The Iowa women’s basketball team kicked off the 2024-25 campaign with a 110-55 exhibition home victory over Missouri Western on Wednesday.
First-year guard Teagan Mallegni and third-year forward Hannah Stuelke led the way with 18 points apiece, while fourth-year guards Lucy Olsen and Kylie Feuerbach followed up with 14 points each on a night where all Iowa players scored.
“It feels right any time you win,” Jensen said, reflecting on her first win as head coach. “I’m so thankful that I got the win, but I’m more excited for these guys, because I think you got to see tonight that they’re just a really good group.”
After jumping out to a swift 7-3 lead, Olsen was sent to the line after being fouled on the layup attempt. She received a subtle ovation from the Hawkeye faithful when she notched her first points in an Iowa uniform.
Stuelke followed up with back-to-back baskets that saw her knock down a rare three-pointer. She had only made four threes all last season, and it’s something that she’s said to have been working on during the offseason.
The Griffons cut the Hawkeye lead to 17-11 halfway through the first before Mallegni and first-year center Ava Heiden’s first collegiate buckets helped extend the lead to 19 points.
Iowa held a 33-14 lead through the first 10 minutes of play, as eight different Hawkeyes put the ball through the basket.
“There’s a lot of ballers on the team, so when you put a bunch of them together, we really want to be here, and we love each other,” Olsen said. “When you put us all together, go play in a game, we want to win… And I think that just does it for you.”
Iowa began the second quarter on an 11-3 run behind fourth-year guard Kylie Feuerbach’s two threes and Olsen’s three-pointer and a pair of foul shots. Fourth-year forward AJ Ediger’s putback layup and a Mallegni triple stretched the Iowa lead to 49-17 halfway through the second quarter.
Missouri Western outscored Iowa, 9-8, the rest of the way as the Hawkeye offense cooled down, but despite the brief drought, the Hawkeyes entered halftime with a comfortable 57-26 lead.
The Hawkeyes’ offensive surge overshadowed its defensive prowess, holding Missouri Western to 26 points on 8-of-33 shooting through 20 minutes of play. Only four of 11 Griffons players scored in the first half, with two of them hitting more than one shot.
A pair of second-chance buckets from Feruerbach and Stuelke gave Iowa a 31-point lead, its largest of the night. After two more trips down the court that saw Stuelke knock down three of four free throws, Olsen’s slick dime to Heiden inside gave the All-American guard five assists on the night while pushing the Hawkeye lead to 68-32 with six minutes to go in the third quarter
Olsen, Stuelke, and Feuerbach, as well as Mallegni and first-year guard Taylor Stremlow added to their scoring totals as Iowa held the 84-42 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Iowa bigs in Stuelke, Heiden, and fourth-year forward Addison O’Grady collectively scored eight unanswered points to give Iowa a 50-point lead. Third-year forward Jada Gyamfi was the only Hawkeye to be held scoreless until she hit a contested layup inside near the halfway point of the fourth.
Mallegni’s Hawkeye debut was capped off with a pair of made free throws to hit the century mark and a tough and-one bucket while falling to the floor to give her a team-high 18 points.
“I think it was really good for me,” Mallegni said. “Just the confidence that my teammates and my coaches have given me and just talking me through everything has been really the biggest impact on my game.”
Iowa coasted to a 45-point victory from there, giving Jensen her first victory as the new head Hawk. Following the game, the coach reflected on the emotions of the game.
“It’s just just a lot of emotion that I’ve worked through since May,” Jensen said, reflecting on her first head coaching win. “I just had such great opportunities and great times with Lisa. She really has set a standard here, and I’m very proud that we got to work with her.”