By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – There is so much to like about the eighth-ranked Iowa women’s basketball team, which has now won eight games in a row.

From its depth and versatility to its chemistry on and off the court, second-year head coach Jan Jensen, with help, of course from her assistant coaches, has put together an intriguing roster that is now producing results at a level rarely seen at Iowa.

The Hawkeyes pounded then 12th-ranked Ohio State 91-70 this past Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, improving to 9-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since the 1995-96 Hawkeyes squad started 12-0 in conference play.

The win came at a heavy price, though, as senior guard Taylor McCabe, one of Iowa’s best 3-point shooters, suffered a season-ending knee injury just a few seconds into the game.

Iowa is fortunate to have not just depth in the backcourt, but quality depth as heralded freshman guard Addie Deal showed against he Buckeyes, scoring a career-high 20 points in McCabe’s absence.

Sophomore Chit-Chat Wright, a transfer from Georgia Tech, also has provided a consistent spark as Iowa’s new starting point guard.

McCabe will certainly be missed, but there is no mercy in college sports, and up next for Iowa is a two-game road trip to Los Angeles where it’ll face USC on Thursday and No. 3 UCLA on Sunday.

Iowa is also extremely fortunate to have senior forward Hannah Stuelke and graduate guard Kylie Feuerbach as veteran leaders on a team that has nine freshmen and sophomores and five first-year players.

Their impact goes far beyond statistics and what happens on the court.

In many ways, they along with Taylor McCabe, are the heart and soul of this Iowa team because of who they are as people and because of who they are on the court where Stuelke is Iowa’s best rebounder and Feuerbach is by far Iowa’s best defender.

Stuelke had 15 rebounds in the win over Ohio State, while Feuerbach played her usual in-your-face defense and also led Iowa with nine assists.

You can also assume that they both helped to ease the tension in those horrible minutes after McCabe was injured because that is what veteran leaders do.

They provide a level of calmness during times of adversity and sadness, and they inspire when doubt creeps in.

And even though McCabe won’t be playing anymore this season, the respect she has a veteran leader will be beneficial to the team.

Stuelke and Feuerbach have a decade of experience combined with this being Feuerbach’s sixth season and Stuelke’s fourth.

Feuerbach, who is from Sycamore, Illinois, played her freshman season at Iowa State before transferring to Iowa.

Since becoming a Hawkeye, she has dealt with a season-ending knee injury, and with shooting slumps at times.

But her commitment to being a Hawkeye and to playing defense at an exceptionally high level never has wavered.

Feuerbach and Deal met with the media after the Ohio State win; a sixth-year senior sitting alongside a true freshman.

Deal was in eighth grade when Feuerbach entered college, but there they were on Sunday, sitting side-by-side as victorious Hawkeye teammates.

“I’m confident in my abilities,” Deal said. “I think my teammates do a good job of just finding each other. I love the way we play, super unselfish. So I think just playing in this offense with these people really just helps me do what I need to do.”

There was an interesting moment in Sunday’s press conference when a member of the media asked what the win over Ohio State says about this Iowa team. Deal immediately turned to Feuerbach as if to say this is your question as our veteran leader.

Feuerbach would then go on to talk about being locked in and ready to go as any veteran leader would say.

But what was so cool and telling about that moment is how quickly Deal turned to her veteran teammate so she could speak on behalf of the team.

Neither Feuerbach nor Stuelke are what would be described as pure shooters. Feuerbach can get hot from three at times, while Stuelke compensates with her athleticism and with her relentlessness near the basket.

Stuelke and sophomore center Ava Heiden both run the court like guards and they often score in transition because their slower defender can’t keep up with them.

Heiden was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, and a week after Stuelke won the same award, while Deal was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second consecutive week.

Teams that are 9-0 in conference play and 18-2 overall tend to pick up individual awards along the way.

It’s easy to forget that the 6-foot-2 Stuelke as an underclassmen was a key piece to Iowa’s NCAA runner-ups teams in 2023 and 2024. Her speed, coupled with Caitlin Clark’s vision and passing skills, made for some beautiful baskets in transition.

Stuelke is now a senior and with that comes a certain amount of pressure and responsibility.

“I think early she was nostalgic about being a senior and feeling a little bit of the pressure,” Jensen said. “Okay, I’m a senior, we’ve got a new group and missing what was. But in a good way. And now you’ve got a lot of new kids and then feeling that pressure, I’ve got to carry it.

“And I thought heading into the end of the nonconference (schedule), I saw a little shift. She had a tougher game at Northwestern . But I told her after the game, I’ve had few times when I’ve been more proud of her. She willed us in huddles. Because she shot real poorly, but you could just see a senior that had taken another step and said, ‘everybody get on.’ And I think she’s doing that with her play, and even if she’s not always the most consistent, oh she missed this; she’s going to get it back another way. And she’s forward thinking and she’s enjoying the rest of the ride and that’s exactly where you need her to be.”

Stuelke only made 2-of-11 field-goal attempts in the 67-58 win at Northwestern on Jan. 5, and she also missed four of eight free throws.

But instead of sulking, the Cedar Rapids native took on more of a leadership role and made an impact with her emotion more than with her statistics.

The soft-spoken Stuelke might not have had that in her as recently as last season.

Stuelke certainly has compiled some impressive statistics as a Hawkeye, including scoring a career-high 47 points in one game. Her career high for rebounds is 16, while her career high for assists, blocks and steals is eight, four and four, respectively.

Feuerbach’s career-high for points is 17, while her career highs for rebounds, assists, steals and blocks is nine, nine, six, and three, respectively.

But again, her impact, and Stuelke’s impact, goes far beyond statistics.

The college basketball season is a long, emotional grind filled with peaks and valleys.

So, the importance of having veteran leadership on a team with nine underclassmen can never be understated.