While Iowa City got a mild taste of Alaskan weather on Nov. 9 with temperatures dipping below freezing, the fans inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena were treated to a healthy dose of Alaskan hoops.
Hawkeye Layla Hays, a first-year out of Wasilla, Alaska, delivered a breakout performance against the Evansville Purple Aces on Nov. 9. Hays led the team with 20 points, shooting 9-of-11 from the field en route to a pulverizing 119-43 Iowa victory.
Hays was authoritative in the paint, with all nine of her converted shots coming from under the basket. Additionally, the freshman earned three trips to the free-throw line with her physicality and relentless effort to get a shot up. Iowa head coach Jan Jensen has told Hays to play “meaner,” and Hays is still trying to emulate such an identity.
“I’m trying to figure out this role,” Hays said. “Most of it is trying to translate my effort to physicality.”
The 6-foot-5 center seems to have made a tremendous leap from the team’s previous game against Southern, where she tallied only 4 points. In Jensen’s eyes, Hays wasn’t glancing to the bench when she made a mistake. Awareness replaced any nerves, and instead, Hays
tacitly acknowledged her error.
“Today was fun because she was playing with much more confidence,” Jensen said. “She was just going for it, and that’s the breakthrough. That’s what I loved.”
While not a starter, Hays plays a key role in a lethal Iowa frontcourt. Accompanied by senior forward Hannah Stuelke and sophomore center Ava Heiden, the trio form one of the most dangerous post units in the 22.5 rebounds per game. On the scoring end, the group accounts for 44 percent of Iowa’s points so far this season.
Sophomore guard Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright explained the team’s keys to success, showing how the importance of post play correlates with their firepower offensively.
“Pushing the pace, making sure we see the bigs, and making the right play,” Wright said.
The importance of the trio’s success in the paint goes beyond the numbers in their own point column. The more attention the post unit draws from defenders near the basket, the more the team’s guards can find opportunities at the perimeter.
Such increased chances from deep flashed often against Evansville, when Iowa players Wright, Taylor McCabe, and Addie Deal all thrived from the three-point line with plenty of open looks. The team went 14-of-26 from three during the game.
Hays said she’s learned much from Heiden, who embarked on a scoring tear late last season in the Big Ten Tournament. Heiden’s season-high that year was a 15-point showing against Murray State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and with a 20-point performance already etched in her career, Hays figures to follow such success.
If Hays can continue to be a strong second option for Heiden off the bench, the Hawkeyes will be able to rotate the two more often, allowing them each more rest, fresh legs, and sharper performances. Jensen witnessed Heiden’s climb last season and believes a similar arc can be achieved for Hays.
“She’s just like a sleeping giant,” Jensen said. “If she can continue to refine her size and get more confident, I think she can be pretty good.”