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Megan Gustafson tabbed Big Ten Player of the Year

By Carly Grenfell

COLLEGE PARK, MD - JANUARY 04: Megan Gustafson #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes handles the ball against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on January 4, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - JANUARY 04: Megan Gustafson #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes handles the ball against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on January 4, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images) /
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Another B1G honor for Iowa’s Gustafson

To nobody’s surprise, Megan Gustafson was named the Big Ten Player of the Year to become the first-ever Iowa women’s basketball player to win the award twice. She was also a unanimous All-Big Ten Selection and was named to the All-Defensive Team. This is the first time in her career she made the All-Defensive Team.

“I think my teammates and coaches did a nice job of supporting me and telling me to just be myself, day in and day out,” Gustafson told Lisa Byington in a recent interview about dealing with pressure. “Don’t worry about the numbers, don’t worry about the outside pressure or anything like that. Just play with that passion and just having fun every single day. They made it so much easier.”

To put things into perspective, the Hawkeyes were 8-10 in conference her freshman year, 8-8 her sophomore year, 11-5 her junior year (with 24 wins overall) and finished 14-4 this year with 23 wins heading into the conference tournament. Although she’d probably deflect any of the credit, she’s heavily responsible for Iowa’s success over the last few years.

Gustafson has been a nightmare to guard all season long. She’s had seven 30-point games in Iowa’s 18 conference match-ups this year, averaging just below that at 28.4 points per game. Not to mention her efficiency,  which was 68.7 percent in conference action alone and a nation-leading 70.8 percent overall from the field.

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Speaking of being the best in the nation at things, Gustafson also finished the regular season leading the country in points per game (27.7), field goals made (332) and total points (802). She ranks second in double-doubles (27) and defensive rebounds per game (10), third in total rebounds (385) and fourth in rebounds per game (13.3).

She joins just eight other Big Ten Player of the Year selections who have won the award more than once. This list includes the likes of four-time honoree Jantel Lavender, three-time honorees Jessica Davenport and Kelsey Mitchell, and two-time recipients Anucha Browne, Tracey Hall, Maggie Lucas, Kelly Mazzante and Katie Douglas.

For a full list of Big Ten honors, click here.

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