Iowa women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder says her team was motivated in the off-season by last year’s NCAA Tournament snub. The Hawkeyes finished 23-10 and made it to the semifinals of the N-I-T. She says she thinks they proved to everybody that they should have been in the tournament by getting to the semifinals of the N-I-T. Bluder says the team they tied with in the Big Ten went to the tournament and they didn’t. The Hawks will rely on several newcomers this season. Lindsay Richards and Johanna Solverson will not play this season after suffering knee injuries over the summer and Bluder says the starting lineup could include three freshman. She says even if they’re not in the starting lineup, they’ll still play a lot. She says playing young players can be fun as they don’t know what they’re in for.The pre-conference schedule is difficult again and features a visit to national power Louisiana Tech and a visit by Rutgers and former Iowa coach C. Vivian Stringer who will be part of Iowa’s tournament.