Hawkeyes fight inconsistency, net a win over Purdue

The 2024-25 Iowa women’s basketball season is far from over, and in a way is just getting started with conference play beginning, but Sunday was a peak into what might be waiting for the future of the program. On a day where the starting lineup was okay, but not great, the freshmen class answered the call, helping propel the Hawkeyes to an 84-63 win over Purdue.

“Some of our freshmen had some amazing moments today and it’s so fun to see those flashes,” said head coach Jan Jensen. “That’s why they were a pretty highly decorated class.”

The game got to the final result that many expected, which was a comfortable Iowa victory, but some erratic and inconsistent play allowed Purdue to stick around for a little bit longer than anticipated.

It was a balanced effort across the board, with eight players totaling at least three made field goals and just one player in double figures. The win was another example of Iowa finding a way to win in a different way, but it also showed that the Hawkeyes are not yet a finished product.

“I think when we had the lulls, we shot quickly, we had turnovers, and we didn’t stay true to what we typically do,” said Jensen. “I tend to focus on the positive. We had the lulls, but this particular time, we stayed gritty, and we righted the ship.”

The first four minutes of the game, for the most part, were back-and-forth, with both sides hitting shots. Lucy Olsen was good early, knocking down three midrange jumpers, but Purdue countered and trailed just 11-9. It was all Hawkeyes the rest of the quarter, with 12 of their final 16 points in the quarter coming from freshman off the bench. Taylor Stremlow banked a three-pointer and had nifty euro-step finish, while Teagan Mallengi hit a three late in the quarter to make it 27-13 Iowa after ten minutes.

“I think it’s a confidence builder for all of us (freshmen),” said Taylor Stremlow. “Freshman year is a lot of ups and downs. It’s a roller coaster, whether it’s minutes or how you perform, it’s hard to know what to expect. This was definitely a confidence booster.”

The 21.5-point favorite Hawkeyes ended the first quarter on a 16-4 and appeared to be well on their way to their first Big Ten win of the season. However, credit to Katie Gearlds Boilermakers. When Iowa hit their lulls on the offensive end, Purdue was able to make a couple of surges that had the fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena a little nervous.

True freshman Jordyn Poole made some plays for the Boilers in the second quarter, helping lead her team on a 14-5 run that cut Iowa’s lead to 32-27. Down the stretch in the first half, Aaliyah Guyton made some plays to help rebuild the lead. She hit a three-pointer, helped set up another made triple, got the rim for a layup and knocked down a tough bucket at the horn to send Iowa to the locker room with a 50-32 lead. Guyton finished with nine points and two assists.

At the buzzer ‼️🚨@aguyton11 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/IIST1W5bjF

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) December 29, 2024

“I think she is getting closer (to no minute’s restriction). She’s a player,” said Jensen. “She took three ill-advised shots, all threes, but you’ve got to give a little bit because part of what makes her so great is that reading and that freedom and as she gets more and more confident, she’s going to hit more (shots) than she doesn’t. Those shots where you’re like ‘no, no, no, okay, good shot’. I’d rather she be aggressive and go for it, than play timid.”

Again, it looked like the Hawkeyes were well on their way to a comfortable win, but the Boilermakers had one more surge left in them. Purdue stormed out of the locker room, benefitting from eight Iowa turnovers and a 1/8 start from the floor over seven minutes. A couple of made triples from NAIA Marian transfer Ella Collier capped off a 15-5 run for the Boilers. Suddenly, the Hawkeyes 18-point lead was down to single digits.

It was the freshmen class that stepped up in the first half, while the starting lineup was able to answer the call in the third quarter to put the game away. Points from Hannah Stuelke, Syd Affolter, Addi O’Grady and a late three-pointer from Kylie Feuerbach allowed Iowa to close the third quarter on an 11-0 run.

The run continued into the fourth with Feuerbach hitting another three on the first possession of the final quarter. Teagan Mallegni capped off a 10-4 run with a triple of her own to put Iowa ahead 76-51. At times it was uneasy, erratic and imperfect, but the near capacity crowd in attendance was able to go home happy seeing the Hawkeyes finish off an 84-63 win.

“It’s really hard to stop a team when you have people coming off the bench and scoring,” said Taylor Stremlow. “If we can get consistent with that, it will make us a lot stronger. Only one player in double figures, we have many people with the capabilities to score a lot but being able to spread that out amongst the team, including the bench players is a threat for anyone that we are playing.”

On the night, the Hawkeyes were 34 of 62 (54.8%) from the floor and 8 of 24 (33.3%) from three-point range. Addi O’Grady led the way with 12 points, while Syd Affolter added nine points, seven rebounds and six assists. Hannah Stuelke totaled nine points and six rebounds, but it was the 35 points and 17 rebounds from the four freshmen that carried Iowa. Ava Heiden posted nine points and eight rebounds, while Taylor Stremlow (9), Aaliyah Guyton (9) and Teagan Mallegni (8) all contributed buckets. The Hawkeyes dominated on the glass, outrebounding Purdue 42-27, while they outscored them 48-22 in the paint.

Up Next: The Hawkeyes travel to State College for a matchup with the Penn State Lady Lions on New Year’s Day. Tipoff is set for 12:00pm CT on BTN+.