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Women's Final Four
Iowa women's basketball: Bluder likes Iowa makeup
The scar on Krista VandeVenter's right shoulder doesn't bother her as much as the scar from last season that has stuck with the Iowa women's basketball team.
VandeVenter, who had surgery to repair a torn labrum in her shoulder after the season, said she is doing fine. Of more concern is seeing Iowa bounce back from a 14-16 record.
It was the first losing season in Lisa Bluder's seven years as coach and the first time in her tenure that the Hawkeyes didn't advance to a postseason tournament.
"We've been thinking about last season all summer, all fall again," VandeVenter said Wednesday at the team's media day. "It's time to go, and I think we're all pretty excited about it.
"I expect a lot of good things from our team. Definitely the NCAA Tournament. We have to get back there for sure."
One reason for VandeVenter's optimism is that for the first time in years, Iowa appears to have a full roster after being down to seven or eight healthy bodies the past two seasons.
In 2005-06, five players had knee surgery. Last season, the injuries were more diverse.
VandeVenter hurt her shoulder in the final 2006 preseason game and played most of the season with the injury. Center Megan Skouby broke her hand in midseason. Forward Johanna Solverson tore her anterior cruciate ligament for the second straight summer in 2006.
All are back and healthy, with Solverson getting a waiver allowing her to be a sixth-year senior.
Iowa adds JoAnn Hamlin, a transfer forward-center who averaged 10 points a game as a freshman with Kansas State and will give the Hawkeyes a needed physical presence. Freshman guard Kachine Alexander provides some quickness in the backcourt. Freshman forward Kelsey Cermak adds offensive depth.
"You walk into our practice and it just feels right," Bluder said. "The chemistry is there, the optimism is there, the enthusiasm is there.
"Right now, I have 13 bodies and I haven't had 13 bodies in practice for a long, long time. It feels really, really good."
Even with the added depth, Iowa will be continue to be led by its junior class, headed by point guard Kristi Smith and forward Wendy Ausdemore, each third-team all-Big Ten a year ago, and the 6-foot-6 Skouby, the conference's freshman of the year in 2006.
"I think people put barriers on us and think we can't break through those barriers," Skouby said. "This year, we have everyone back. This is going to be the year that we break through those boundaries and barriers that everybody set for us."
While Iowa was one of the best shooting teams in the country - it ranked second nationally in 3-point shooting at 40.2 percent, and fifth in free-throw shooting at 78.8 percent - it was also one of the softest defensive teams for the second consecutive season.
Iowa scored 67.8 points per game, but allowed 71.7, five more than any other team in the Big Ten. It was 10th in the Big Ten in turnover margin, giving the ball up 2.73 more times per game than it took the ball away. Iowa was eighth in rebounding margin.
Bluder said Iowa will be more aggressive defensively, in part because the deeper bench will allow more pressure.
"We'll have more denial than we've had in the past," she said. "Three years ago, we went to a more sagging man-to-man, and that just wasn't working for us. So we went back to the way we were used to playing, and that was a little more aggressive, more pressure on the ball, denying the passing lanes."
VandeVenter, who had surgery to repair a torn labrum in her shoulder after the season, said she is doing fine. Of more concern is seeing Iowa bounce back from a 14-16 record.
It was the first losing season in Lisa Bluder's seven years as coach and the first time in her tenure that the Hawkeyes didn't advance to a postseason tournament.
"We've been thinking about last season all summer, all fall again," VandeVenter said Wednesday at the team's media day. "It's time to go, and I think we're all pretty excited about it.
"I expect a lot of good things from our team. Definitely the NCAA Tournament. We have to get back there for sure."
One reason for VandeVenter's optimism is that for the first time in years, Iowa appears to have a full roster after being down to seven or eight healthy bodies the past two seasons.
In 2005-06, five players had knee surgery. Last season, the injuries were more diverse.
VandeVenter hurt her shoulder in the final 2006 preseason game and played most of the season with the injury. Center Megan Skouby broke her hand in midseason. Forward Johanna Solverson tore her anterior cruciate ligament for the second straight summer in 2006.
All are back and healthy, with Solverson getting a waiver allowing her to be a sixth-year senior.
Iowa adds JoAnn Hamlin, a transfer forward-center who averaged 10 points a game as a freshman with Kansas State and will give the Hawkeyes a needed physical presence. Freshman guard Kachine Alexander provides some quickness in the backcourt. Freshman forward Kelsey Cermak adds offensive depth.
"You walk into our practice and it just feels right," Bluder said. "The chemistry is there, the optimism is there, the enthusiasm is there.
"Right now, I have 13 bodies and I haven't had 13 bodies in practice for a long, long time. It feels really, really good."
Even with the added depth, Iowa will be continue to be led by its junior class, headed by point guard Kristi Smith and forward Wendy Ausdemore, each third-team all-Big Ten a year ago, and the 6-foot-6 Skouby, the conference's freshman of the year in 2006.
"I think people put barriers on us and think we can't break through those barriers," Skouby said. "This year, we have everyone back. This is going to be the year that we break through those boundaries and barriers that everybody set for us."
While Iowa was one of the best shooting teams in the country - it ranked second nationally in 3-point shooting at 40.2 percent, and fifth in free-throw shooting at 78.8 percent - it was also one of the softest defensive teams for the second consecutive season.
Iowa scored 67.8 points per game, but allowed 71.7, five more than any other team in the Big Ten. It was 10th in the Big Ten in turnover margin, giving the ball up 2.73 more times per game than it took the ball away. Iowa was eighth in rebounding margin.
Bluder said Iowa will be more aggressive defensively, in part because the deeper bench will allow more pressure.
"We'll have more denial than we've had in the past," she said. "Three years ago, we went to a more sagging man-to-man, and that just wasn't working for us. So we went back to the way we were used to playing, and that was a little more aggressive, more pressure on the ball, denying the passing lanes."
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