IOWA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL DRAWS 6 SEED IN NCAA TOURNAMENT; WILL PLAY CREIGHTON ON SATURDAY

The suspense was drawn out on Selection Monday for the Iowa Women’s basketball team. Three regions were announced before Lisa Bluder’s squad was announced as the No. 6 seed in the Kanas City region of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Hawks’ region was announced last of the four regions, but there was never any doubt that the 24-7 Hawkeye squad would hear their name called on ESPN. They drew the No. 11 seed Creighton, and will travel to Los Angeles for their first (and hopefully second!) matchup. Tipoff against the Bluejays is at 5 p.m. CST.

After two straight years in the WNIT, a 1-point loss in the Big Ten tournament, and snubs for junior superstar Megan Gustafson, who earlier in the day was named an espnW All American, it feels like the Hawkeye squad come make some noise in the tournament.

According to the NCAA, the Bluejays were one of the Last Four In for the tournament:

Check out the entire bracket here. If the Hawkeyes beat the Bluejays, they’ll advance to play the winner of No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 14 America The top four seeds in the KC region are Mississippi State, Texas, UCLA and NC State. It’s obviously a tough draw for the Hawks, but we’ve seen this team excel against elite competition all season.

This has been a special — and difficult — season for Bluder’s bunch, but as we’ve seen so many times this year, when Megan Gustafson takes the floor, great things happen. Let’s hope that translates into a deep tournament run.