The Hyball is a weekly basketball column
Throw a dart, hit a hero.
The Iowa women's basketball team going back-to-back-to-back in the Big Ten tournament was a sublime coronation of the Caitlin Clark era in Iowa City. There was so much to run down following the victory, it would almost take less time to just watch the game again.
- Clark overcoming (very) poor shooting to rally in crunch time
- Hannah Stuelke's athletic, clutch rebound with less than 20 seconds left
- Overcoming a 1% win probability
- Kate Martin canning clutch threes like she was keeping civilization alive
- Gabbie Marshall's Dikembe moment
- And her ensuing Peter Griffin moment following said block
- Lisa Bluder becoming a football coach
- Doing all of this without Molly Davis; not just a starter, but one of the team's primary ball handlers and best three point shooters
In a game and tournament run where all dogs were called upon, my mind continued to come back to, perhaps, the most colossal canine in the complex.
It would be offensive to call Sydney Affolter's play in Minneapolis a revelation because of the sweat, blood, and guts she'd given the program prior, but that word feels right, doesn't it? With her in the starting lineup, something is elevated.
Losing out on Sixth Player of the Year to Michigan State's Theryn Hallock seemed to put a chip on a shoulder already loaded with them; Affolter made the most of her minutes in landing on the All-Tournament Team. A very, very deserved honor, if not also poetic.
I started writing this column without actually looking up her stat line from the final game, and holy wow, does it cement today's premise: 11 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe. Affolter out-rebounded Stuelke overall and had as many offensive rebounds as the rest of the team combined.
This has been a wonderful season, but when you're great, sometimes you have to nitpick a little bit, and something never sat right with me about the starting lineup. Hannah, Clark, and Martin were always going to be locks, but what about the other two spots? Gabbie had the defensive and big game pedigree, but was prone to shooting slumps. Molly had more playmaking and better shooting splits, but would a 5'7" player be able to hold up against the elite, athletic teams?
The self-belief is most definitely there.
And it's not just belief now -- it's sustained ("I've been capable of that for so long"). She knows.
Affolter's presence in the starting lineup solves any potential size issues immediately. At 5'11", she's an inch shy of Kate Martin, and their shared smarts and heart really are a walking Spider-Man meme. She saves countless possessions with those aforementioned rebounds, and it all feels so natural; sometimes she finds the ball -- but sometimes, the ball finds her.
She also gives this Iowa team a little bit of nasty. And when you have your eye on the biggest prize, it's not always about the game in front of you -- it's about seeing the whole chessboard. The Mighty Ducks knew they could score, but Dean Portman was brought in for (later) needed strength, size, and physicality.
"When you play Iceland, you're gonna need him"
I've spent a lot more time thinking about Monika Czinano than McKenna Warnock this year, but you know who else pulled down 11 boards in a Big Ten championship game? Warnock in 2023 against Ohio State. It's possible Sydney starting gets us closer to a version of last year's national runner-up than what the current year's incarnation could have.
Or maybe it creates a 3.0 version from this team's two previous evolutions, going back to last spring. Because Affolter played in that Ohio State title game, too. And in 19 minutes, she both outscored and out-rebounded two of the five starters. (Affolter had 11 points, more than Marshall (9) and Warnock (4), and 3 rebounds, more than Martin (2) and Marshall (1)).
The call has always been coming from inside the house -- and maybe Iowa picked up the phone at the exact. right. time.
Bobby Loesch is a weekly contributor to Go Iowa Awesome. Find him on Twitter @bobbystompy, Instagram @bobbystompy, or email at bobbyloesch@gmail.com.
