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Tomorrow, in front of an expected sellout, #19 Iowa will host Michigan State in conference play as they look to remain at the top of the conference standings. After the game, Iowa will retire jersey #10 in honor of Megan Gustafson. Gustafson will join Michelle Edwards as the only two female players to have their jerseys retired.
Gustafson is currently playing overseas in Hungary and will have played a game on Saturday before flying to Iowa City for the ceremony Sunday. She will then fly out on Monday to re-join her team. It’s been a whirlwind journey for Gustafson after leaving Iowa as she has played in the WNBA with Dallas and now with NKE-Casta in Hungary.
Sunday... @GustafsonMeg10 | #Hawkeyes #FightForIowa pic.twitter.com/piSEnw4yIN
— Iowa Women's BBall (@IowaWBB) January 24, 2020
Gustafson left Iowa as the all-time scoring leader in the school’s basketball history, men or women with 2,804 points. Here is her “paragraph” from the Hawkeye media guide.
Megan Gustafson (2015-2019) ended her career as the most decorated Hawkeye in program history. She is the first Big Ten student to be named consensus national player of the year (Associated Press, ESPN, Naismith, USBWA). She was also named the Honda Sport Award winner for basketball and was one of three finalists for the Honda Cup. Her resume includes the Lisa Leslie Award, SeniorCLASS Award, Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, Big Ten Athlete of the Year, unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection, Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament, and consensus first team All-American (Associated Press, U.S. Basketball Writers’ Association, ESPNW). She was a Wade Trophy finalist, John R. Wooden Award finalist, and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist. During her senior season (2018-19), Gustafson netted 1,001 points to become just the fourth Division I female student-athlete, and the only post player, to eclipse 1,000 points in a single season. The Port Wing, Wisconsin, native owns 16 Iowa school records, including career marks for points (2,804) and rebounds (1,460). Gustafson led the nation in five categories as a senior, including points per game (27.8), field goal percentage (69.9), total points (1,001), and double-doubles (33). She also holds conference career records for rebounds (1,460), field goal percentage (.657), and double-doubles (88).
PLAYER. OF. THE. YEAR.
— Iowa Women's BBall (@IowaWBB) March 4, 2019
Gustafson is the only Hawkeye in program history to win @B1Gwbball Player of the Year twice. #Hawkeyes #FightForIowa pic.twitter.com/X0LXMnmDid
Well... at least one person is surprised...
— Iowa Women's BBall (@IowaWBB) March 4, 2019
GOT HER! #Hawkeyes #FightForIowa pic.twitter.com/4TDJ2yAyju
Gustafson quickly captured Hawkeye fans love with her intensity, passion, and never-ending smile. She helped take Iowa to great heights including a trip to the Elite Eight last season. Her legacy continues on as we watch current Hawkeye, sophomore Monika Czinano, display many of the skills and traits that she learned early on from Gustafson.
Hawkeye Nation! I can’t wait to come back on January 26th for the retirement ceremony at Carver Hawkeye Arena! I am incredibly blessed, humbled, and honored to have my jersey up in the rafters and to be a part of something so special during my time at Iowa.
— Megan Gustafson (@GustafsonMeg10) December 20, 2019
See you all soon. pic.twitter.com/gSt5XMHkb0
For a small-town girl from Port Wing, Wisconsin, Gustafson has come a long way through talent, coaching, and extremely hard work. Gustafson has earned all the accolades given to her and we here at BHGP congratulates Gustafson on this tremendous honor.