Iowa women’s basketball (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten) won its Big Ten home opener over Penn State (7-6, 0-2 Big Ten) in style, 99-76.
But, the 14th-ranked Hawkeyes did so without one of its starting guards in graduate senior Kylie Feuerbach. The 6-foot guard from Sycamore, Ill., was listed as questionable on the Hawkeyes’ game day availability report after suffering an ankle injury during Iowa’s loss against No. 1 UConn in New York.
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After playing just nine minutes against UConn, Feuerbach didn’t see any action against Penn State.
Iowa head women’s basketball coach Jan Jensen was asked for an update on Feuerbach’s injury status after the Hawkeyes’ win over the Nittany Lions.
“I was concerned without having Kylie. Kylie is one of our most efficient players. She’s really our best defender. She understands every press, she understands every play. She doesn’t ever have a misstep when it comes to that. So, I was really glad this game was at home, because, when you lose one of your team captains and she’s not going to be able to play at all, (it’s challenging).
“The positive was I knew we were going to be able to get some extended minutes for the others. But, that kid, every day in practice, she does not get outbeat, she doesn’t get outworked by any other player and she leads and they love her. It was killing her not to play. But, her status is day-to-day. Her ankle. Unfortunately, that didn’t help us in that UConn game. She slipped on that logo and really got a pretty unique jammed ankle. So, we’re day by day and going to see someone tomorrow again. So, I don’t know what her status will be for Nebraska and beyond,” Jensen said.
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With Feuerbach sidelined, Iowa sophomore guard Taylor Stremlow stepped into the starting lineup and played 25 minutes, scoring 14 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Stremlow also added four assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals.
“Yeah, I just can’t say enough about Taylor Stremlow. There’s few kids I think in the country that can start, ‘Yeah, I’m good with it.’ Don’t start, don’t know how many minutes they’re going to play. Play the three, play the one, back up the two. That kid would play center if I asked her to. She just has… the heart is golden. And she just is a competitor. The thing about Taylor, it’s always about the mission. It’s always about, ‘How can I help this team?’
“And when you see a kid be able to step in and do all the things that she consistently does, most of the time when we need her, so I was really thrilled for her,” Jensen said.
Iowa is back in action on New Year’s Day against rival and No. 24 Nebraska (12-0, 1-0 Big Ten). Tipoff from Carver-Hawkeye Arena is set for 1 p.m. CT and the game will air on the Big Ten Network.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball provides Kylie Feuerbach injury update
