Addison O'Grady and Hannah Stuelke prepare for new roles

While the Iowa Women’s Basketball team still returns three starters from last years team that made a run to the national championship game, it still feels a bit like the end of an era and the start of something new in Iowa City. The 14-20-22-24-25 starting lineup that was together for 93 starts is a thing of the past. Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock depart after combining for 222 games played and 3,690 points scored over the course of their careers. Now, the focus turns to the two players that are most likely to take the court in their place for the opening tip against Fairleigh Dickinson on November 6th. Addison O’Grady and Hannah Stuelke.

“It’s like ‘oh my gosh, we don’t have Monika, we don’t have McKenna’, but that’s our job right?,” said associate head coach Jan Jensen. “Every (few) years it switches over, so that’s the fun part of coaching. Every year is a different race…Coaches always have a little bit more of a calm and expectation of new lineups.”

Addison O’Grady is entering her third year in the Iowa program and if she starts the season opener, it will be her first career start in a Hawkeye uniform. As a true freshman during the 2021-22 season, O’Grady showed some flashes of quality play, including 19 points against Truman State in the preseason exhibition. She also had solid performances against Evansville (14 pts, 12 reb), Wisconsin (16 pts, 3 reb) and Maryland (8 pts, 6 reb). O’Grady played 10+ minutes in 14 games, but this past season, that number dropped to just six games. She scored more than five points just three times.

“I think the middle of the season, I lost a lot of confidence there,” said O’Grady. “I was able to build it back up and all my teammates and coaches really believe in me…I think starting at the end of the season I just got a lot more confident.”

Although her minutes were down throughout the year, Addison got more time on the big stage at the Final Four in Dallas. She saw ten minutes of action against South Carolina in the national semifinal and finished with four points on 2/4 shooting. Then, in the national title game against LSU, she finished with four points, five rebounds and three blocks over 18 minutes. A bit of a confidence builder going into the offseason.

“On the biggest stage, which was crazy, but that definitely did help me, especially with my confidence at the end of the season,” said O’Grady. “I’ve just been trying to embrace my new role. Obviously, with Monika gone, I’m going to get a lot more playing time and just continuing to be aggresive and really take after what Monika was doing and get that connection with Caitlin and the other guards on the team.”

“I thought she had great momentum heading in (to the offseason). She played really well for us in the Final Four against bigger, taller players where we really had to have her step up,” said head coach Lisa Bluder. “I definitely think she has the headstart (at the starting job) because of that.”

🤯🤯🤯 @addiogrady22 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/Rhktvvc13R

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) November 11, 2022

“I think anytime you get more reps, then you get more confident and I think that is helpful. She’s getting more reps,” said Jensen. “She’s a little different, she’s a little longer. She has a little bit more of a defensive presence. I just keep telling her like I told Monika and Megan. You don’t have to be anybody but you.”

Although Monika Czinano has moved on, her play on the court and her talks with Addison during games and practices will pay dividends this season. O’Grady was able to watch and learn from Czinano for two seasons, which comes with a lot of takeaways, as well as some advice for the upcoming season.

“I’d say the amount of work she does even when she doesn’t have the ball. In high school, you would just post up when you knew you were going to get the ball, but Monika is always working, always being a threat even when the ball is on the other side of the court.”

“She just said, I’m not her, she’s not me. I don’t have to take over exactly what she is and what she does,” said O’Grady. “I’m going to take a lot of what she’s taught me, but we are two different players and I don’t have to live up to her in any way. I can be my own player.”

Before the regular season tips off, the Hawkeyes will be taking a trip overseas to Europe for three exhibition games in Southern Italy and Croatia. A chance for O’Grady to take the court in her new role, play extended minutes and continue to work on her game against an actual opponent.

“I think it’s really important and honestly couldn’t have come at a better time. I get a little bit of a taste in practice playing with the other starters who have been here for a while, but just to build the team chemistry this early is really good,” said O’Grady.

“We’re still a work in progress. Trying to really work on their (the posts) quick releases and quick decisions and then with Addison, just trying to continue to get her more and more physical and agressive,” said Jensen. “(The trip to Europe) it’s invaluable when it comes to their feelings. Getting that starting nod, running up and down the court and having that game feel.”

The other likely beneficiary of starting minutes is sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke. The crowd favorite out of Cedar Rapids Washington High School appeared in 37 of the Hawkeyes 38 games as a true freshman last season. She averaged 6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 12.9 minutes per game. Her talent was evident throughout the season, with standout performances against Evansville (14 pts, 8 reb), Purdue (11 pts, 10 reb), Northwestern (17 pts, 9 reb) and Ohio State (8 pts, 13 reb).

“I think for my first year I did pretty good,” said Stuelke. “You always want to be better, you always want to make an impact and I thought I did a little bit…I’m looking forward to this upcoming year to see what we can do.”

QB Clark. Touchdown Stuelke 🙌@CaitlinClark22 x @StuelkeHannah pic.twitter.com/oFxAUSm6EE

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) January 14, 2023

Stuelke wowed fans throughout the season with her athleticism, as well as her ability to run the floor and beat opponents down the floor for layups in transition. She is also a threat on the offensive glass, where she racked up 3+ offensive rebounds seven times last season. As any freshman does, there are still things she is looking to improve on for her second year with the Hawkeyes.

Stuelke shot 1/6 (16.6%) from three-point range and did attempt a single three-pointer over her last 29 games. At the free throw line she was 40/87 (45.9%) and averaged 5.0 fouls per 40 minutes played. They are all areas of her game that she is working on.

“I’ve really been working on my free throws, obviously, that’s one of my biggest weaknesses. I’ve been working on my shot as well,” said Stuelke.

“She’s really worked on her outside shot. That’s a lot more consistent. Last year when she played on the perimeter, (teams) didn’t really guard her as muc because that three ball was really inconsistent,” said Jan Jensen. “She’s worked on that a lot. I’d say the outside presence with the consistent shooting so far looks really good.”

Although Addison O’Grady and Hannah Stuelke appear to be the frontrunners, Coach Jensen did not rule out other players working their way into the starting lineup. Sydney Affolter and Sharon Goodman are both pushing to be in the starting five as well.

“Sydney is looking really good. She’s just a utility player,” said Jensen. “Sharon is pushing and working hard. She’s looking really good, There’s a lot of people that are doing what you want to see, they’re competing for it.”