The University of Iowa women got a three seed and will get to play at home in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Hawkeyes will play 14th seeded American on Friday. Head coach Lisa Bluder has led the Hawkeyes to 12 NCAA appearances in her 15 years at Iowa
“It never gets old, it is still fun. Obviously this is special for us as it’s the highest seed that we’ve ever received as a coaching staff,” Bluder says. “We’re pretty excited about that, but obviously we know the seed doesn’t mean anything Friday — once the ball goes up in the air the seed doesn’t mean a thing.” Bluder is pleased to be playing at home. “That’s what’s so wonderful, is these seniors deserve to have the opportunity to play in front of the fans again, in front of our great Hawkeye fans. To play in Carver-Hawkeye arena again,” Bluder says.
Iowa comes in with a 24-7 record and there wasn’t a lot of worry about getting a tournament bid. “We really thought we were going to have this happen, but it feels good just to see it actually come to fruition,” Bluder says.
Senior Alley Disterhoft is also excited. “It’s awesome, we’re really excited finally being the favored seed a couple of years in a row now. So, we’re just looking to build on that, got to take it one game at a time, but looking forward to playing back in Carver,” Disterhoft says. American from the Patriot League is 24-8. The game begins at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Friday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.