IOWA CITY — It's the Caitlin Clark Show at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this year. But on Sunday, the rest of the team served notice that they're ready for the season too.
Sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke led all scorers with 27 points, adding a game-high 10 rebounds, as Iowa cruised to a 122-49 victory in an exhibition game over reigning NAIA champions Clarke University. Clark logged 24 points and nine assists in 20 minutes of action, mostly in the first half.
"I thought we rebounded really well, I thought we ran the floor pretty well," Bluder said. "You don't know how people will respond when the lights come on. You see them in practice every day, but how are they going to respond to a game situation?"
The game was briefly competitive early, with Clarke's speed causing problems for the larger Hawkeye lineup. Head coach Lisa Bluder took out center Addison O'Grady for senior guard Molly Davis, shifting Stuelke to the 5, and the Hawkeyes went into overdrive with a 52-6 run to blow the game open.
One of the biggest questions surrounding this year's Hawkeye squad was how the team would replace All-America center Monika Czinano, who was drafted by the LA Sparks after completing her sixth year at Iowa. On Sunday, the Hawkeyes looked ready to answer that question with an ensemble cast.
"The question was, 'what are we going to do about center,' and I think you see we've got three really good options at center," Bluder said.
Iowa was remarkably productive with its smaller lineup, as Stuelke was simply impossible for the Clarke defense to handle. The bigger lineups were hardly slouches; O'Grady and fellow center Sharon Goodman combined for 26 points in 31 minutes of action, including 14 points and nine rebounds for Goodman.
"Any time a player's been out with that type of a knee surgery, and they come back and do well, you're just so happy for them," Bluder said.
Goodman was an afterthought last season as she continued to work her way back from knee injuries. Sunday, she looked healthy and capable.
"Feeling more comfortable and confident comes from my teammates," Goodman said. "They've been encouraging me for the past two years since I've been back. It's post-surgery, two years now, and my body feels a lot better."
At 6'3", Goodman and the rest of Iowa's frontcourt had no problem with the overmatched Clarke bigs; the Hawkeyes out-rebounded the Pride 48-23 in the victory, including 14 offensive rebounds.
That size disparity won't continue in the Big Ten, but the ability to get production from three different bigs with three different skill sets means Iowa can give opponents several different looks on the interior — especially now that Stuelke has extended her jumper to the three-point line.
For as welcome as Stuelke's longer range is for Hawkeye fans, it took a distant second place to her improvement on the free throw line Sunday, as she went 4-for-5 in the victory after converting just 46% as a freshman.
"I struggled a lot with that last year," Stuelke said after the game. "My three and my free throws, that's what I needed the most work on."
All of that added up to 27 points and a preposterous +56 plus-minus rating for the sophomore forward from Cedar Rapids, who had the (rather unusual) distinction of leading the Hawkeyes in scoring while playing next to Clark.
"My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball when I was open, and sometimes even when I wasn't open," Stuelke said with a laugh. "It's usually the Caitlin Show, and I love the Caitlin Show; I'm just happy to help her out."
Bluder credited Stuelke's breakout performance on offense to her offseason work ethic.
"I always see the biggest jump [in player improvement] between their freshman and sophomore years," Bluder said. "Now they've had a year of working in the weight room, and they understand how physical and fast the Big Ten is. They just understand it a little bit better, and they're more comfortable. It's like the game slows down for them."
Stuelke echoed her coach's sentiments — and shared the credit for that growth.
"Just being more confident on the floor, knowing that I can drive to the basket, knowing that I can post up and get the ball and score," Stuelke said of her improvement into her sophomore year. "My teammates have helped me a lot building that confidence, so I'm happy that I'm here with them."
Iowa will officially begin its regular season in 15 days, as Fairleigh Dickinson comes to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on November 6 for the official season opener. That time off will be welcome for at least one Hawkeye contributor, as forward A.J. Ediger missed the exhibition in a walking boot.
"A.J. was in a boot, it was a non-contact injury with her foot," Bluder said. "She'll be back, though. Nothing long-term."
There's very, very little else about this team in need of improvement over the next two weeks, though.
Molly Davis' stats won't jump off the page (especially in a 73-point win) at nine points, four assists and four rebounds in 19 minutes. But just like her performance at the Crossover, Davis made smart play after smart play, and looks as competitive as anybody on that Hawkeye roster.
"Last year, [Davis] deferred too much; I think she was willing to sit back and let other people do the work," Bluder said. "Molly realizes this is it, this is her senior year. This is why [she] transferred here, it was to contribute more to this basketball team. And we want more out of her. So I'm just happy that she's really playing more freely this year."
Combine Davis' sixth-player magic with stellar performances from Goodman and fellow bench players Sydney Affolter (six points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals) and Kylie Feuerbach (eight points, 2-6 from deep, a rebound and an assist), and the Hawkeye bench rotation starts to fill up in a hurry.
Indeed, Iowa used six of its seven available bench players in the first quarter on Saturday — 5'4" freshman guard Kennise Johnson was the last to enter the game, late in the second quarter — but those rotation spots (and minutes) probably won't all be available once the season kicks into high gear.
"I feel like we've got a lot of depth right now," Bluder said. "It's so important to have that depth — it's a grind, and the season's so long and so difficult."
Paring the rotation down is a better problem to have than wondering where all 200 minutes are going to come from, though, and if Sunday's performance is any indication, most coaches would kill for "problems" like Iowa's.
"I wouldn't even be able to make that prediction right now," Bluder said when asked about how she'll pare down the rotation for the Big Ten season. "Usually, you're looking at eight or nine deep as 'pretty good.' Eleven is probably a lot. If we have eleven contributing, we would love to do that, but who knows?"
