Iowa 68, BYU 48: It’s Cancun, not Can’tcun

Iowa capped an eventful trip to Cancun with a 68-48 victory over BYU on Friday night, led by Hannah Stülkeare 16 points; She also added eight rebounds and three assists as the Hawkeyes closed out their game

Jan Jensen is the first Hawkeye head coach to begin her career by going 8-0, which also marks the fourth-best start to a season in program history.

“I’m so happy with the win because it was difficult anyway Lucy Olsensaid Jensen, whose point guard missed her second straight game after suffering a deep cut on her knee following a freak training accident; it varies from game to game. “She survives the absence of your leader, Captain, and still finds a way to win… I’m just happy.”

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1. This team plays serious defense. While Iowa’s defense was never essential bad in the Caitlin Clark In this era, it is clear that this year’s team has a different strength.

BYU made just 5 of 25 shots in the first half while Iowa built a 25-16 halftime lead. The Cougars are now the fifth team to hold Iowa under 60 points in its 8-0 start and the second team to hold under 50 points.

The Cougars’ two strongest offensive weapons: coverage Delaney Gibb and forward Emma Calvertcame into the game with an overall average of 32 points. Iowa held the two goals in 2:16 and combined for nine points in Friday’s win, and Calvert spent most of the game limited due to foul trouble.

“Kylie (Feuerbach) “I just did a great job of going really hard against (Gibb),” assistant coach said Randi Henderson. “Overall, I think our defensive performance, our ability to play scout and really make it difficult for them in the half court helped us overcome our turnover difficulties.”

2. This team needs Lucy Olsen back. In Olsen’s second game, in which she was sidelined due to the horrific gash on her knee, Iowa’s true freshmen once again experienced growing pains due to the pressure.

BYU forced the Hawkeyes into 16 turnovers in the first half and 23 total turnovers after the Hawkeyes had 22 turnovers Rhode Island Thursday. At least Iowa only committed seven turnovers in the second half; gradual progress Is still progressing, and for newbies like Taylor Stremlow And Aaliyah GuytonFor him, who competed again in the 1 on Friday, all progress is important.

Losing the ball was our biggest problem in the first half,” said Stuelke. “Our point guards somehow got their bearings, flipped the switch and then just brought the ball up.”

With an athletic opponent looming in another key matchup, Iowa needs its most important ball-handler back.

“The great thing is that Tennessee is pushing 24/7,” Jensen said of next week’s opponent. “Now they’re probably licking their fingers. That really showed where we had a weakness. I’m really confident Lucy will be back for this (game).”

Freshman Taylor Stremlow started one more game at point guard in Olsen’s absence, but had another quiet day in the rest of the stats with just one rebound and one assist to go along with three turnovers and three fouls.

Stremlow ended the weekend goalless, playing out of position as a natural winger, but the coaches are not unhappy with her performance.

“Stremlow did a great job at a position she hasn’t even practiced yet,” Henderson said. “Together they did a great job filling in the gaps for Lucy.”

“In the beginning, their pressure and their physicality really bothered us,” Henderson said. “We got a little better control of it and (BYU) got a little tired in the second half so our turnovers went down.”

If there’s any good news right now, it’s the emergence of Aaliyah Guyton, who took another significant step forward in her return from an ACL injury with her first double-digit score in just the third appearance of her career. Guyton made all three of her three-point attempts on Friday and finished with 11 points, which probably won’t be a career high for much longer.

“Aaliyah, she was super fun to watch,” Henderson said. “She’s going to be a really good player.”

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3. This team is growing in front of the fans. With an 8-0 start, it’s easy to forget how much inexperience is affecting this team. Olsen and five freshmen joined the team in the spring and were freshmen Syd Affolter And Hannah Stülke missed significant portions of the offseason due to knee injuries – as did the point guards Kennise Johnson and Guyton. Johnson remains out while Guyton essentially tries to keep up with the pace of the midseason college game.

And then Olsen is surprised by the surroundings in the ballroom.

Affolter and Stuelke are not only back and playing in form, they were also instrumental in Friday’s win. Stuelke led the team in scoring while Affolter led the team with 10 rebounds, her sixth game with double figures. And with four assists.

Second in the team: Stülke with three.

“Without Lucy I had to improve a little bit,” said Stuelke. “It was just an attitude. We did it, played great and I’m really proud of us.”

Another welcome development for the young Hawkeyes: The three-ball is finally waking up.

The Hawkeyes landed in Cancun making 17 of 40 shots from three-point range, a rate of 42.5%. That includes an 11-for-23 win over the Cougars on Friday night, led by Guyton’s 3-for-3 performance.

“We just had to go to Mexico and Cancun and warm up a little bit,” Jensen said. “Tonight, in the second half, when they loosened up, we saw a lot in training. I’m excited because it was 47% from two-pointers and 47% from three-pointers, but the most important thing is I just want these guys to do it. “Get confidence and know that they can do it against a good opponent have already experienced.

In fact, the Iowa staff was thrilled with their young team’s performance on Friday, especially when the shots were falling – or rather, when they were going up.

“Our execution when we didn’t turn (the ball) over was very, very good,” Henderson said. “With our shot selection, we took good shots and made good shots. We have found our posts; I thought Hannah Stuelke played great offensively and defensively. I thought Kylie was excellent defensively and so was Syd.”

Iowa’s preparation for Big Ten battle continues next Saturday when it takes on Tennessee in the Women’s Champion Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“It’s going to get really hard, really fast, right?” Jensen said. “And it was really fun. We are honored to be asked to participate in this tournament.”

“This weekend’s games prepared us for what’s to come with Tennessee,” Henderson said. “A really good, athletic team that pushes and pushes. It will be tough, but it will be a super cool opportunity to be at the top.”

The game is scheduled to begin on Saturday, December 7th at 6:00 pm CT on FOX.