Doyle Named Big Ten Player Of The Year

On more than one occasion this season, Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder said senior guard Kathleen Doyle was the emotional leader for the Hawkeyes, a big reason why they were surprise contenders for the conference title.

The rest of the conference saw that, too.

Doyle was named the Big Ten's player of the year by the coaches and the media on Monday, becoming the second consecutive Hawkeye to win the award — center Megan Gustafson split the awards in 2018 and won both last season.

Doyle was fourth in the Big Ten in scoring in overall games at 18.2 points per game, third in scoring in conference games at 19.8 points. She led the conference in assists (6.4 per game overall, 6.3 conference), was third in free-throw percentage (.791) and eighth in field-goal percentage (.446).

Doyle scored in double figures in Iowa's 18 Big Ten games, including two 30-point games and seven additional 20-point games. Doyle had five or more assists 13 times.

She had a career game against Indiana with 31 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds.

Doyle ranks fifth nationally in total assists (185) and seventh in assists per game. She also ranks in the top 50 in field goals made (144), free-throw attempts (182), final points (528), and points per game (18.2).

For the third time in as many years, an @IowaWBB star is @B1Gwbball POY.

Kathleen Doyle (@KDoyle_11) chats with @LisaByington about carrying on the tradition. pic.twitter.com/OwXQKce0vv
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 2, 2020

Doyle was a unanimous all-conference first-team pick by the coaches and media as well. Center Monika Czinano was a first-team pick by the media and a second-team selection by the coaches. Guard Makenzie Meyer was a second-team pick by the coaches and the media.

Czinano, a sophomore in her first season as a starter, averaged 16.1 points per game. She leads NCAA Division I play in field-goal percentage at .699.

Meyer averaged 14.4 points. She was second in the Big Ten in three-pointers with 75. Meyer was also the team's winner of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Iowa forward McKenna Warnock was named to the Big Ten's all-freshman team. Warnock averaged 9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds, and shot .533 from the field in Big Ten play.

Northwestern's Joe McKeown was named the Big Ten's coach of the year.