Four Things: Iowa Women's Basketball trip to Europe

The Iowa women’s basketball takes off for their first overseas trip in four years tomorrow. It will be a new experience for most of the members of the team except Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall, who were apart of the 2019 trip to Spain. This time, the Hawkeyes will be traveling to Naples, Italy, before heading over to Croatia to visit Split and Dubrovnik.

Earlier this week it was announced that the Hawkeyes will play Team Slammers, a Naples area team, on August 6th to open their trip. They will then face Croatian Club KK Tresnjevka on August 11th and wrap up the trip with a game against the Croatian All-Stars on August 13th. There will be no live stream feed for any of the contests.

🐤——>🇮🇹 ——>🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/Objw4kv6JP

— Kyle Huesmann (@HuesmannKyle) August 1, 2023

While there is no way to watch the Hawkeyes in action across the pond in Europe, box scores will give a partial look into how things are going. We take a look at several things we are hoping to have learned when Iowa returns to the states.

1. Can someone take control at the center position?

Junior center Addison O’Grady provided some solid minutes off the bench in the Final Four last season and that gives her a slight edge for the starting spot coming into this season. Still, Lisa Bluder said during the recent media availability that no center has stepped up and solidified themselves as the starter.

“Not yet. I’m hoping that somebody does,” said Bluder. “Right now it’s still post by committee. That could be one of four people really. It could Addison, Sharon, AJ and even Hannah.”

Although Lisa Bluder was hoping to see someone step up and take the role prior to this trip, this will be an opportunity against another opponent for someone to take a step ahead of everyone else. Does O’Grady show that she is the starter like everyone has penciled in? Does Sharon Goodman continue to look better with the knee brace off? Does AJ Ediger surprise some make a case? Or are the Hawkeyes going to be looking at Hannah Stuelke for extended minutes at the five?

This is the most compelling storyline for Iowa going into the season because of the role that the center position possesses in the Lisa Bluder offense. The Hawkeyes have not had a center average less than 16 points per game since the 2015-16 season when Chase Coley (11.1 ppg) and true freshman Megan Gustafson (10.7 ppg) split the post scoring.

2. The guards coming off the bench

The starting lineup at the guard position is as locked in as it could possibly be with Caitlin Clark, Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin returning to the starting lineup for the fourth straight season. After that, the Hawkeyes have a number of options coming off the bench.

Molly Davis (16.7 mpg) and Sydney Affolter (10.3 mpg) were the two main options last season, but sharp-shooter Taylor McCabe is in her second season with the program and Kylie Feuerbach is thrown back into the fold after missing last season with an ACL tear. Feuerbach averaged 14.5 minutes per game as a sophomore for the Hawkeyes.

With each of the starting guards averaging more than 28 minutes per game last season, there is not going to be a great deal of minutes to go around. Molly Davis’ ability to handle the ball and run the point guard spot will likely give her some minutes. Jan Jensen said that Sydney Affolter has continued to improve and is in the running for a starting spot in the lineup. Meanwhile, unless there are glaring issues on the defensive end of the floor, it is going to be hard to keep Taylor McCabe off the floor after she shot 41.7% from three-point range in limited time last season.

This figures to be quite the battle and a good showing in Europe could go a long way for any of these guards vying for minutes. How the post situation plays out will have an affect here. If Stuelke is forced to play more minutes down low, another guard will move into the lineup.

3. Development from Hannah Stuelke in year two

As a true freshman last season, Hannah Stuelke appeared in 37 games for the Hawkeyes. She averaged 6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 13.0 minutes per game last season. Her athleticism, ability to run the floor and be an effective rebounder on both ends of the floor were on display throughout the year. Still, she has a few areas to improve, as every freshman does.

Stuelke was just 40/87 (46.0%) from the free-throw line and took just six three-pointers. She also averaged exactly 5.0 fouls per 40 minutes on the floor. They are all areas of her game that need to improve if she is going to take over a starting spot. The good news is that she is working on all of those things and the feedback from the coaching staff is positive.

“I’d say the outside presence with the consistent shooting so far looks really good,” said Jan Jensen. “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.”

“Some of that (fouling), is just being a freshman. They’re aggressive,” said Jensen. “Quite honestly, she hasn’t been showing that in our live, when we do scrimmages, so we haven’t really focused on that. It hasn’t been a problem.”

How Hannah Stuelke develops will have a big impact on the Hawkeyes because she showed last year that she is a high-ceiling player with the skills that she possesses.

4. Affolter or McCabe starting a breakout season?

Two names that were mentioned by Lisa Bluder as players that have had a good set of summer practices. Affolter has gotten more chances on the court than McCabe, but both of them are looking to move into bigger roles this season.

Affolter can do a little bit of everything, as she is a solid defender and an underrated rebounder. On the offensive end, she was 30/49 (61.2%) inside the three-point line, but shot just 20.8% from behind the arc. If Sydney can become more a threat as a shooter, she has a chance to be a contributor on both ends of the floor.

McCabe seems like an easy choice to be a breakout player. She didn’t get a lot of looks in important games last year, as she worked to get stronger and adjust to the physicality of the college game. However, you could make a compelling case for her being the best three-point shooter on the team and that could quickly become evident if she gets the chance to show it this season.

There is a chance that a breakout season could come from elsewhere, but Affolter and McCabe both seem like they are are on the cusp.