ALBANY, N.Y. — For the first time in this year’s NCAA Tournament, the No. 1 seed Iowa women’s basketball team will face a familiar foe.
Iowa’s Sweet 16 game on Saturday is against No. 5 Colorado, a rematch from last season’s Sweet 16 matchup in Seattle. The Hawkeyes beat the Buffaloes 87-77 en route to the program’s first national championship appearance, in which they lost 102-85 to the LSU Tigers.
“Neither team has changed a lot with their style of play,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said during Friday’s press conference. “I’m sure [Colorado] are looking forward to this rematch.”
The Buffaloes are led by third-year center Aaronette Vonleh, who averages 14.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. The Buffaloes also have two other players in guard Jaylyn Sherrod and Frida Formann who average more than 12 points per game and four players who average more than five points per game.
Colorado ranks top five in 12 statistical categories in a loaded Pac-12 conference, including field goal percentage (46), three-point percentage (35.6), and steals per game (10). The Buffaloes are also ranked 14th and 12th nationally in assists per game (18.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.34).
“They are a very fundamentally solid team when it comes to both playing defense and offense,” guard Kylie Feuerbach said from inside Iowa’s locker room in MVP Arena in Albany.
Last year’s matchup was closely contested during the first two quarters, with Iowa trailing by one point at halftime. However, in the third quarter, Iowa took control and went on a 13-0 run, outscoring Colorado 25-13. This surge gave Iowa a 64-53 lead going into the final 10 minutes of the game, helping secure the Hawkeye victory.
Colorado returns all but one starter — guard Tayanna Jones — from last year’s matchup against Iowa, while the Hawkeyes head into Saturday with a slightly different starting lineup from last season. Second-year forward Hannah Stuelke and third-year guard Sydney Affolter now start in place of forwards Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock.
Affolter was inserted into the starting lineup at the beginning of the Big Ten Tournament after guard Molly Davis was sidelined with a right knee injury during the Hawkeyes’ last regular season game against Ohio State.
Bluder said Davis is doubtful to return against Colorado.
“I have no idea how long it’s going to take for her to completely heal, but we’re not going to put her out there when it’s unsafe for her to be out there,” Bluder said.
To replace Davis’s efficient shooting, Bluder said Iowa will look to Stuelke and veteran guards Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall to assist star Caitlin Clark with Iowa’s scoring capabilities. She said the team’s leaders, like Clark and the other veterans, have continued to instill confidence in Stuelke, who is second on the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game.
“I don’t think [Stuelke] has tapped into her potential, [hasn’t] even come close to it,” Bluder said. “I think she’s a marvelous athlete and somebody that just needs to be told how good she is.”
Iowa is coming off a 64-54 win against No. 8 seed West Virginia in the Round of 32, where the Hawkeyes went 5-of-22 from the 3-point line, with Clark accounting for all five. Bluder said bouncing back from a poor shooting performance starts in practice.
“It’s so much just confidence, and it’s just getting in the gym and seeing that ball splash into the net and feeling good about it and visioning yourself being successful,” she said. “At this point in the season, they know they’re good shooters, so I don’t have to remind them too much, but I will.”
