By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Megan Gustafson has been the main storyline surrounding the Iowa women’s basketball team for the past two seasons, and for good reason because she truly is a once-in-a-lifetime player.

And the fact that Gustafson and her teammates and are now headed to the NCAA Sweet 16 after having defeated Missouri 68-52 on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena is a story that just keeps getting better and whose conclusion is filled with exciting possibilities.

But there was another feel-good story that came as a result of Sunday’s victory with Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder at the center of it.

There wasn’t much written or said about the pressure on Bluder to make the Sweet 16, but there was pressure that had simmered below the surface.

Fair or not, how far a team advances in the NCAA Tournament is often how it is ultimately judged, and the same for head coaches.

The regular season doesn’t seem to matter that much anymore because of the enormous hype  surrounding the NCAA Tournament.

And with Iowa having made the Sweet 16 just once in Bluder first 18 seasons as head coach, there was pressure on her to achieve that milestone for the second time on Sunday.

The season wouldn’t have been a failure without a trip to the Sweet 16, but it would have been looked at differently.

“It feels amazing,” Gustafson said of helping Bluder make the Sweet 16. “They made it the year before I got there and that’s something that I really wanted to give her back again. It feels amazing to be able to keep going.

“Coach Bluder I think is the best coach in the entire nation.”

Gustafson was a senior in high school the last time that Iowa made the Sweet 16 in 2015.

Iowa played in the WNIT in Gustafson’s first two seasons in the program before making the NCAA Tournament last season where the Hawkeyes lost to Creighton in the first round.

So there was pressure on the players and on Bluder to make a run in the NCAA Tournament this season.

That pressure was noticeable during Friday’s 66-61 victory over Mercer in the first round as Iowa committed 24 turnovers.

The players wanted to win so badly for themselves, for Bluder and for the fans that had packed the arena that they let it affect how they performed.

That pressure still was present on Sunday, but the players handled it much better this time, and now they’re in the midst of making the kind of run that has been so hard to accomplish.

Gustafson is arguably the greatest player in program history, but now her legacy, and the legacy of Iowa’s senior class, will be solidified even more by making the Sweet 16.

“I think that's important, but honestly, it's not even something we think about,” Bluder said. “We are just wanting to keep playing basketball. I mean that's what it's all about. We wanted to make it to the Sweet 16 because we know that's a huge accomplishment, but it's not about the legacy, it's about this family being together, it's about these women having the opportunity to go to battle for another week.

“It's more than that. It's not about legacy, it's more about sentiment. It's more about being together.”

Iowa improved to 28-6 and will play the winner of Monday’s game between North Carolina State and Kentucky in the Sweet 16 next Saturday in Greensboro, N.C.

A victory would put the Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight for the first time under Bluder and for the first time since Iowa made the NCAA Final Four under former head coach C. Vivian Stringer in 1993.

“Honestly, that’s probably one of the most rewarding parts, coach Bluder is awesome,” said senior forward Hannah Stewart. “Her, and the whole staff, put so much work into us and getting us prepared for our next opponents and that kind of thing, the scouting reports, the film, everything they do that goes unnoticed.

“One of the huge reasons why we win is how prepared we are for our opponents. So it’s really awesome and she deserves it more than anything. We’re just so happy, but we hope we can get her further than that, too.”

Bluder didn’t need to win Sunday’s game to validate everything else she has accomplished in a career that has spanned nearly four decades.

You don’t become Iowa’s all-time winningest coach by accident or by being lucky or mediocre. You do so by excelling at your job.

Bluder was an outstanding coach before Sunday’s victory and that wouldn’t have changed if Iowa had lost to Missouri.

But there are some who might have held it against Bluder for failing to make the Sweet 16 despite having arguably the greatest player in program history on the roster.

So maybe there was some relief to along with all of the excitement that accompanied Sunday’s victory.