The Iowa women’s basketball team has been one of the most successful Big Ten programs since the turn of the century. They’ve made the NCAA Tournament in 19 of the 25 years since 2000, won five Big Ten Tournament championships, had multiple National Player of the Years and made two National Championship games.
Hundreds of Hawkeyes have contributed to that success over the past 25 years, but which ones rise above the rest?
Today, we’re going to be putting together an All-21st Century Iowa women’s basketball team that includes a starting five, a sixth player and a head coach to lead the way. To qualify for the team, a player needs to have played at least one season during the 21st Century in Iowa City.
Without any further ado, let’s get started.
Point Guard: Caitlin Clark
Everyone knows how good Caitlin Clark is and what she did at Iowa. If I put down every accolade of hers, this story would be 5,000 words.
I’ll keep it to the big ones: NCAA All-Time Leading Scorer, two-time consensus National Player of the Year, four-time AP All-American and more school records than you can count. Clark is the greatest college basketball player, male or female, in the history of the sport.
Clark helped lead the Hawks to two National Championship game appearances for the first time in school history and is the biggest reason why women’s basketball popularity has grown so much worldwide.
Clark averaged 31.6 points, 8.9 assists, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game on 45.5% shooting during her senior season in Iowa City.
A no-discussion-needed selection for this team.
Shooting Guard: Kathleen Doyle
Now we start to reach selections that aren’t so cut and dry. I chose to go with Kathleen Doyle as my shooting guard for this team.
Doyle was a four-year starter for the Hawks from 2016-2020, where she brought home many accolades of her own.
The LaGrange, Illinois, native was a two-time All-Big Ten player and won the Big Ten Player of the Year award in 2019-20 en route to being named an AP All-American that season.
Doyle finished her career averaging 12.5 points, 5.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game and is currently third all-time in Iowa history in career assists with 706. During her 2019-20 campaign, Doyle averaged 18.1 points per game.
Doyle was an underrated Hawkeye that helped pave the way for the success that came after her. And she is more than deserving of a spot on this team.
Small Forward: Kate Martin
The small forward position was one that I went back and forth on for a while before settling on Kate Martin.
While the career averages aren’t eye-popping, Martin’s impact on Iowa women’s basketball went beyond the box score. A fantastic teammate and great defender, Martin did the dirty work so players like Clark and Monika Czinano could score.
Martin hustled, gave great effort and had a knack for hitting some timely threes. The Edwardsville, Illinois, product also made the 2023-24 All-Big Ten team after a great fifth year. Martin averaged 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game during her final season with the Hawkeyes.
The 6-foot guard is the perfect glue player and fits very well on this team. A fan-favorite Hawkeye gets the respect she deserves with a spot on this team.
Power Forward: Jennie Baranczyk
Jennie Baranczyk was one of the first great Hawks during this century, playing from 2000-2004 in Iowa City. She was a part of Bluder’s first recruiting class and had a great career as a Hawkeye.
During her career, Baranczyk averaged 14.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Baranczyk was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2003 when she averaged 16.3 points per game and a second-team choice in 2002 and 2004.
Baranczyk led Iowa in rebounding during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons and helped lead the Hawkeyes to three NCAA Tournament appearances (2001, 2002, 2024) and a Big Ten Tournament title in 2001.
Center: Megan Gustafson
Another slam-dunk selection for this team, Megan Gustafson was the best Iowa women’s basketball player until Caitlin Clark came along.
Gustafson ranks second in Iowa history in career points with 2,804 and is the all-time leading rebounder for the Hawks as well with 1,460.
Gustafson averaged 20.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game across her four years in Iowa City. A two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, two-time AP All American, Gustafson averaged 27.8 points and 13.4 rebounds per game during the 2018-19 season to capture the Naismith Award.
Gustafson helped lead Iowa to the NCAA Tournament Regional Final for the first time in the Bluder era, setting the stage for what was to come in future years.
An all-time great Hawkeye, Gustafson was an easy choice to start on this team.
Sixth Player: Monika Czinano
It was tough to leave Monika Czinano out of the starting lineup, but she was an easy choice to be the sixth player on this team.
Czinano averaged 14.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game across her four years as a Hawk. She was a four-time All-Big Ten player and was named to the 2023 All-Big Ten Tournament team. Her rapport with Caitlin Clark was a big reason why Iowa made their first National Championship game ever in Czinano’s senior season.
Czinano is a great Hawkeye who helped Iowa achieve things many fans thought would never happen.
While she didn’t quite grab a starting spot, I’m more than happy to have her as the sixth player on this All-21st Century team.
Head Coach: Lisa Bluder
It doesn’t get any easier than this selection for the head coach of this team.
Lisa Bluder took over as women’s head basketball coach in 2000 and coached every single year of the century until this past year when Jan Jensen took over.
Bluder went 528-254 across her 24 years in Iowa City, making the NCAA Tournament 18 times and appearing in two National Championship games.
Bluder is the biggest reason why women’s basketball became so popular in the state of Iowa and remains a beloved member of the Iowa athletics community. The perfect selection to coach this All-21st Century squad.
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