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Iowa coach Bluder retires after 34 D-I seasons

C. Morgan Engel / NCAA Photos / Getty

Longtime Iowa women's basketball head coach Lisa Bluder is retiring, the program announced Monday.

Hawkeyes assistant Jan Jensen will take over the role moving forward.

Bluder was a Division I bench boss for 34 seasons, leading Drake from 1990-2000 and the Hawkeyes from 2000-24. She was also the head coach at NAIA program St. Ambrose from 1984-90.

The Wisconsin native finishes her career with a 716-359 record, ranking 16th all time in wins in the women's game. She led her teams to 22 NCAA Tournament appearances and nine conference tournament titles.

Most notably, Bluder made the only two Final Four appearances of her career in each of her last two seasons, leading teams that starred college basketball's all-time leading scorer and recent No. 1 WNBA draft pick Caitlin Clark. The Hawkeyes fell short in the title game both times.

"It has been the honor of my career to be a part of the Iowa Hawkeye family and to lead a women's basketball program filled with so many talented and remarkable young women who have gone on to do great things in their careers and, more importantly, in their lives," Bluder said in a statement.

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