Lisa Bluder on losing back-to-back titles: 'It sure would be nice to win one'

It has been an incredible run of success for the Iowa Hawkeyes in recent seasons under head coach Lisa Bluder. That includes back-to-back appearances in the National Championship Game. Unfortunately, for Iowa, those are both games they lost.

After the game, Bluder was asked about that success. However, she was clearly frustrated with the loss and said it would have been nice if Iowa could have won one of those titles.

“It kind of makes me a double loser right now, quite honestly,” Lisa Bluder said. “It’s tough. But I know how hard it is to get here too. I say that tongue in cheek because I know it is really, really difficult to get to a Final Four. For us to be national runner-ups two years in a row, I’m never going to apologize.”

In the 2023 National Championship Game, Iowa fell to LSU. The Hawkeyes beat the Tigers on their way to the National Championship Game in 2024 when Iowa lost to South Carolina. During that two season stretch, Iowa became one of the biggest brands in women’s college basketball and held a record of 65-12.

“So many people last year, oh, you’ll do it next time, like it was terrible we didn’t win the national championship. So many people said that to me. I’m like, darn, you guys, we’re national runner-ups. That’s pretty good too,” Bluder said.

“So I’m never going to apologize for finishing second in the country. But it sure would be nice to win one.”

These past two seasons are the closest that Lisa Bluder has gotten in her career to winning a national championship. Previously, the deepest she made it in the Women’s NCAA Tournament was the Elite Eight.

Bluder picked up a $310,000 bonus for Iowa’s 2023-24 season. Iowa also gave her a contract extension.

Lisa Bluder on Caitlin Clark’s effect on Iowa

In recent years, Iowa has gotten a boost from superstar Caitlin Clark. That’s something that Lisa Bluder and the entire team benefited from.

“I really think that when she came in as a freshman and she said we’re going to the Final Four, and a lot of people laughed at her, and maybe even laughed at her for coming to Iowa quite honestly,” Bluder said. “But she believed, we believed, and she got everybody else in that locker room to believe. And that is not an easy thing to do.”