Second-ranked Iowa women eager for another shot at Kansas State
Iowa will host Wildcats Thursday, and one year after losing to Big 12 opponent by 1 point
By Susan Harman
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Lisa Bluder wouldn’t put her team’s trip a year ago to the Little Apple on par with the summer trip to Italy and Croatia. But she remembers it.
“Kansas State kind of gives us some bad memories from last year,” Bluder said. “We had a one-point loss at their place. It was a situation where we had a lead, and we kind of let it escape. And they got to the free-throw line a lot. So we’re anxious, to play them again.”
Translating: Iowa is eager to play the Wildcats on Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa’s team hasn’t shown any kind of anxiety so far this year, and that might not have been the case early last season.
The Wildcats won 84-83, outscoring the Hawkeyes 21-15 in the final quarter. K-State took advantage of 17 foul shots in the second half (to Iowa’s 10). The Hawks led by as many as 12 in the second period but couldn’t close the deal.
It was Iowa’s first loss in a season in which expectations were high. The Hawkeyes lost subsequent games to heavyweights UConn and North Carolina State leaving them with a 5-3 record on Dec. 1. That left a number of questions despite the top-notch competition. Most of those questions centered around losing at K-State. The Hawkeyes were a work in progress and eventually got their feathers in a row for a Final Four run, but at the time there was some anxiety among fans.
Kansas State, picked fourth in the Big 12, has key players back like fifth-year guard Gabby Gregory. Gregory and junior Serena Sundell each poured in 24 points a year ago. Gregory worked the free-throw line for 12 of her points. She drew 13 fouls from the Hawks (Caitlin Clark drew nine).
Iowa really doesn’t want a repeat of Gregory cashing in freebies.
“To me that’s critical,” Bluder said
Sundell and Gregory combined to average 32.4 points per game last year.
“I remember they has some really good guards,” Iowa junior Sydney Affolter said. “Gabby Gregory, she’s really phenomenal. So that will be important for us to shut her down. She drew a lot of fouls on us last year, so make sure we get after it defensively and be careful, fouling-wise.”
Also back are junior guards Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn, twins who started last year.
The biggest difference for the Wildcats is the return of 6-foot-6 All-American center Ayoka Lee. Lee missed last season with an ACL tear. She is a strong post presence with good hands and is hard to displace down low. She holds the NCAA single-game scoring record after dropping 61 against Oklahoma two seasons ago.
Lee told the Topeka Capital-Journal that she’s getting more comfortable after her surgery.
“Every week it gets better, so (I’m) just continuing to build off of each week is the goal,” she said. “I’m definitely moving better than the last season I played.”
That should scare the Big 12.
In two games this season against inferior opponents Lee is averaging 23 points, 8.5 rebounds and 22.5 minutes. As a junior in 2021-22 Lee averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Iowa counters with a quicker Hannah Stuelke but can also bring in big, strong posts like Sharon Goodman and Addie O’Grady. Bluder said the post will a shared position among the three depending on matchups.
The guards will have to cognizant of Lee.
“Need to get into the post whenever we need to, helping on her,” Iowa’s Kylie Feuerbach said. “But they have great guards too, so we kind of need to be strategic about that.”
The Wildcats play a lot of players and really don’t lose much going to their bench. They love the three, and they have plenty of size in addition to Lee. And they sound eager to pull the upset a second time.
“It’s a game that we’ve circled on our calendar for a long time, especially after they got to the championship game last year; I’m sure they’ve had us circled as well,” KSU coach Jeff Mittie told the Capital-Journal. “They have aspirations of a national championship, and we have aspirations to have the best year we’ve ever had, so it should be a great matchup.”
“I think (this game) will be a good test for us,” Lee told the Topeka paper. “I don’t think it’s a test that we aren’t capable of stepping up to.”
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. and will be shown on FS1.