After No. 15 Maryland women’s basketball’s first two losses of the season, it was able to respond with victories over Indiana and USC, respectively.
The Terps find themselves looking for another bounce-back victory Thursday night, but the opponent standing in their way is a lot tougher. Maryland will welcome No. 10 Iowa, a team that hasn’t lost in over a month and is undefeated in conference play, to Xfinity Center in search of a get-right game.
The game will tip off at 6 p.m. and be broadcast on Peacock.
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Iowa Hawkeyes (16-2, 7-0 Big Ten)
Since losing superstar Caitlin Clark to the WNBA, the Hawkeyes have been trying to re-establish themselves as one of the best teams in the Big Ten. This season is on track to be their best in the post-Clark era.
Iowa suffered its first loss in early December at the hands of its rival Iowa State, and its second came in late December when it got blown out by the far-and-away national title favorites, No. 1 UConn.
Other than those games, the Hawkeyes have been practically flawless — they’ve won all seven games to start Big Ten play.
Players to watch
Ava Heiden, sophomore center, 6-foot-4, No. 5 – After serving as a backup post player her freshman year, Heiden is in the midst of a breakout campaign. She is a mega-efficient post scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game on 61.5% shooting from the field, and adds on a respectable 7.7 rebounds per contest. Maryland head coach Brenda Frese has to find the right blend of Isi Ozzy-Momodu and Marya Boiko to defend Heiden without fouling, but that will be a tall task.
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Hannah Stuelke, senior forward, 6-foot-2, No. 45 – Stuelke has been a staple of Iowa women’s basketball since going to back-to-back National Championship games her freshman and sophomore years. She and Heiden form one of the most dangerous frontcourts, with both players liking to live in the paint. Stuelke is averaging 14.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in her senior campaign.
Chit-Chat Wright, sophomore guard, 5-foot-4, No. 11 – Wright transferred from Georgia Tech after a bit of a lackluster freshman year, but she has fit right in with the Hawkeyes. She can be a highlight machine, creating space and knocking down jumpers off the dribble. Wright is the most dangerous 3-point shooter on the Iowa roster, making a ludicrous 46.5% of her attempts.
Strength
Offensive firepower. The Hawkeyes have a top-25 scoring offense that posts over 80 points per game and are top-10 in efficiency with their 49.2% shooting from the field. Frese’s teams always pride themselves on defensive efficiency, and this one in particular had a great start to the season defensively. However, Maryland has lost all three games in which it has given up more than 70 points in regulation.
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Weakness
Free throw shooting. Another thing Frese’s teams pride themselves on is getting to the free throw line and converting those free throws at a high clip. While the Hawkeyes get to the line a lot, they are 280th in the country in free throw percentage at 67.1%. In a close game, the free throw percentage could be what makes the difference.
Three things to watch
1. Welson’s recovery. Rainey Welson left the first game of Maryland’s road trip against USC with a concussion. Whether Welson will be ready to go could be a huge contributing factor to Maryland’s chances against the Hawkeyes. Frese cited her absence as one of the many things that hurt them against USC.
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2. Rebounding battle. For the first time this year, Maryland got legitimately dominated on the glass. Against UCLA, it was outrebounded, 46-24. The Hawkeyes are also a good rebounding team, with Stuelke and Heiden anchoring the paint presence. Maryland recovering and finding a way to compete on the boards will be key.
3. Game show night. Maryland women’s basketball will celebrate “Game Show Night” during the game against Iowa. It will be just the second time they have hosted a ranked opponent at the Xfinity Center this year after a disappointing loss to No. 12 Ohio State.
