When the going gets tough, that’s when you learn the most about a team.
It’s easy to showboat when things are going well, and the team is dominating games. But you start to find out the true character of a team when the chips are down. The Iowa women’s basketball team was dealt a losing hand in the first half of Sunday’s game against Indiana. They trailed by 16 at halftime, and nothing was going right.
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It was at that point that the Hawkeyes decided to push all their chips to the center of the table. And the result: jackpot.
Iowa came out with its hair on fire in the third quarter, quickly trimming the deficit to just one point by the end of the quarter. After a back-and-forth fourth quarter where both teams traded blows, it was the Hawkeyes who ultimately delivered the knockout punch, winning 56-53 to move to 14-2 on the season and 5-0 in Big Ten play. Here are the biggest takeaways from Iowa’s thrilling comeback win in Bloomington:
Kylie Feuerbach’s timely return
Kylie Feuerbach had been out since the Uconn game on Dec. 20 and made her return to the lineup against Indiana. And make no mistake, the Hawkeyes don’t win this game without her. The counting stats don’t jump off the page. Five points, one rebound, and a block in 21 minutes off the bench. Her impact on this win extends far beyond what the box score can convey.
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Feuerbach’s defense in the second half was a game-changer for Jan Jensen’s Hawks. She made life extremely difficult for whichever Hoosier was unlucky enough to draw her assignment. She was a huge reason why Iowa limited Indiana to just 18 second-half points, which was enough to come away with the win. The senior guard will be very important going forward for this squad.
Hannah Stuelke fills the stat sheet
In a game where a big comeback was needed to win, Iowa turned to one of its lone veterans to help lead the way. Hannah Stuelke did a little bit of everything on Sunday in the Hawkeyes’ win. She had 12 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Stuelke had three field goals in the fourth quarter, with all three of them either giving Iowa the lead back or giving them a little breathing room.
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She also grabbed some massive rebounds to change the course of the game, and her defense was a game-changer as well. This was the kind of all-around performance that the Hawkeyes desperately needed from their senior forward, and Stuelke delivered, just like she has for most of her career in the black and gold. This was a vintage game from Stuelke.
These Hawks are gritty
Jan Jensen’s teams are building a reputation of being hard to play against and never quitting. They might not have the high-end talent of the Caitlin Clark era of hoops, but they’re one of the grittiest teams in the entire country. And that was very evident on Sunday. Down by 16 at halftime on the road with nothing going right, this team had every opportunity to just roll over and move on to Oregon. They did just the opposite.
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They decided to band together, hunker down, and fight. And in doing so, they methodically orchestrated an impressive road comeback that could turn into a season-defining win. Iowa made one thing extremely clear against Indiana: you’re going to have to play the entire 40 minutes to beat them. This performance should strike some fear into the rest of the conference.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Takeaways from wild Iowa women’s basketball comeback win vs. Indiana
