Iowa-South Carolina II: Hannah Stuelke Faces the Tallest Task
CLEVELAND — If Iowa basketball is to win its first-ever national championship Sunday, its softest voice will need her toughest game yet.
As the Hawkeyes' return to the Final Four culminates in — what else — a rematch with another undefeated South Carolina juggernaut, the prospect of the team's first-ever national championship is indeed both achingly close and the steepest possible challenge.
Two-time Player of the Year Caitlin Clark will command a dominant share of the media attention into and during the game, and South Carolina will certainly — necessarily — build its defensive gameplan around disrupting the nation's most talented, productive player.
The difference between Iowa finally winning a national championship or going home a runner-up again, though, just might be sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke.
Stuelke is fresh off a game-high 23-point performance against UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards, outplaying the second-team All-American and consensus future WNBA first-round pick as the Hawkeyes eked out the 71-69 victory.
Stuelke shot 9-for-12 in the victory, often through physical defense from Edwards and backup forward Ice Brady, and established herself as a bona-fide impact player on the national stage — especially with Clark struggling to get her shot going until the second half, finishing with a minuscule-for-her 21 points.
"I thought Hannah Stuelke played really good," Clark said on Saturday. "I was trying to get her the ball as much as I could."
The challenge of guarding 6'7" South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso — a first-team All-American, and like Edwards a mortal lock for the first round of this year's WNBA Draft — will be slightly different for the comparatively undersized Stuelke, who stands 6'2".
Iowa's players refuse to let the tale of the tape discourage Stuelke or anybody else on the team.
"[Stuelke's] heart and effort is definitely not undersized," said Iowa guard Sydney Affolter. "She's so tremendous, and I think I've seen her skill grow more and more every day in practice. And, you know, her potential is amazing."
Cardoso has averaged 17 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in her four NCAA tourney games this year (she missed the Gamecocks' first-round romp over 16-seed Presbyterian), and NC State's inability to keep her from scoring on the interior kept South Carolina away from any worrisome deficits before the rest of the team erupted in the second half of the 78-59 romp that propelled SC to this championship game.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, named Coach of the Year for a third consecutive season Thursday, left no doubt as to how important competing against Stuelke will be.
"Stuelke is -- it's a matchup that we've got to win," Staley said. "Like, we've got to win that one. What she's able to do in the half-court, I mean, she puts you back on your heels. We certainly have to use our length. We've got to make her play through us, and she doesn't mind that at all."
Staley was just as direct about Stuelke's defensive obligations as well, with Iowa's four-guard lineup leaning on Stuelke to hold down the interior.
"On the flip side of that, we have to make her guard us," Staley said. "She's going to have to guard not one, not two, not three, four. We've got four or five legitimate post players that she's going to see and have to guard, and they all are different."
Cardoso is the Mount Everest of the bunch, both in terms of height and ball skills around the paint. Ashlyn Watkins, who comes off the bench and plays just 20 minutes a game for the Gamecocks, still earned second-team all-SEC after averaging 9.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in that limited rotation time, and nearly matched Cardoso's 2.5 blocks per game with 2.4 of her own.
"Obviously, Cardoso is an amazing player," Stuelke said. "She's 6'7" and that poses a big challenge for me. Staying physical and boxing out are my most important jobs."
Then there's 6'2" sophomore Chloe Kitts, who has bounced in and out of the starting lineup and averages 9.0 points per game and shines with her versatility with and without the ball. Then there's 6'3" junior Sania Feagin, who earned 15 minutes a game in the loaded SC rotation and scored 6.7 points per game. Then there's 6'5" senior Sakima Walker, who's at the end of the rotation but could also pose a challenge to Stuelke with her post moves.
That's the level of depth South Carolina has aimed at Iowa's starting post player — though, of course, those five posts can't all Stuelke's problems at once.
"There can only be five players on the court at one time," said Iowa guard Gabbie Marshall Saturday, "so [we're] just worrying about those five people, what they do well, their tendencies, and how we can defend those five people on the court at that time."
If the pressure of the moment is getting to Stuelke, she didn't show it Saturday, framing the barrage of challenging matchups throughout the tournament as validation of her own talent as Iowa has continued to roll.
"I think it's awesome," Stuelke said Saturday. "There's so many amazing basketball players out here; if I'm in company with them, then maybe I'll be one too someday."
Stuelke is a notoriously soft-spoken interview off the court, but she's as loud and competitive as anybody in that Iowa locker room — #22 included — once the ball is tipped and the season's on the line. Stuelke, a track star at Cedar Rapids Washington, will certainly try to use her lethal downcourt speed Sunday to beat the Gamecocks' vaunted defense down the court.
"In track, you hear that gun and you just have to go," Stuelke said. "You don't have any choice, you're just in your lane running as hard as you can. I try to picture that when I'm on the court, getting down and being the first one there."
"You've got to run in transition," Staley said of Stuelke's transition speed. "I mean, she gets out, her and Martin, they get out. They get out. They are determined. It was, you know, I will run for a layup. That's the mentality."
"Hannah, let's keep riding that high," said Bluder. "She knows she can do it now. Every challenge gets bigger. Look at the challenges she's had already in this tournament. Hannah has grown up throughout this tournament, and she's going to have an unbelievable challenge tomorrow."
An unbelievable challenge sounds daunting, and for many it is. With a national championship on the line, though, Stuelke's only option is to compete — to hear the proverbial gun and go — and to enjoy the moment for what it is, in this last ride with Clark and fellow seniors Marshall, Kate Martin, Sharon Goodman and Molly Davis.
"I'm happy that we get to play another game," Stuelke said. "We get 40 more minutes together. We're focused on us, and not anyone else."