Over the past few weeks, the Iowa women’s basketball team has taken its high-scoring show abroad, playing games in Italy and Croatia.
The actual results of the games were secondary. The trip itself was more about giving Iowa extra practices to get better, time for the players and coaches to build chemistry, and the opportunity to explore places that many Americans never get to see.
Still, the games themselves can offer a few early takeaways for the 2023-2024 team.
The biggest question for Iowa’s 2023-2024 team is who will play the majority of minutes at the 4 and 5 positions.
For the past three seasons, Iowa played with a smaller lineup where McKenna Warnock played the 4 and spent most of her time offensively on the perimeter. Before her–during the Megan Gustafson era–Iowa utilized a two post system with Chase Coley or Hannah Stewart playing the 4 while Gustafson played the 5.
Those teams were rigid in their systems. With Warnock, Iowa didn’t play with a second post. During the Gustafson era, Iowa didn’t play with a smaller 4.
The 2023-2024 Hawkeyes, by contrast, will switch between bigger and smaller lineups. In the bigger lineup, Addison O’Grady will likely start at the 5, with Hannah Stuelke at the 4.
In the smaller lineup, O’Grady or Stuelke will play the 5, and Kate Martin or Sydney Affolter will slide over and play as a smaller 4.
The key to how often Iowa plays with the bigger lineup is O’Grady. O’Grady probably won’t ever be the lethal low-post scoring option that Gustafson or Monika Czinano were, but she is an efficient finisher and offers stronger rebounding and better defense than Czinano did.
O’Grady had a very strong European tour. She went 8-8 from the floor in her first game, added 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 17 minutes in the second game, and finished with a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double in game three.
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Stuelke had an extremely impressive freshman season. She was the Big Ten’s Sixth Player of the Year, and had a few games where she completely dominated. Iowa hasn’t had an athlete like Stuelke at forward in years–if ever–and she is already a very good rebounder and elite finisher. She will play significant minutes in a big or small lineup.
But the one major flaw of Stuelke’s game as a freshman was her shooting. She shot just 1-6 from three-point range during her freshman season, and clearly wasn’t comfortable outside the paint. She also shot just 47% from the free throw line on 87 attempts.
Stuelke has worked on her shooting so far in the off-season, and those efforts are paying off from the three-point line. In Iowa’s first two games abroad, Stuelke went 3-5 from three, including a 2-4 effort against Team Slammers in Italy. Five shots is a tiny sample size, but seeing Stuelke have the confidence to take four three-pointers in a game and hit two of them is still encouraging.
Free throws are still a major concern, though. In Iowa’s first two games, Stuelke went a combined 0-6 from the line. She then bounced back in a big way in the final game, going 8-11 from the line.
Stuelke’s development at the line will be a key for Iowa’s 2023-24 season. If she shoots like she did in game three, free throws won’t be a major concern. If she shoots more like she did in the first two games, Hack-a-Hannah could become a staple of Iowa games like Hack-a-Shaq was for the Lakers in the 2000s.
A 4-guard lineup is attractive for Iowa because the team has at least 6 or 7 quality guard options. Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, and Gabbie Marshall have all started for most of their Iowa careers and will play big roles again.
Sydney Affolter carved out a backup role last year, and arguably had Iowa’s best performance abroad. Against Team Slammers in Italy she scored 15 points on 6-11 shooting and grabbed 16 rebounds. She followed that with 9 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes in game two. In game three, she did a little of everything, with 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and a block.
Affolter’s exceptional rebounding as a guard could help mitigate the height disadvantage Iowa might face in a 4-guard lineup. She’s also the type of player who can have a significant impact on a game without needing to take a lot of shots.
Molly Davis was a big scorer at Central Michigan (18.6 ppg in 2021-22), but was more passive in her first season at Iowa, preferring to facilitate. In Europe, Davis decided to attack, and scored early and often with efficiency. She was 6-8 from the floor against Team Slammers and 7-9 against KK Tresnjevka.
Davis is on the ball most of the time that Clark is on the bench. If she can be a consistent scoring threat, that could be a big boost to Iowa’s second unit, and could give Iowa a new look when Clark and Davis are on the floor together.
Taylor McCabe also saw significant playing time in Iowa’s European tour. McCabe flashed at times last season with her three-point shooting, especially late in games where Iowa had a significant lead. In Europe, she shot 44% from three, making 11 triples in total. This year she will look to carve out a role at the 2, and could give Marshall some needed rest while presenting opposing defenses with a shooting threat they can’t help off of.
When Kylie Feuerbach went down with an ACL tear in early August 2022, most expected that she would be back for the full 2023-2024 season. That may still happen, but she wasn’t able to play in any of Iowa’s games in Europe.
Feuerbach has significant experience in her college career, and that plus her athleticism would be another big asset for Iowa off of the bench. Hopefully Feuerbach can get healthy in time for fall practice.
Finally, for those interested in reading more about Iowa’s time abroad, Stuelke has been blogging about her experiences every few days.
The No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones, led by quarterback Rocco Becht, face the West Virginia Mountaineers, led by quarterback Garrett Greene on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 (10/12/24) at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, W. Va.
How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free via a trial of DirecTV Stream or fuboTV. You can also watch via a subscription to Sling TV.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: NCAA Football, Week 7
Who: Iowa State vs. West Virginia
When: Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024
Where: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial)
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Here are the best streaming options for college football this season:
Fubo TV (free trial): fuboTV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS.
DirecTV Stream (free trial): DirecTV Stream carries ESPN, FOX, NBC and CBS.
Sling TV ($25 off the first month)– Sling TV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC and NBC.
ESPN+($9.99 a month): ESPN+ carries college football games each weekend for only $9.99 a month. These games are exclusive to the platform.
Peacock TV ($5.99 a month): Peacock will simulstream all of NBC Sports’ college football games airing on the NBC broadcast network this season, including Big Ten Saturday Night. Peacock will also stream Notre Dame home games. Certain games will be streamed exclusively on Peacock this year as well.
Paramount+ (free trial): Paramount Plus will live stream college football games airing on CBS this year.
***
Here’s a preview capsule via the Associated Press:
No. 11 Iowa State (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) at West Virginia (3-2, 2-0), Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (Fox)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Iowa State by 3.
Series record: West Virginia leads 6-5.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Iowa State is off to its best start since 1980, and a win would make them 6-0 for the first time since 1938. The Cyclones are looking to extend their road winning streak to seven games. West Virginia is going after its third straight win after a 1-2 start. Iowa State and West Virginia are 2-0 in conference play. One of them will forge a first-place tie with idle Texas Tech.
KEY MATCHUP
Iowa State’s defense vs. West Virginia QB Garrett Greene. Of the dual-threat quarterbacks the Cyclones have faced so far, Greene could be the best. He had runs of 39, 15 and 10 yards against Oklahoma State last week and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry and 59 yards per game. Run defense hasn’t been a strength for the Cyclones, who hope to force Greene to try to beat them through the air. Iowa State has the Big 12’s top defense, allowing just 10 points and 272 yards per game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Iowa State: LB Kooper Ebel has led or co-led the team in tackles in three straight games. He made just three tackles in eight games as a freshman last year. He added 15 pounds to get up to 240 on his 6-foot-4 frame and has made at least six stops in all five games. Last week he had eight tackles and a quarterback hurry against Baylor.
West Virginia: RB Jahiem White. The sophomore ran for a season-high 158 yards in the lopsided win at Oklahoma State and the Mountaineers compiled 389 on the ground. White hopes to be back on track after being limited to 94 yards combined against No. 4 Penn State, No. 22 Pittsburgh and Kansas.
FACTS & FIGURES
Anthony Becht, a tight end for the Mountaineers from 1996 to 1999, will be honored during the game for his induction into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. His son, Rocco, is Iowa State’s quarterback. … The Cyclones have won 12 straight when scoring at least 30 points. They’ve scored at least 30 in the last five meetings with WVU. … ISU had nine plays of 20 or more yards against Baylor last week, tied for the most by a Power Four team against a conference opponent this season. … The Cyclones’ defense gets better as the game progresses. They’re allowing an average of 4.0 points and 112 yards in the second halves. … West Virginia will wear all-black uniforms in honor of the state’s coal mining industry.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
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The Rosemount High School Marching Band is celebrating a big victory from a competition earlier this fall. In late September they took home the Class AAA Championship trophy at the Bands of America regional competition in Waukee, Iowa. Members of the band joined the FOX 9 Morning News to talk about the win and share how they are getting ready for another big competition this weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Des Moines Register’s Top 10 Iowa high school football players in 2024
Here’s a look at The Register’s Top 10 Iowa high school football players in 2024.
(This story was updated to add new information)
It’s Week 7 of the Iowa high school football season. Check out our list of IHSAA scores from Friday night’s action.
Stream Iowa HS football on the NFHS Network
Scores are listed in alphabetical order by winning team
Friday’s games:
Thursday’s games:
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