They don’t call Gainbridge Fieldhouse Carver East for nothing.
After squandering their double-digit lead, Hannah Stuelke and the Iowa Hawkeyes used a 24-6 4th quarter performance to defeat the Michigan Wolverines 59-42 to earn a spot in Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament championship game against the UCLA Bruins. It’s Iowa’s 6th appearance in the last 8 Big Ten Tournament championship games (!).
Ava Heiden led all scorers again with 16 points, but Hannah Stuelke was the story of the game for Iowa. Stuelke was scoreless
and had only attempted 2 shots before a layup with 1:39 to play in the third quarter both gave her team back its lead and its senior leader, who finished the night with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Chit-Chat Wright added in 13 points on 3-4 shots from deep, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and only one turnover (that, per the postgame interview, she’s enraged about) against Michigan’s press. Taylor Stremlow rounded things out for Iowa by netting 11 points on 3-5 3-pointers, and 6 assists and rebounds, continuing her absolute tear since entering the starting lineup.
Anyone who might have thought Iowa’s win against Michigan, in which sophomore standouts Olivia Olson and Syla Swords were held under their season averages due to a poor shooting day can now think again. The Hawkeyes played another spectacular game defensively, holding Michigan to only 16 points in the paint. Swords and Olson were both held below their averages again, with Olson only scoring 10 and Swords getting 9. Guard Mila Holloway was the only other Wolverine to tally double figures with 10 as well.
And it’s not like Michigan did nothing on the defensive end either. Iowa seemed to cough up the ball every other possession in the second and third quarters, turning the ball over 20 times. But you would never have known that in the 4th quarter. The Hawkeyes cleaned things up, playing nearly perfect basketball, while Michigan’s struggles gave Iowa multiple scoring opportunities that were the difference in the win.
Things couldn’t have started any better for the Hawkeyes as they made their first four shots to open up an early 9-0 lead. as The Wolverines could not buy a bucket, having good shots from deep go about halfway into the net before rolling out. Iowa looked strong defensively once again, forcing turnovers in passing lanes and boxing out excellently to prevent second-chance opportunities.
Every time the Wolverines had opportunities to cut into Iowa’s 13-2 lead, they couldn’t convert. Olsen was the only Wolverine able to score, netting the team’s first four points, but she couldn’t convert an and-1 in a moment where her team needed points badly. The team’s actually ended the first quarter even in turnovers with 4 apiece, but the Wolverines even saw their fast-break layups rim out of the basket. The result was the first quarter ending with a 13-4 lead, the lowest point total in a quarter all season for Michigan.
But nothing gold can stay, as Michigan opened up the quarter with 2 straight 3-pointers from Swords after the team started 0-7, cutting the lead down to 3 in a matter of two possessions. A long 3-pointer from Wright gave her team some breathing room, but the team couldn’t get out of their own way, having 3 quick turnovers in the first two minutes of the quarter…only this time, Michigan actually made their shots on the other end of the court.
The momentum seemed to shift toward the other end of the pendulum toward Michigan as the quarter went on, but Iowa still clung to a 19-16 lead at the halfway mark of the second quarter. Turnovers were mounting, mostly due to a struggle breaking Michigan’s press…and yet, after a timeout, the momentum shifted right back to the Hawkeyes. A jumper from Wright, a driving floater in transition to get Deal into the scoring column, and a long range jumper from Houston got the lead right back up to 8.
A major highlight came late in the second quarter, where Heiden jumped into the passing lane for an easy steal. She followed it up with a pass to Deal, who crossed half court, finding Stuelke who then found a cutting Heiden on the other side of the basket for an easy layup — a truly beautiful sequence of basketball, as Iowa entered the half up 28-22.
Michigan started off the second half on an absolute heater, cutting Iowa’s lead down to 2 in the first minute as the Hawkeyes continued to struggle with ball security, before Wright opened up scoring for Iowa with a huge corner 3 that relieved some of the pressure. But a Feuerbach turnover led to the first Michigan lead of the game just four minutes into the third quarter after an and-1 committed by Deal.
Horrible basketball ensued from there, as both teams tried to see who could turn the ball over more and the officials trying to ensure they got their whistles wet. Over four minutes of game time passed without either team scoring a single point. The paint was becoming a war zone of missed calls, before Michigan was finally called for 3 fouls in a single trip to Iowa’s side of the court (course correction much?). The Hawkeyes were able to capitalize, finally beating the double team on Wright to find a wide open Stuelke, who scored her first points of the game to give her team back the lead. But Michigan would have the last laugh of the quarter, heading into the fourth with a slim 36-35 lead, after only 4 points were scored in the final six minutes of the quarter.
After looking lost for most of the 3rd quarter, Stuelke pulled a Caitlin Clark in the 4th, and took over the game by herself. An and-1 off a foul from Olson gave her team back the lead…again. After a stop on the other end of the floor, Heiden found Stuelke for a power-dribble layup. Michigan responded with a turnover on the other end of the court, and on Iowa’s next possession, a cutting Stremlow kicked to…who else but Stuelke again.
Michigan opened up the quarter with 3 early turnovers, and Wright took advantage again, hitting her third 3—pointer of the game. Not to be outdone by her teammate, Stremlow responded with a 3 of her own, and the double-digit lead was back with 5:30 to play.
This time, the lead would stand for good, but the Hawkeyes weren’t done with the highlight moments against Michigan:
- Journey Houston gave us the best highlight of the season with a ruthlessly nonchalant wave goodbye to Michigan’s Ashley Sofilkanich after the forward fouled out
- Stremlow followed it up with an absolutely lethal contested 3-pointer with 90 seconds to play, giving her team a 54-41 lead that seemed to ice the game, but…
- A pass from Feuerbach intended for Heiden flew right through the center’s legs and but fell right into the hands of Stuelke, who was cutting toward the basket and was fouled, converting another and-1 to actually ice the game
Whew.
Tomorrow, the rematch against UCLA. It will be a challenge, but this is not the same team that played the Bruins in LA a month ago. It should at least be a fun game.
There’s no question about it – this team is continuing to ascend right before our eyes. The fun’s not over yet, y’all. LET’S GO HAWKS! BYE BYE!
