Iowa women’s basketball freshman Taylor McCabe gave Hawkeye fans an introduction to her skills on Sunday afternoon in the Hawkeyes’ 111-57 victory over Rutgers.

But her 3-point proficiency wasn’t a surprise to her teammates.

McCabe came into the Iowa women’s basketball program as a skilled 3-point shooter — she holds the Fremont High School records for most 3-pointers in a game, season, and career with nine, 107, and 389, respectively. As a freshman in high school, she broke Nebraska’s Class A 3-point record.

The 2022 Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year was hot from the 3-point line on Sunday afternoon, going 4-of-7  for a career-high 12 points.

“It was pretty fun, I’m not gonna lie,” McCabe said. “My teammates and my coaches see that from me pretty frequently, so I don’t think anybody was too surprised. But it was just kind of a nice introduction to me as a shooter here.”

All of McCabe’s made shots came near the end of the third quarter. She sank nine straight points for the Hawkeyes — much to the delight of her teammates.

“Oh, I could hear it,” McCabe said of her teammates cheering for her. “Yeah, it was pretty cool. Like I said, I think that they kind of expect that from me at this point, a little bit. So, just to prove them right and prove my coaches right is what I’ve tried to do.”

McCabe, who was a three-time first-team Nebraska Super State honoree, is getting accustomed to a role coming off the bench this season. 

“It’s pretty challenging being a shooter in my position, just because coming off the bench and having my first touch be a full sprint after I haven’t really stood up for that long is tough,” McCabe said. “But that’s why in my workouts I’m trying to try and simulate that as much as I can. And I know it’ll be important for me going forward. This is all a big learning process.”

Three Hawkeyes, including McCabe, came off the bench to score in double figures. Freshman Hannah Stuelke scored 10 points, while senior Molly Davis totaled a season-high and team-leading 17 points.

Head coach Lisa Bluder said Davis and McCabe’s double-digit performances on Sunday gives her confidence for the future of the Iowa women’s basketball program.

“We have tremendous confidence in both of these young ladies, along with several others that came off the bench,” Bluder said. “But truly, you can see what both of these women are capable of doing. So yeah, I’m always excited about the future.”

The Hawkeye bench scored 61 of Iowa’s 111 points on Sunday afternoon, and every player saw the floor and scored at least two points. The Hawkeyes wore pink jerseys with names of their loved ones affected by cancer on Sunday for Iowa’s annual Pink Out Game.

“For everybody to get in, in their pink uniform with somebody’s name on the back of their uniform, honoring somebody that you know has fought cancer passed from cancer is important to us,” Bluder said. “It’s meaningful that everybody got in and everybody scored.”