The Iowa Hawkeye women will play Rutgers and former coach C. Vivian Stringer in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Stanford, California on Saturday night. The Hawks earned an at-large bid after a late run helped them finish with a record of 19-13.
Iowa coach Lisa Bluder says she felt confident they were in, and it’s always fun to see your name come up. Bluder admits she was surprised they were given an eighth seed. She says there’s not a lot of difference from being seed 8 or 9, and she thought they might be a 10 seed.
Bluder says it was Stringer who put the Iowa program on the map in 12 years, taking the team to the Final Four. Bluder says Stringer has taken three teams to the Final Four and was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and has continued to win.