It has been seven months since Hannah Iverson was hired as the head women’s basketball coach at UW-Eau Claire.
And the time during her transition has gone quickly. Especially during the time since practice began.
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“October went by in the blink of an eye,” she said.
Now November is here, and this is when the games really count. Iverson and her team are ready to tip off her much-anticipated first season with the Blugolds.
UW-Eau Claire opens the regular season this weekend. The Blugolds are scheduled to face Simpson College on Saturday and Carroll University on Sunday in the UWEC Tipoff Tournament at the Sonnentag Center.
“We are excited to get our season started and find out what our ceiling is for this team,” Iverson said. “It will be a great test for us this weekend.”
Iverson, a graduate of Eau Claire North, took over the Blugold program after seven highly successful seasons at UW-Stout. She won 125 games and led the Blue Devils to an NCAA Division III Final Four appearance in 2025.
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Iverson also takes over a UWEC program that went 13-12 overall and 3-11 in the WIAC last season. UW-Eau Claire came up short of reaching the league tournament for the third straight year.
Iverson’s first UWEC roster is a blend of returning players, transfers and newcomers.
Her Blugold team has already played in one game, falling to the University of Wisconsin 101-69 in an exhibition game last week at the Kohl Center in Madison.
“It was a good opportunity to get on the floor and compete for the first time,” Iverson said. “We played a very good basketball team. I was very pleased with how we competed.
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“It was a 12-point game with two minutes left in the third quarter. I was very proud of how we played against Wisconsin. That game gave us a lot to evaluate and learn from. It was an awesome experience playing in Madison.”
The Blugolds were led in that game by two players who followed Iverson from UW-Stout to UW-Eau Claire.
Sophomore guard Addy Verhagen led the Blugolds with 15 points in the game with the Badgers.
Verhagen was WIAC newcomer of the year and named first team all-WIAC during her freshman year at UW-Stout. She averaged 11.8 points, 4 assists and 3.6 assists per game for the Blue Devils.
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“Addy is a competitor, she really is,” Iverson said. “She has a big heart. She is always pulling people together. She is a special individual. She impacts the people around her in a positive manner.”
Sophomore forward Brooklynn Birt scored 13 points against Wisconsin. She averaged 8.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for Stout last season.
“Brooklynn has a lot to offer,” Iverson said. “She has the potential to shock people with what she can do. She’s a great team player. She has a very, very high ceiling.”
Junior guard Mary Berg is another player who knows Iverson well. Berg averaged nine points per game for Stout last year and earned All-WIAC honorable mention honors.
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Berg played on Stout’s Final Four team in 2025.
“We have kids that know what is asked of them,” Iverson said. “They know what to expect.”
The Blugolds also return several players from last year’s UWEC squad.
Karsyn Bauman, a 5-10 junior forward, scored 10 points and grabbed six boards in the game against Wisconsin. She came off the bench for the Blugolds last season.
Macie Miller, a 5-6 sophomore guard, had nine points against the Badgers. She played in all 25 games for the Blugolds last year. She scored 89 points while adding 21 assists and 17 rebounds.
Senior forward Kailey Tulachka had two points and four rebounds against Wisconsin. She had 73 points and 65 rebounds for UWEC last year
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Delaney Nyenhuis, a 6-2 junior forward, also returns for the Blugolds. She averaged 5.7 points and 8 rebounds per game for UW-Eau Claire last season.
The Blugold players who returned this year have made a difference already this season.
“The roster we inherited has really helped with the transition,” she said. “I have so much respect for how they have embraced the changes. That is a testament to them.”
Iverson believes the transition has gone smoothly.
“Every experience offers something,” she said. “Our staff is so connected. We have a shared vision for the culture we want to build.
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“One of the challenges of coaching is to bring players together and understand the common goal. We have great student-athletes who have meshed together really well.”
For Iverson, it is about much more than just wins and losses.
“We want to build something that our school and our community is proud of,” she said. “These girls are high character people who are great to work with, which is really fun. We want to build relationships and trust with them. That is the foundation of everything we do.”
Iverson said she believes everything is in place at UW-Eau Claire to be successful.
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“These facilities are amazing and there is a high level of expectation for athletic success here,” she said. “We have great support from our administration. We definitely have the resources to achieve what we want to achieve.”
Iverson knows it will not be easy, especially coaching against the strong teams in the WIAC.
“Our conference never changes, it just reloads,” she said. “There is a ton of talent in the WIAC again this year. It is a hard fought battle every Wednesday and Saturday. And I don’t think that is changing.
“We understand the WIAC. We have a very clear idea of how we want to build this. We just have to learn to play connected basketball consistently.”
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Iverson also is enjoying being back in her hometown.
“Eau Claire, it’s an awesome place,” she said. “I am still new to this university, but I learned so much and had such a great experience growing up in this community. Eau Claire has my whole heart. My family is here. This place is special.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
