Hannah Stuelke’s status for the Big Ten Tournament remains up in the air after Iowa head coach Jan Jensen expressed concern for her injury. The Hawkeye senior forward suffered an elbow injury in the first quarter in Iowa’s win over Illinois on Feb. 26, and while she returned to the court and finished the contest, she has not played or practiced since.
The injury is more than pain tolerance, Jensen told reporters Wednesday afternoon. Iowa has an off day before flying to Indianapolis tomorrow.
“It’s a pretty severe elbow injury,” Jensen said. “The torque of it, the swelling, the range of motion, the pain.”
The ailment affects Stuelke’s shooting arm. While the forward relied on adrenaline to get through the Illini, Jensen is hopeful Stuelke can return before the postseason begins. The coach said Stuelke’s experience will allow for a smoother transition whenever she returns to action.
“I know she’ll want to play, but I think right now it’s everything we’re trying to see improve with it,” Jensen said.
“If she feels like she can play and be helpful, she’ll play,” the coach added. “But right now, we’re just not in that mode of even practicing, even to see if she can do it.”
Stuelke missed two games (Purdue and Wisconsin) due to injury this season, with Iowa winning both road contests handily. She ranks second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding with 8.7 boards per game, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors from league coaches and media.
Iowa is the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will play the winner of Michigan State and likely Illinois, which faces off against Wisconsin in the first round this afternoon. Last season, the Hawkeyes earned the No. 11 seed and knew their path forward and the team they would face. This season is more of a guessing game, which somewhat impacts Iowa’s practice schemes.
“You’re looking at the what ifs,” Jensen said. “Some of the things that you didn’t do well, whether you won or lost against certain opponents. Whether they press, whether they switch, whether they trap.”
Regardless of the Hawkeyes’ performance in Indianapolis, they have essentially gained home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament as one of the best 16 teams in the country. Iowa is projected as a No. 2 seed (sixth-best team overall) in ESPN’s bracket projections on Sunday.
A Big Ten title could potentially boost Iowa to a No. 1 seed, but the Hawkeyes are in a much better spot than last season when they traveled to Oklahoma as the No. 6 seed. Such an improved campaign arrived despite injuries to starters Taylor McCabe, Kylie Feuerbach, and Chit-Chat Wright. Jensen claimed not to know Iowa’s record this year (24-5), but still valued her team’s accomplishments.
“We were so resilient, we were just team-focused,” she said. “Able to form and reform. I think there are very few teams in the country that really would have continued to find themselves.”
Iowa will play in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, March 6, at 5:30 p.m. Central Time on the Big Ten Network.