Is Hannah Stuelke the key to Caitlin Clark, Iowa making deep 2024 run?

Caitlin Clark grabbed the pass and took a beat. Seconds were ticking away toward the end of the third quarter, with Iowa already up big over Minnesota. But Clark saw one of her favorite targets, Hannah Stuelke, obtain prime position between her defender and the basket in the low post.

From well beyond the 3-point arc, Clark fired a perfect pass to Stuelke, who sank the layup and drew a foul, in the process giving Clark her 902nd career assist — a new Big Ten record.

Stuelke, a 6-foot-2 sophomore forward playing a larger role for the Hawkeyes this season, has been featured in many of Clark’s highlight reels, often as the recipient of her awe-inspiring dimes, including a no-look, behind-the-back pass Wednesday against Purdue.

But not always. In fact, in the game-winning play Iowa ran to beat Michigan State last week, Stuelke received the rock at the top of the 3-point arc, and although the ball was momentarily knocked away, she recovered it in time to pitch it to Clark for her now-famous step-back, logo 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining.

Clark is within reach of repeating as national player of the year as she propels the Hawkeyes to a 16-1 record despite losing two multi-year starters, most prominently the Robin to her Batman in Monika Czinano. But Stuelke, the Hawkeyes’ second-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, has helped Clark establish Iowa as a contender again this season. And for the Hawkeyes to make it back to the Final Four in what could be Clark’s final year in Iowa City, they’ll need Stuelke to continue on her current trajectory.

“As [Stuelke] goes, we can go,” Iowa associate head coach Jan Jensen told ESPN. “The higher she takes her game, the higher it’s going to help us go.”

As a freshman last season, Stuelke carved out a role behind Czinano, perennially one of the country’s most efficient post players. Stuelke, who’s from Cedar Rapids, had always dreamed of being a Hawkeye, and there was a natural first-year adjustment figuring out where she belonged on the court.

Things started to take off for Stuelke during conference play, helping her earn Big Ten Sixth Woman of the Year. Iowa went 15-3 in that portion of its season before winning its second consecutive Big Ten tournament title, and eventually appearing in its first Final Four in 30 years.

The no-look, behind-the-back 🤯@CaitlinClark22 x @StuelkeHannah#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/IxeHU3wFyq

— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) January 11, 2024

Stuelke nursed an ankle injury during the NCAA tournament. But when she drew a charge on 2022 national player of the year Aliyah Boston in the first quarter of the national semifinals — the game in which Iowa upset then-undefeated South Carolina — it signified Stuelke’s growth to the coaching staff, as well as the trust the program had in her to make a difference on such a large stage.

“When she turned that corner more confidently and comfortably,” Jensen said, “that’s I think when our team really started to roll.”

Things changed for Iowa, and for Clark, with Czinano graduating this offseason. The Hawkeyes assumed a more by-committee approach to post-play — with Sharon Goodman and Addi O’Grady also seeing bigger roles — something they weren’t accustomed to after the consistent presence of Czinano and the player she succeeded, Megan Gustafson.

The chemistry Czinano and Clark developed over three years couldn’t be replicated overnight, and so the message within the program was to embrace the fact that this was a new group.

“I think we just decided this is a new year, this is a new team,” Stuelke said. “Each year, it’s kind of like a puzzle. We have to figure out how we fit together, how we work together.”

“That was the biggest challenge is to get [the post players] to shut out everybody who kept saying, ‘Well you don’t have Monika.’ ‘Well, Monika was this,'” Jensen added. “I said, ‘We don’t. It was fun, we had her, but this is who we are this year. This is who you get to be, and we don’t have to be that. In fact, that’s not how you’re wired. But hey, you’re wired like this.'”

Move over, Samantha Prahalis.

Caitlin Clark just set the @B1Gwbball career assist record (902). 👏@CaitlinClark22 x @IowaWBB pic.twitter.com/A9nvyajbm6

— Big Ten Women’s Basketball (@B1Gwbball) December 30, 2023

Stuelke was always central to Iowa’s plans of replacing Czinano, though her athleticism brings a different look to the position than the Hawkeyes previously had. Jensen, who works with Iowa’s posts, calls Stuelke a prototype power forward, one capable of stretching the floor with an outside shot she worked on over the summer. But the Hawkeyes have determined they need Stuelke more at center since the season started, encouraging her that even if she’s a bit undersized, her quickness and versatility create mismatches.

Iowa can do a bit more from the perimeter now because Stuelke can handle the ball and create outside the paint, using her speed to get to the basket. Her offensive rebounding (nearly three boards per game) also gives the Hawkeyes more opportunities to score, a nightmare for opponents.

Moreover, her rim-running ability is perfectly suited for an Iowa offense that thrives in transition. No one enjoys that aspect of her game more than Clark, who “loves her running target that’s 700 meters away,” Jensen laughed. If Clark is Patrick Mahomes of her beloved Kansas City Chiefs, Jensen said, Stuelke is Clark’s Travis Kelce.

“Hannah just runs the floor really hard, as hard as anybody as I’ve ever played with,” Clark said recently. “It leads to a lot of easy buckets and causes a lot of problems for other teams.”

It has taken intentional communication to solidify the connection. And Jensen said sometimes she still has to remind Clark to “chill it, take it down a notch — it was there but Kelce might have had a hard time hanging on to that one.” Last year’s experience helped Stuelke understand what it takes to play with Clark, including that you always have to be ready to catch the ball — because it’s coming in hot.

“Caitlin’s really fun to play with and really easy to mesh with just because she’s always looking for what’s best for the team,” Stuelke said, “or she’ll see you when you’re open and you don’t even think you’re open.”

The bond has led to good things for the Hawkeyes, as 35 of Clark’s 131 assists this season have gone to Stuelke, tied with Kate Martin for the most on the team.

“I think just when the whole team is at its best, we’re all playing at a very high level, and me and Caitlin seem to just find each other,” Stuelke said. “I think that’s really special.”

Stuelke’s emergence as a consistent scorer helps take some of the load off Clark’s shoulders (her 31.0 PPG lead the nation). As Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said recently, “You can’t do what we want to accomplish with just Caitlin scoring. It has to be more than that.”

Stuelke’s 13.8 points (64.8% shooting) on 9.1 field goal attempts per game are both second most for the Hawkeyes. She gets to the free throw line 2.9 times per game on average, and has been working since the summer to improve her accuracy from the stripe closer to at least 70% (it’s at 58.5%).

“As [Stuelke] goes, we can go. The higher she takes her game, the higher it’s going to help us go.”

Iowa associate head coach Jan Jensen

Stuelke’s at her best, Jensen said, when she’s in a flow, playing with a feel and not overthinking. That mental side of the game has been where things have started to click the most for her, with even more room to grow in believing “‘I’m the one, I can do this,'” Jensen added.

“Hannah has always had the athletic ability, her skills have gotten better, she works just as hard as anyone on the team. She’s getting her confidence because of all the work she’s put in and she deserves it,” Clark said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, the biggest area she’s grown. She kind of has that dog mentality now, and that’s what I’m most proud of for her.”

Iowa’s next biggest test comes Saturday, when the Hawkeyes face Indiana, which has similarly won 13 straight games and is one of their main challengers for the Big Ten title. Going up against first-team All-American Mackenzie Holmes down low, Stuelke has yet another opportunity to show the country, and maybe even herself, just how integral she is to Iowa’s future.

“I think that’ll be the continuation of her involvement is just knowing that ‘I can be great, and no matter what you want me to do, I have the skill set,'” Jensen said. “And when she gets that consistently, I think you’ll really see her shine.”

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What to watch this weekend

No. 10 Texas at No. 12 Kansas State
2 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPNU

With Ayoka Lee back into the fold following knee surgery that sidelined her all of last year, Kansas State is having one of its best starts in program history, and is still the only team to beat Iowa this season. But things are getting real now with Texas on deck. The Longhorns might be without Rori Harmon but have responded well since she went down, with star freshman Madison Booker taking over at point. The matchup of Texas’ high-scoring offense going up against Kansas State’s stout defense (allowing 51.2 opponents’ points per game) will be one to watch.

No. 14 Indiana at No. 3 Iowa
8 p.m. ET Saturday, FOX

The last Indiana-Iowa showdown, at the end of February 2023, ended with Clark’s game-winning buzzer-beater 3-pointer. Could something just as memorable happen this time around? Both teams have won 13 straight games after Indiana lost to Stanford the first week of the season and Iowa fell to Kansas State the week before Thanksgiving. The Hawkeyes feel like the Big Ten favorites, but that could change if Mackenzie Holmes and the Hoosiers give them a good showing in Iowa City.

No. 11 Virginia Tech at No. 21 Florida State
1 p.m. ET Sunday, ESPN

Virginia Tech is riding high after last week’s last-second game-winning basket from Elizabeth Kitley to knock off then-No. 3 NC State. But another ranked opponent awaits in Florida State, on the road, no less. After struggling defensively most of the game against the Wolfpack, the Hokies will need to be locked in on that end of the floor to slow down a high-powered Florida State attack that, spearheaded by Ta’Niya Latson, scores the second-most points in the ACC.

No. 8 Stanford Cardinal at No. 5 Colorado Buffaloes
2 p.m. ET Sunday, Pac-12 Network

Funky things have happened when Stanford travels to Boulder. Two of the last three matchups there (including last season’s) have gone to overtime, and the other was an eight-point decision that the Cardinal had to pull away in the fourth quarter to win. This year, JR Payne boasts her best team yet, a senior-heavy group with a realistic shot at improving upon its Sweet 16 appearance from last season.

It’s one of three high-profile Pac-12 games this weekend, with Stanford playing at Utah two days prior and a UCLA–USC rematch at the Galen Center slated for Sunday evening.