By Pat Harty

One of the greatest seasons in the history of the Iowa women’s basketball program, and arguably the greatest individual career in program history both came to an end on Monday.

The Megan Gustafson-led Hawkeyes finally met their match, and then some, in the Elite Eight as top-ranked Baylor pounded Iowa 85-53 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.

Iowa was trying to make the Final Four for just the second time in program history, and for the first time since 1993, but the Lady Bears showed why they’re the top-ranked team in the tournament, using a combination of size, athleticism and skill to dismantle the Hawkeyes.

The loss marked the end of Gustafson’s legendary career, but the 6-foot-3 center from tiny Port Wing, Wis., went out in style by scoring 23 points and becoming just the fourth player in NCAA history to surpass 1,000 points in a single season.

She also grabbed nine rebounds but just missed setting an NCAA single-season record for double-doubles, finishing with 33.

Senior point guard Tania Davis and senior forward Hannah Stewart also played their last game as Hawkeyes on Monday and finished with 10 and eight points, respectively.

But what these three seniors have meant to the Iowa program can’t be measured in just wins and losses and statistics.

Iowa finished the season with a 29-7 record, but records and runs hardly describe this team’s impact.

Fans embraced Gustafson and her cohorts because they were so approachable and fun, but they were also highly competitive and had a burning desire to win, and they did win at a level that is rare for teams at Iowa.

This love fest wouldn’t have happened without a lot of winning because winning is what captures the attention of fans, who then take a closer at what is behind the winning.

It also helps to have arguably the greatest player in program history on your team.

But the real beauty of this Iowa team is that Gustafson did stuff the stat sheet on a regular basis, but was hardly a solo act or selfish.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena wasn’t packed for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament just because of Gustafson. She was certainly the main attraction, and deservedly so, but fans came to see her team perform at a high level.

They came to see a legend play with her talented supporting cast and they came to see a team play the right way by being well-connected and unselfish.

But there is only so much a team can accomplish from a strategy and from a hustle and heart standpoint.

At some point, talent takes over and that’s what happened against Baylor on Monday.

Iowa just didn’t have enough firepower to match the Lady Bears, who led 21-13 after the first quarter, 41-27 at halftime and 65-42 after three quarters.

Baylor now advances to the Final Four in Tampa, Fla., while Iowa ends a season in which it inspired the fans with its grit, passion and winning formula.

Hawkeye fans also were reminded about the impact and the effectiveness of Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder.

Her 19^th season in Iowa City proved to be her best and that speaks volumes about Bluder’s staying power and about her ability to relate to her players.

A super team led by a superstar helped to turn a miserable winter into a spectacular experience.

Baylor posed a huge challenge for Iowa, figuratively and literally with a frontline that includes 6-7 Kalani Brown and 6-4 Lauren Cox defending the paint. The Lady Bears led the nation in blocks for the second consecutive season and that seems to have had the attention of the Iowa players, who missed several easy shots near the basket.

Iowa’s three senior starters have been the heart, soul and driving force behind the success this season, but two of the three struggled in the first half.

Davis missed six of her seven shots in the first half, while Stewart was just 1-for-6 from the field in the first half.

Gustafson and junior guard Kathleen Doyle combined for 21 of Iowa’s 27 points in the first half, scoring 13 and eight points, respectively in the first two quarters.

Iowa had a couple minor spurts in the second half, but it never felt like Baylor was losing the momentum as the lead continued to build.

Gustafson also struggled to get open looks against Baylor’s size in the second half.

Much has been written and said about Iowa being on the cusp of achieving a rare milestone, but Baylor also had its own storyline from not having been to the Final Four since 2012 when it last won the national title.

That is seven years without making the Final Four, which for a program of Baylor’s stature could be considered as under-achieving.

The Lady Bears played like a team that was on a mission in Monday’s game. They jumped on Iowa and just kept coming until the game was a rout.

As for the Hawkeyes, once they get over the devastation of losing with so much on the line, they’ll look back on this season with fond memories.