IOWA CITY – While the ceiling for Wednesday’s exhibition was so high, Iowa women’s basketball undoubtedly entered it with a successful soft opener.
The Hawkeyes’ 110-55 victory over Missouri Western in Carver-Hawkeye Arena provided the full range of benefits. The wide range of looks for a roster full of new faces allowed many to build their confidence as Jan Jensen capped her first stint as head coach with a convincing win.
“I’m thankful to have a team that did what they were supposed to do tonight,” Jensen said. “It will be a bit of a different feeling when the games count and you start playing your caliber of teams, which we will do next Wednesday.”
While no one in black and gold wants a banner hanging for a productive exhibition, this dress rehearsal revealed some important developments for the upcoming season. With Iowa’s Nov. 6 season opener against Northern Illinois now less than a week away, here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s win that should prove significant in the games ahead.
Hannah Stuelke’s recovery offseason is already paying off.
As much as a medical cleanup offseason limited Iowa’s new core from practicing together, the knee procedures Hannah Stuelke and Syndey Affolter received this offseason should pay off over the course of a long season.
That was abundantly clear with Stuelke, who easily looked faster and more agile without wearing knee pads or clothing in Wednesday’s win, as she did last season.
Stuelke’s 18 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including 7-for-10 at the line, came with force and conviction. There was a clear mismatch down the stretch against the Division II Griffons, and Stuelke emphatically exploited it with every possible chance.
It didn’t take long, however, for Stuelke to lean on her new instrument. The first Hawkeye 3-pointer was, yes, by the 6-foot-2 forward, who has just five career collegiate treys. Stuelke’s extended time as a more natural “4” position should be a welcome return after hitting big bodies at the “5” all last year.
“I saw a little different intensity with her,” Jensen said. “We played it at ‘5’ last year, now we’re playing it at ‘4.’ But I lost a lot of reps (at “4”) last year and that worried me the most. Now we have to keep building on that.”
“It was nice to see him hit a three. She had some strong drives, but the competition is only going to get bigger and better. It was great to see her do all those things.”
That was a constant theme in Jensen’s post-match assessment, acknowledging the excitement for a new era while realizing Wednesday’s result was bound to happen. Winning the exhibition is simply a good starting point for many, including Stuelke.
Teagan Mallegni delivers the most important freshman debut.
Even with Aaliyah Guyton still out as she works through the final stages of her ACL recovery, it’s clear that there will be a strong freshman flavor for several different lineups this season.
Through several periods Wednesday, Iowa had three freshmen on the floor: Taylor Stremlow, Teagan Mallegni and Ava Heiden. Still, Mallegni took home top honors in his first year, pouring in 18 points with four treys in just under 20 minutes.
“The confidence that my teammates and coaches gave me and talked to me about everything, that was really the biggest impact on my game,” Mallegni said. “I have to give it to my team. They trust me, they can get me the ball and playing with them was great.”
Two early trees fell in love with Mallegni and seemed to unlock the rest of the night. She shot with confidence as she went 4-for-9 from deep as the team’s top producer downtown. Mallegni might not have that kind of outside production every game, but it looks like a bunch of trees could come in at any moment to provide timely stability.
Lucy Olsen (and her sleeves) make a strong debut in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
If you see or hear about a lot of young Iowa fans suddenly wanting to play their youth basketball games in sleeves, you know where the source is.
Lucy Olsen, stand up.
Iowa’s prized addition put in 27 strong minutes Wednesday as he racked up 14 points, six rebounds and six assists — all while rocking what will soon become Hawkeye fans’ latest clothing obsession. You saw Molly Davis and her headband popularity take over last season as Iowa continued to rack up wins.
Well, Molly’s headband…meets Lucy’s sleeves.
“I started wearing them halfway through last season,” Olsen said. “But today, in particular, I was making up my mind and it was really hot in the gym during the shoot. I was sweating like crazy. It was coming out of my fingers and elbows. It was wild. I thought they would absorb some sweat and the field would be a little cleaner.”
Olsen dazzled with multiple game-tying games and finished with an astounding +/- 57, all on the back of her first game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Another player whose comfort level with the season and this team will grow considerably as the weeks go by.
“I think we moved the ball well on offense, we really played as a team,” Olsen said. “There are many players in this team. We want to win. We want to compete. We all trust each other and our coaches have done a really good job of giving us the confidence, giving us the resources to make sure we’re ready for everything.”
Dargan Southard is a sports trends reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
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