After grabbing the pass, Caitlin Clark started to beat. The third quarter was coming to a finish, and Iowa was leading Minnesota by a wide margin. However, Clark witnessed Hannah Stuelke, one of her top targets, secure a great position in the low post between her defender and the hoop.
Clark set a new Big Ten record with her 902nd career assist when she made a flawless ball to Stuelke from way beyond the 3-point line. Stuelke made the basket and drew a foul.
A regular staple on Clark’s highlight films, Stuelke is a 6-foot-2 sophomore forward who is playing a bigger role for the Hawkeyes this season. She frequently dishes up amazing dimes to Stuelke, like the one she did on Wednesday against Purdue, without even looking.
However, not always. Indeed, Stuelke got the rock at the top of the 3-point arc in the play that won the game for Iowa over Michigan State last week. The ball was briefly knocked away, but she recovered in time to pass it to Clark, who made her now-famous step-back, logo 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left.
Editor’s Selections
Predictions for the middle of the season: Will South Carolina and UCLA play for the NCAA women’s title?
106dESPN
The definitive guide by Caitlin Clark: Iowa senior’s career ends in a loss in the NCAA title game 10dESPN
Ladies’ Bracketology: All eyes focused on the projected outcome 39dCharlie Creme
As she leads the Hawkeyes to a 16-1 record despite losing two multi-year players, most notably Monika Czinano, who is the Robin to her Batman, Clark is on the verge of repeating as national player of the year. However, Stuelke, who is second in both scoring and rebounding for the Hawkeyes, has contributed to Clark’s success in re-establishing Iowa as a contender this year. And Stuelke’s present trajectory will be necessary for the Hawkeyes to return to the Final Four in what may be Clark’s last season in Iowa City.
ESPN quoted Iowa associate head coach Jan Jensen as saying, “As [Stuelke] goes, we can go.” “The higher she takes her game, the higher it’s going to help us go.”
Stuelke, a rookie the previous season, established a role behind Czinano, who is consistently one of the nation’s most productive post players. Stuelke, a native of Cedar Rapids, had always imagined herself as a Hawkeye, so it was only natural for her to take some time in her first year to figure out her place on the court.
Stuelke’s career took off during conference play, which contributed to her being named the Big Ten Sixth Woman of the Year. During that stretch of the season, Iowa went 15-3 before going on to win the Big Ten tournament for the second time in a row and make its first Final Four appearance in thirty years.
— Iowa WBB Women’s Basketball January 11, 2024: During the NCAA tournament, Steinke treated for an ankle injury. However, it was Stuelke’s development to the coaching staff and the program’s faith in her to make an impact on such a big stage that she was charged by 2022 national player of the year Aliyah Boston in the first quarter of the national semifinals, the game in which Iowa upset then-undefeated South Carolina.
“When she turned that corner more confidently and comfortably,” Jensen stated, “that’s I think when our team really started to roll.”
With Czinano’s graduation this offseason, both Clark and Iowa saw a change in circumstances. After the steady presence of Czinano and the player she succeeded, Megan Gustafson, the Hawkeyes adopted a more by-committee approach to post-play, with Sharon Goodman and Addi O’Grady both seeing increased responsibilities. This was something the team was unaccustomed to.
Since the chemistry that Czinano and Clark worked on for three years could not be duplicated in a single day, the program’s message encouraged participants to accept that they were a new group.
“I think we just decided this is a new year, this is a new team,” said Stuelke. It’s like putting together a puzzle every year. We need to determine how well we complement one another and collaborate.”
“Getting [the post players] to ignore everyone who insisted on saying, ‘Well you don’t have Monika,’ was the biggest challenge.”Monika, however, was this.” Jensen continued. “I replied, ‘No, we don’t. Though having her was enjoyable, this is who we have become this year. We don’t have to be that; this is who you get to be. That’s not actually how you’re wired. Hey, this is how you’re wired, though.”
Stuelke has always been a vital component of Iowa’s plans to succeed Czinano, even though her athleticism gives the Hawkeyes a different look at the position than they have had in the past. Working with Iowa’s posts, Jensen refers to Stuelke as a prototype power forward who can spread the floor with an outside shot that she developed during the summer. Since the beginning of the season, though, the Hawkeyes have come to the conclusion that Stuelke is more valuable at centre because of her quickness and adaptability, which help to create mismatches despite her slight size.
Because Stuelke can handle the ball, create outside the paint, and use her speed to go to the hoop, Iowa can now do a little more from the perimeter. The Hawkeyes have extra scoring opportunities because to her offensive rebounding (almost three boards per game), which is a nightmare for opponents.
Furthermore, her ability to run the rim is ideal for an Iowa offence that excels in transition. Clark, who “loves her running target that’s 700 meters away,” is the only one who finds greater enjoyment in that component of Jensen’s game. Jensen stated that Stuelke is Clark’s Travis Kelce if Clark is her favourite Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
“Hannah just runs the floor really hard, as hard as anybody as I’ve ever played with,” Clark stated recently. “It leads to a lot of easy buckets and causes a lot of problems for other teams.”
Hannah Stuelke will only grow better, according to Iowa associate head coach Jan Jensen, if she accepts the ideas of “you are good enough to be that confident” and “I’m the one, I can do this.” Hawkeyesports.com/Brian Ray
To strengthen the bond, deliberate communication has been necessary. Jensen also mentioned that she occasionally still needs to tell Clark to “chill it, take it down a notch — it was there but Kelce might have had a hard time hanging on to that one.” Stuelke’s experience from the previous year helped him comprehend what it takes to play with Clark, namely that the ball is coming in hot and you have to be ready to catch it at all times.
“Caitlin’s really fun to play with and really easy to mesh with just because she’s always looking for what’s best for the team,” Stuelke stated, “or she’ll see you when you’re open and you don’t even think you’re open.”
The relationship has paid off for the Hawkeyes, as Stuelke has contributed 35 of Clark’s 131 assists this season, sharing the team lead with Kate Martin.
“I think just when the whole team is at its best, we’re all playing at a very high level, and me and Caitlin seem to just find each other,” Stuelke stated. “I think that’s really special.”
Clark’s workload is lessened in part by Stuelke’s development into a reliable scorer (her 31.0 PPG led the country). You can’t achieve our goals with simply Caitlin scoring, as Iowa coach Lisa Bluder stated recently. There must be more to it than that.
Stuelke leads the Hawkeyes in scoring with 13.8 points (64.8% shooting) on 9.1 field goal attempts per game. She averages 2.9 trips to the free throw line per game, and she has been training throughout the summer to raise her accuracy rate (which is now at 58.5%) to at least 70%.
“We can go as [Stuelke] goes. Our progress will be aided by her increasing level of play.”
Jan Jensen, associate head coach at Iowa, stated that stuelke performs best when she is in the zone, playing instinctively and without overanalyzing. She has found that the mental aspect of the game is where things have clicked the most, and she still has room to develop her belief that “I’m the one, I can do this.” Jensen continued.
Hannah has always been athletic, her abilities have improved, and she puts in just as much effort as any team member. Because of all the effort she’s done and because she deserves it, she’s gaining confidence,” Clark remarked. “I believe that’s the most significant development she’s had. I’m most proud of her for having adopted that dog mindset, as it were.”
The Hawkeyes’ next major test will take place on Saturday when they take on Indiana, one of their main rivals for the Big Ten crown and a team that has also won 13 straight games. Playing down low against first-team All-American Mackenzie Holmes, Stuelke will have another chance to prove to the nation—and perhaps even to herself—how important she is to Iowa’s future.
“I think that’ll be the continuation of her involvement is just knowing that ‘I can be great, and no matter what you want me to do, I have the skill set,'” Jensen stated. “And when she gets that consistently, I think you’ll really see her shine.”
Things to watch this weekend
No. 12 Kansas State vs. No. 10 Texas, Saturday, 2 p.m. ET on ESPNU
the week’s top news from
Get unrestricted access to thousands of excellent articles written by renowned authors each year.
• Kiper: 20 things to be aware of before Round 1
• The CFB transfer portal’s top 50 players
• MBB hiring: top spots in the next three classes
Additional ESPN+ programming
Kansas State is off to one of its greatest starts in program history and remains the only team to defeat Iowa this season, especially with the return of Ayoka Lee from a knee surgery that kept her out of action for the entire previous season. But with Texas on board, things are starting to get serious. Despite losing Rori Harmon, the Longhorns have bounced back nicely, with talented freshman Madison Booker stepping in at point guard. It will be interesting to see Texas’ prolific offence play against Kansas State’s formidable defence, which surrenders 51.2 points per contest to opponents.
No. 3 Iowa vs. No. 14 Indiana on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX
Clark’s game-winning, buzzer-beater 3-pointer at the end of February 2023 sealed the Indiana-Iowa matchup. Might something equally remarkable occur this time around? Following their respective losses to Stanford in the opening week of the season and Kansas State the week before Thanksgiving, both teams have now won 13 straight games. Although Mackenzie Holmes and the Hoosiers could surprise the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes still seem to be the Big Ten favourites.
No. 21 Florida State vs. No. 11 Virginia Tech, 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, ESPN
Elizabeth Kitley’s game-winning three-pointer with seconds remaining last week to defeat then-No. 3 NC State has Virginia Tech on a high note. But Florida State, another highly regarded foe, is right around the corner. Following a poor defensive performance for the majority of the game against the Wolfpack, the Hokies will need to exert maximum pressure on that end of the court in order to slow down a potent Florida State offence, which is led by Ta’Niya Latson and scored the second-most points in the ACC.
No. 5 Colorado Buffaloes vs. No. 8 Stanford Cardinals, Sunday, 2 p.m. ET on Pac-12 Network
There have been strange incidents when Stanford visits Boulder. There have been overtime in two of the last three meetings (including the one from last season), and in the other, the Cardinal had to overcome an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win. With a team heavily composed of seniors, JR Payne has assembled her greatest squad to date this year, one that has a good chance of building on its Sweet 16 run from the previous campaign.
This weekend features three highly anticipated Pac-12 games: on Saturday, Stanford will play at Utah, and on Sunday, there will be a rematch between UCLA and USC at the Galen Centre.
