. And given the hype and interest Clark is bringing to the league, it may deliver big numbers.

Clark delivered record-shattering numbers in this year’s NCAA woman’s basketball tournament, with the final delivering nearly 18.9 million people. Surely ESPN, Prime Video and CBS Sports want to keep that momentum going, and Disney+ is a way to do that with younger fans. – Werpin, Hollywood Reporter

Caitlin Clark is among a fan-favorite already and has grown an especially large fanbase among the youth due to her patience and willingness to sign thousands upon thousands of jersey for what seems like an endless amount of time.

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever debut on Tuesday, May 14 with a road trip to Mohegan Sun Arena to take on the Connecticut Sun at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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Lucy Olsen near the top of 247Sports’ best women’s basketball transfers

Iowa is reloading this year, not rebuilding. Lucy Olsen joining via the transfer portal is one of 247Sports’ top transfer moves.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are looking to prove they are not a one-hit wonder with the roster they constructed over the past few years. After back-to-back Final Four runs and national championship appearances, they are aiming to continue their trajectory as one of the top dogs in women’s college basketball.

This starts with replacing the shoes worn by Caitlin Clark, which we all know are Nike now and forever due to her mega-endorsement deal she signed with them. That replacement comes in the form of Lucy Olsen, a transfer portal addition from Villanova, to step in and provide high-powered offense from the guard position.

Olsen joining Iowa is a huge addition for both sides. Olsen gets a chance to come into a program oozing with success and Iowa gets a playmaker. The move finds itself among 247Sports’ best women’s basketball transfers this offseason. Lucy Olsen joining Iowa ranks at their No. 6 best transfer move.

Iowa knows it cannot replace Caitlin Clark. But Lucy Olsen is a pretty nice way to start its AC era (After Clark, of course). Olsen was a walking bucket during the 2023-24 campaign averaging 23.3 points per on 43.8 percent from the field. Olsen also managed to grab 4.8 rebounds to go along with 3.8 assists per as well. She’ll have a major impact this season. – Brandon Clay, 247Sports

The good thing for Olsen is that she doesn’t have to step in and try to be Caitlin Clark. Those would be lofty, and downright unfair, expectations for her to take on. Rather, she can come in and join forces with Hannah Stuelke and Sydney Affolter, two key contributors to Iowa’s success as of lately.

How Olsen fits in with the Hawkeyes and how her styles meshes with the rest of the group remains to be seen until they take the court, but on paper this move is a massive addition for Iowa.

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Iowa reportedly in contact with Arkansas transfer F Maryam Dauda

Iowa women’s basketball is reportedly in the mix for former five-star signee and Arkansas transfer forward Maryam Dauda.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have already made one big splash this offseason with the addition of Villanova transfer point guard Lucy Olsen.

Olsen was the NCAA’s third-leading scorer last season, averaging 23.3 points per game on a career-best 43.8% field goal shooting.

Iowa doesn’t want to stop there, though. The Hawkeyes are looking to add serious talent to their roster for the 2024-25 women’s college basketball season.

Kyle Huesmann of Hawkeye Report with On3 is reporting Iowa women’s basketball has reached out to Arkansas transfer forward Maryam Dauda.

The 6-foot-4 forward was a consensus five-star recruit in the 2021 class and was a McDonald’s All-American. ESPN rated Dauda as the nation’s No. 13 overall player in the 2021 class.

A native of Bentonville, Arkansas, Dauda will be a redshirt junior during the 2024-25 season. Dauda started all 33 games for the Razorbacks this past season, averaging 10.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.2 assists per game in 28.7 minutes of average floor time.

The former Razorback shot 45.5% from the field, 31.9% from 3-point range and 75.6% from the free-throw line in the 2023-24 season. Dauda entered the transfer portal on April 25.

Dauda flashed moments of brilliance against some of the best teams on Arkansas’ schedule last season. Dauda scored 16 points, blocked four shots and grabbed four rebounds against LSU and she scored 19 points and blocked three shots against national champion South Carolina.

If Iowa could add Dauda to the fold, it would add a proven five to pair with junior forward Hannah Stuelke, and it would create one of the Big Ten’s best post duos.

Stuelke garnered second-team All-Big Ten honors from the Big Ten’s coaches and media after averaging 14.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists on 62.7% field goal shooting.

Iowa signed one of the nation’s top bigs in the 2024 class, center Ava Heiden out of Sherwood High School in Oregon. Heiden was a four-star signee and the No. 42 player nationally per ESPN.

The Hawkeyes also return center Addison O’Grady, who has played in 102 career games and who averaged 3.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game last season. Iowa also brings back junior forward Jada Gyamfi and senior center AJ Ediger.

Adding Dauda to Iowa’s 2024-25 roster would represent the latest indication the Hawkeyes have truly morphed into a national power with longterm staying power.

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Iowa women’s basketball among field in ESPN’s first 2025 women’s bracketology

Where are the Hawkeyes in ESPN’s first 2025 women’s bracketology?

Coming off of back-to-back appearances in the national championship game, the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team knows what it takes and brings the experience on the roster to create more magic.

The Hawkeyes are lost Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall, three starters from the last two squads appearing in the title game. But, they are reloading by adding Lucy Olsen, one of the top-ranked transfer additions, via the portal to plug in as a very talent guard.

Predicting the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament bracket roughly 11 months ahead of time is an impossible task, but it gives a rough idea of what some may think of teams heading into next season. In ESPN’s first version of their 2025 women’s bracketology, the Iowa Hawkeyes are the No. 8 seed in the Region 3 Birmingham bracket.

This would be a sharp change for the Hawkeyes. They would be hitting the road for the first two rounds, which goes against the tradition they have built of hosting the first two rounds at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The No. 1 seeds are South Carolina, Notre Dame, UConn and USC, an incoming Big Ten member. The Big Ten has a good showing in the early bracketology. Nine conference members have spots in this projection: UCLA (No. 2 seed), Ohio State (No. 4), Nebraska (No. 5), Illinois (No. 6), Maryland (No. 7), Michigan State (No. 7) and Indiana (No. 8).

While it is a long way off, the Iowa Hawkeyes have set the standard in their program of being an NCAA Tournament team year after year, and Lisa Bluder has delivered on that with 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. Making the trip next year, and possibly much higher than a No. 8 seed, should come as no surprise.

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Caitlin Clark headlines ESPN’s Indiana Fever, WNBA training camp storylines

How much can Caitlin Clark enhance the Indiana Fever’s offense straight away?

Being the center of attention is nothing new to Caitlin Clark. During her time with the Iowa Hawkeyes, she was front page news every single day for another record she broke, a shot she made, or an otherworldly stat-line she put up.

After being selected as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, storylines and headlines were sure to follow and only increase. That has continued so far.

Caitlin Clark is headlining the Indiana Fever and WNBA training camp storylines. ESPN believes that a storyline to follow is how much impact Caitlin Clark can have in her rookie season and how fast she can begin having that impact.

How much impact will No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark have right away on the Fever’s scoring ability? Last season, Indiana was seventh in the league in scoring average (81.0 PPG) and sixth in offensive rating (103.0). Clark had one of the greatest offensive careers in college basketball history, with 3,951 points and 1,144 assists playing at a fast pace at Iowa. She will have even more accomplished targets to pass to now, led by 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, and no longer needs to be the leading scorer virtually every game.

The Fever were eighth in 3-pointers per game last season (8.5), and that number should go up with Clark, who had a record 548 3s in college. Clark was the primary ball handler all the time with the Hawkeyes, but she doesn’t have to carry that load the same way with Indiana. – Voepel, ESPN.

Caitlin Clark will be going from having to score, feed teammates, and get rebounds as she did at Iowa to more of a traditional guard role where she can score and find the right pass at the right time.

Where Clark brings a much-needed skillset is from behind the arc. The Fever need to improve their 3-point shooting and that is an area Clark can have an immediate impact on.

So, while the impact that Clark has on games is unlikely to measure up to what fans saw at Iowa, there are areas and a path for her to come in and improve the Fever from the very first day.

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Lucy Olsen to Iowa ranked one of ESPN’s top-five transfer portal moves

Iowa had a gap at guard and did more than just fill it with the addition of Lucy Olsen. The move is ranked a top-five transfer portal move.

Caitlin Clark left a crater-sized gap on the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team with her departure to the WNBA as the No. 1 draft pick by the Indiana Fever.

Iowa didn’t panic, though. They reloaded with very high-level talent. Former Villanova guard and the NCAA’s third-highest scoring player last season, Lucy Olsen, hit the transfer portal and didn’t take long to find her new home in Iowa City.

ESPN ranks the addition of Olsen to the Hawkeyes as a top-five women’s basketball transfer portal move this offseason.

5. Lucy Olsen, 5-9, G, Jr., Villanova Wildcats

Committed to Iowa Hawkeyes
With no chance to replace Caitlin Clark‘s impact, the Hawkeyes needed someone to take on some of that production. In Olsen, they found the best possible replacement in the portal. Only Clark and JuJu Watkins averaged more points per game this season than Olsen.

After the departure of Maddy Siegrist, Olsen thrived as the Wildcats’ new go-to player, jumping from 12.4 to 23.2 points per game and earning Big East most improved player honors. She also led the conference in minutes played and started all 105 of Villanova’s games over the past three seasons. – Charlie Creme, ESPN

Olsen provides instant experience and scoring ability to the Hawkeyes’ offense. Olsen shot a career-best 43.8% from the field last season and upped her free throw shooting to 80.7%, another career-best.

Lucy Olsen projects to be in the starting lineup next year. Olsen and the rest of the team know she doesn’t need to try to fill Caitlin Clark’s shoes. With the experience of forward Hannah Stuelke and guard Sydney Affolter next to her, Olsen can be a pure scorer from the guard position, an addition that takes Iowa from good to great.

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Iowa’s Cooper DeJean confident in taking Caitlin Clark one-on-one ahead of NFL Draft

Cooper DeJean weighed in on NFL teams asking if he could take Caitlin Clark one-one-one. The Iowa star lacked no confidence in his response.

Cooper DeJean does not lack confidence. But, why should he? The Iowa Hawkeyes’ star defensive back is slated to go in the first round of the NFL Draft and is one of the best defensive backs to ever wear the tigerhawk helmet.

He happened to be at Iowa the same time as another all-time great, Caitlin Clark. She is the most recent Iowa Hawkeye to be drafted as she went No. 1 in the WNBA Draft recently. Despite being the all-time NCAA scoring leader, DeJean thinks he could take her one-on-one on the basketball court.

DeJean met with CBS Sports to talk about his draft process and he let them know that during the interview process teams asked if he could beat her on the basketball court.

“I said that I think I could win,” DeJean said Tuesday in an interview with CBS Sports.

DeJean’s answer caught me off guard, and he could tell.

“You don’t think I can win?” he asked, which I responded by reminding him that Clark, the former Iowa Hawkeyes superstar and the Indiana Fever’s No. 1 overall draft pick, is widely considered to be the greatest women’s basketball player ever. In DeJean’s defense, he does have a hoops background. In high school, he was a three-time letter winner at point guard.

“She’d definitely score on me, for sure, but I think I could pull it off,” said DeJean, who added that Clark’s shooting prowess would be his biggest challenge. “It would be close, though. … She can shoot from anywhere, I think.” – Bryan DeArdo, CBS Sports

Cooper DeJean is no slouch on the court. Everyone knows his collegiate All-American status on the gridiron, but in high school, he could light it up on the court. DeJean scored 1,832 points during his high school basketball career and is the state’s all-time steals leader, which is fitting for his ability to create turnovers in football.

Next up for Cooper DeJean is the opportunity to hear his name called in the NFL Draft and become the next Hawkeye to continue to NFL pipeline. While we can hope that the Clark vs. DeJean matchup happens one day, we may have to wait as each are getting the professional careers underway.

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Caitlin Clark reportedly nearing eight-figure deal with Nike that includes signature shoe

Caitlin Clark is about to get paid by Nike in a massive way.

Back up that BRINKS truck.

Per a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, former Hawkeye superstar and recent No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark, is nearing an eight-figure endorsement deal from Nike that would create her own signature shoe.

Before she’s even played a game in the WNBA, Clark is already a massive needle mover for the league. With Clark going No. 1 overall to the Fever, ESPN’s coverage of the 2024 WNBA draft registered the largest TV audience of any kind for the league since Memorial Day in the year 2000.

The 2.45 million viewers for the WNBA draft quadrupled the viewership from the year prior.

With that type of pull and star power, it’s only natural that Nike would want to cash in on Clark’s popularity.

Per Charania, Clark’s deal with Nike expired after the conclusion of this past women’s college basketball season. That allowed Clark to hear sizable offers from Nike, Under Armour and Adidas.

It sounds like Clark is sticking with the Swoosh. Given their prior relationship, it’s not surprising to see Clark head in that direction.

According to SportsPro, Clark joins a group of five other current WNBA players to have earned shoe deals. Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu are both on Nike’s roster.

Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi has previously released a signature shoe with Nike, while Las Vegas Aces forward Candace Parker and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart have also released shoes with Adidas and Puma, respectively.

Those are some of the biggest names in women’s basketball and it speaks to Clark’s greatness that she’s among them. Clark’s star continues to shine bright as her WNBA career begins.

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Kentucky transfer G Maddie Scherr cancels Iowa visit following Lucy Olsen commitment

Following Lucy Olsen’s commitment to Iowa, Kentucky transfer guard Maddie Scherr canceled her scheduled visit to the Hawkeyes.

The Iowa Hawkeyes originally had a visitor scheduled for Thursday.

Instead, Kentucky transfer point guard Maddie Scherr will look elsewhere. The 5-foot-10 senior guard canceled her visit after Iowa picked up a commitment from Villanova transfer point guard Lucy Olsen.

Hawkeye Report‘s Kyle Huesmann confirmed that news on Wednesday night.

It makes sense. Olsen steps right in as Iowa’s incumbent starting point guard, which would have been the starting slot Scherr was seeking. Plus, with Olsen’s commitment, Iowa is at the full 15 scholarship players.

That group features incoming freshmen Ava Heiden, Taylor Stremlow, Teagan Mallegni, Callie Levin and Aaliyah Guyton, redshirt freshman Ava Jones, sophomore Kennise Johnson, juniors Taylor McCabe, Jada Gyamfi and Hannah Stuelke and seniors Lucy Olsen, Sydney Affolter, Kylie Feuerbach, AJ Ediger and Addison O’Grady.

Scherr averaged 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season with the Wildcats. The Florence, Ky., native shot 33.5% from the field, 28.8% from 3-point range and 81.6% from the charity stripe.

While the Hawkeyes don’t have another roster spot for Scherr, Iowa fans will no doubt be excited about adding last season’s No. 3 leading scorer nationally in Olsen.

Olsen averaged 23.3 points per game last season with Villanova. The junior shot 43.8% from the field, 29.4% from 3-point range and 80.7% from the line. Olsen also averaged 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

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