Iowa women’s basketball’s Hannah Stuelke made her return to the court against Northwestern inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday after missing the two-game west coast road trip due to a concussion. The last time she played, she missed four critical free throws in an overtime loss to Nebraska. She said she was “seeing double” that day. This time, there was only one rim — and a season-high around it.
The Hawkeyes were up by nine points with just under a minute left in the contest with the Wildcats. But after some sloppy mistakes on both sides of the ball, that lead was quickly cut down to three with 10 seconds remaining. Stuelke found herself on the receiving end of the inbound pass and was swarmed by purple jerseys. She nearly coughed up the ball — but not before a foul was called, sending the 68-percent free throw shooter to the line.
Where she’s struggled before, the Iowa big was unfazed, knocking down both foul shots to cap off a season-high 26-point outing and secure a much-needed Hawkeye victory.
“It’s everything, especially my history,” Struelke said with a wide grin. “I’ve always kind of struggled … That’s all I worked on this summer with my injury, so I’m just more confident in myself.”
Sometimes it can take a player a few games to get her rhythm back after missing a few. But Stuelke didn’t miss a beat. In fact, she scored 18 points in the first half alone. No other Hawkeye had more than eight up to that point.
She was held to just six points in the second half until the game-sealing free throws. Regardless, the confidence was rolling. And in a moment where a Northwestern foul was inevitable, Iowa head coach Jan Jensen held that confidence too, opting to keep Stuelke in the game.
“Free throws are a funny thing; confidence is a funny thing,” Jensen said. “It can be contagious one way or the other.”
The third-year forward shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the line in the Tuesday night win. But her imprint on the game goes beyond the foul shooting and interior presence.
What Stuelke brings to the Hawkeyes is unique. Mixed in with the skillset she possesses as a big is the team-first attitude she plays with — doing whatever it takes to put the team in a better position to be successful. Her passion and voice on the court have shaped and strengthened with experience over the last two years.
“I’m just so proud,” Jensen said in a postgame interview with Big Ten Network. “She battles. She’s playing undersized … She does what we need her to do, and so she’s willing to go to the five [where] we can play a little bit faster. She’s just so versatile, and I think that was a difference maker.”
Stuelke missed the team, and the team missed Stuelke. It’s best when she’s back healthy and close to it — and not separated from the game by a TV screen.
“[I was] yelling at the TV [during my injury] because I’ve never experienced that before,” Stuelke said of her time away. “But I missed the girls a lot, and it’s just really nice to be back out on the court.”