Top takeaways from the Hawkeyes loss to Illinois

The roller coaster season for the Iowa women’s basketball team continued on Thursday night, with a frustrating 62-57 loss to Illinois in Champaign. The Hawkeyes fall to 12-4 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play. It’s the first time that Iowa has dropped back-to-back conference games since 2021.

Here are my top takeaways from the loss and what it means for Iowa moving forward.

Main Takeaway: Once again, an extended stretch of sloppy offense is the story

With just over four minutes remaining in the first half, the Hawkeyes had used a 13-2 run to take a 29-20 lead. They were in prime position to take control of the game, facing a short-handed team in desperation mode at 1-3 in Big Ten play. Had Iowa extended the lead to double digit before the half, maybe it’s enough to bury the Illini.

Instead, not only did the Hawkeyes led Illinois back into the game, but they also let them capture the momentum and take the lead. Jan Jensen’s team was forced to play from behind for the rest of the night. Over a span of nearly ten minutes, Iowa shot 2 of 11 (18.2%) from the floor and turned it over six times. In a game that was decided by five points, they were outscored 18-4 over that stretch and found themselves trialing 38-33 midway through the third quarter.

Three more thoughts on the Hawkeyes loss to Illinois

1. Hannah Stuelke looked comfortable at center, what do you do going forward?

Jan Jensen opted to change up the starting lineup and Hannah Stuelke slid to play center, while freshman Aaliyah Guyton entered. Stuelke did not spend the entire night playing the post, but she looked much more comfortable, finishing with a game-high 18 points on 7/14 shooting, while she also pulled down 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. At times this season, Hannah has looked uncomfortable playing on the perimeter and her field goal percentage has taken a significant hit compared to last season. Her performance on Thursday night raised a question that’s worth pondering. Is Iowa’s offense more effective with Hannah Stuelke at center?

There’s no arguing that Addi O’Grady has improved her level of play this season, averaging in double figures and ranking top ten in the country in field goal percentage. However, in the Hawkeyes three losses in Big Ten play, O’Grady has a -35 plus/minus, which is 25 points worse than anyone else on the team. It’s hard to imagine a rotation that allows Stuelke, O’Grady and Ava Heiden to all earn minutes at center.

2. Still searching for the right lineup combinations for the right situations

Over the past few seasons, the Hawkeyes were content to play an eight-player lineup most nights. This season, they have a deeper roster and are routinely playing ten players in the rotation. It’s been a bit of a trial-and-error process at times, as Jan Jensen and her staff tries to find the lineup combinations that will give them the best chance to win. Throughout a game, the staff is trying to find the right offensive or defensive lineup for that point in the game and certain groups have more chemistry than others. On Thursday night, the Hawkeyes used 15 unique lineups for at least a minute of game time, with a range of different results.

3. Free throws, surprisingly, cost the Hawkeyes

The Hawkeyes free throw percentage has gone down this season and it has been a product of Hannah Stuelke taking the bulk of the attempts. She has vastly improved, jumping all the way up to 70.5% this season, but that’s still well below what Caitlin Clark shot last year.

However, Stuelke was not the issue Thursday night. She made four of her five attempts from the line. Syd Affolter and Kylie Feuerbach were a combined 3 of 10 (30.0%) from the line. Not only was it shocking to see the two normally reliable free throw shooters struggle, but it was also something that cannot happen with the other issues that are present.

Maybe it’s something that Iowa gets away with if they were shooting 40% from three-point range or turning it over less than ten times a game. But they aren’t. They were just 5 of 20 (25.0%) from three-point range and turned it over 18 times. Iowa needed to be perfect from the line to help overcome the other issues and going 8 of 17 (47.1%) was nowhere near enough.

4. Iowa rebounded well enough to win the game handily

As the up and downs of the season come and go, one thing has stayed steady for the Hawkeyes and that’s rebounding. Iowa outrebounded Illinois 42-31, pulling down 29 of 38 (76.3%) of defensive rebounds and 13 of 35 (37.1%) of offensive rebounds. Hannah Stuelke led the way with 13 rebounds, while Syd Affolter (8) and Addi O’Grady (5) added to the total. It’s the second time this season (48-33 vs Tennessee) that Iowa has let a dominate rebounding effort go to waste in a loss. They’ve now outrebounded their opponent in 14 of 16 games.