Megan Gustafson makes history, UConn players seek redemption
Where will she put all the trophies?
TAMPA, FL — Ten players received WBCA All-American awards Thursday afternoon at Amalie Arena, paced by Megan Gustafson, who also won AP National Player of the Year.
Connecticut recipients led with two players receiving awards in Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson. Iowa’s Megan Gustafson, Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale, Mississippi State’s Teaira McCowan, Baylor’s Kalani Brown, Stanford’s Alanna Smith, and Iowa State’s Bridget Carleton also were recipients of the awards.
Gustafson is the first Big Ten player to receive the AP National Player of the Year Award. Gustafson is also the first Iowa Hawkeye to earn a national player of the year award of any kind since Michelle Edwards, who received the Champion National Player of the Year Award in 1988, and a year later, Purdue’s Stephanie White, who last won the Wade Trophy and the Honda Sports Award in 1989. Thirty years later, it is now in Gustafson’s name.
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Gustafson ranks fifth in Big Ten history with 2,804 points. She holds the Big Ten conference career record for rebounds with 1,460, which ranks 14th in NCAA history. Her all-time NCAA rank in field goal percentage is fifth, and her 88 double-doubles is the fourth-highest total in NCAA history as well.
However, while Gustafson has received numerous awards, she will not be competing for the national title. Among the group honored Thursday, Collier, Samuelson, Ionescu, and Ogunbowale are still competing for the crown of women’s basketball.
Ionescu’s Oregon Ducks will face the Baylor Lady Bears in the early game Friday night at Amelie Arena in Tampa in the first national semifinal at this year’s Final Four. Ogunbowale’s Notre Dame will take on Collier and Samuelson’s UConn in the second semifinal.
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