Iowa's Megan Gustafson becomes 4th player in history to score 1,000 points in single season
Not a lot went right for Iowa on Monday night in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Top-seeded Baylor easily flew past the Hawkeyes 85-53 in the Elite Eight, earning its first Final Four berth since 2012.
Despite the loss, though, Iowa’s Megan Gustafson still ended her record-setting season on a historic note.
Gustafson finished with 23 points in the loss, bringing her season total to 1,001 — making her just the fourth player in women’s college basketball history to record 1,000 points in a single season.
Senior @GustafsonMeg10 becomes just the fourth athlete in NCAA history to surpass 1,000 points in a single season. #Hawkeyes #ncaaW pic.twitter.com/LYaRMqbUAh
— Iowa Women's BBall (@IowaWBB) April 2, 2019
By comparison, only six men have accomplished the same feat since the 1985-86 season. Jimmer Fredette is the last one to do it, having scored 1,068 points during the 2010-11 season with BYU.
"What makes Megan so special is her desire to work to be the best that she can be," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said, via the Des Moines Register. "Her work ethic is second to none. She's not just the first person in the gym and the last person in the gym. It's what she does when she's in the gym. You know, I've seen a lot of kids come into the gym early, and they don't get half the workout of what she does in about three to five minutes.
"She's always in a 100 percent gear. I've never known a player that doesn't take possessions off, sometimes. She never takes a possession off. It will be the day before a game, and we'll be going against our gray squad and she's diving on the floor for a loose ball. I mean, she just does not take possessions off."
Gustafson ended her collegiate career with 2,804 points and 1,459 rebounds, which rank 24th and 14th all time in women’s college basketball history, respectively. She averaged 27.9 points per game, the most in the country, and 19.5 rebounds per game, the third-best in the nation to lead the Hawkeyes to their first Elite Eight appearance since 1993.
She was also named the Big Ten Player of the Year, ESPN’s Player of the Year and is a finalist for both the Naismith Trophy and the Lisa Leslie Award, which is given to the nation’s top center.
Megan Gustafson thanks the University of Iowa for choosing her. Get the tissues. #Class #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/gCKvDTcGbO
— Rob Howe (@RobHoweHN) April 2, 2019
“I just tried to do my job here at Iowa, and just tried to work hard every single day,” Gustafson said. “God has just blessed me with an amazing ability to play basketball, and I’m so, so blessed and thankful that the University of Iowa chose me, and I chose them to play for them.”
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