New Collectible Salutes Iowa Women’s Run to Hoops Title Game [PHOTO]

Many of us wish the 2022-23 Iowa women's basketball season could have continued forever. The veteran-laden team was so much fun to watch, won 31 games, and made it all the way to the national championship game. A new collectible is now available that will help us remember the joy the team brought us for years to come.

The Iowa team, with a starting lineup (photo at top) that featured four seniors (Gabbie Marshall, Kate Martin, McKenna Warnock, and Monika Czinano) and one junior (Caitlin Clark), got red hot at the end of the season. A last-second 3-pointer by Clark gave Iowa a Senior Day win over Indiana (photo below) and helped launch the Hawkeyes to three wins in three days in the Big Ten Tournament.

The fun continued at Carver-Hawkeye Arena with a 52-point win over SE Louisiana in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, followed by a victory over Georgia that sent Iowa to the Sweet 16 in Seattle. Victories over Colorado and Louisville powered the Hawkeyes to the Final Four in Dallas where they beat the tournament's top seed, South Carolina, before losing to LSU in the national championship game. Sometimes I still have trouble with the realization that Iowa played for the national title. What a year!

Get our free mobile app

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official producer of licensed University of Iowa Bobbleheads, has released a new collectible that celebrates Iowa's amazing season.

It's a bobblehead that features Herky the Hawk with a sports section in his hand (or is it wing?) that reads, "HAWKEYES MAKE IOWA PROUD!” Under Herky's feet is a stack of papers that says “IOWA WOMEN’S HISTORIC 31-WIN 2022-23 SEASON IS ONE FOR THE AGES WITH FANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY CHEERING FOR THE HIGH-FLYING HAWKEYES!”

I think it reflects our state's euphoria with the team, and their success, very well. Only 2,023 bobbleheads are available, each individually numbered. They can be ordered here and are expected to ship in July.