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3 things to watch as Iowa women’s basketball takes on Penn State
IOWA CITY — After a successful Big Ten home opener, Iowa women’s basketball heads back out on the road against a program the Hawkeyes have dominated recently.
Iowa (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten Conference) travels to Penn State (9-4, 0-2) for Wednesday’s noon tipoff, giving Jan Jensen’s team a chance to usher in 2025 in style. The Hawkeyes have already lost one toss-up road game in Big Ten play and don’t want to drop another.
With that, here are three things to watch ahead of Wednesday’s matchup.
Can Iowa show its growing veteran maturity in what is a quintessential trap game?
There are two essential ingredients for any trap game: A foe one has historically owned and an upcoming contest that is more glamorous. Wednesday checks both of those boxes for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa enters having won 10 straight over Penn State, with nine of those coming by double digits. The Hawkeyes’ last loss in Bryce Jordan Center came on Jan. 3, 2017. It’s been a one-sided matchup by every definition possible.
Throw in what’s coming for the Hawkeyes on Sunday — a home battle against what should be an unbeaten Maryland team — and Iowa can’t afford to be peeking ahead one bit. Reaching that grand opportunity in Carver-Hawkeye Arena over the weekend first requires the mental maturity to handle Wednesday’s road test.
This may not seem like the most obvious place for Iowa to showcase some veteran moxie, but it’s still an important spot over the course of a long Big Ten slate.
What does Lucy Olsen have in store for this return to her home state?
Iowa’s game against Tennessee in Brooklyn was technically the Hawkeyes’ closest game this season to Olsen’s hometown of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, which sits just northwest of Philadelphia. But Wednesday’s matchup will have the actual home-state feel.
Expect a strong Olsen contingent to make the 178-mile trek west from Collegeville to State College, hoping to see a show from Iowa’s star guard. Considering Olsen is coming off her first single-digit scoring performance in black and gold — and just her third such showing since the start of last season — a strong rebound feels inevitable.
Olsen actually faced Penn State in her final year at Villanova, posting 21 points, six rebounds and six assists to punctuate a 58-53 win in the WBIT semifinals. The Hawkeyes would certainly take a similar stat line Wednesday.
Can Iowa’s freshmen collectively build off Sunday’s strong showing?
It’s clear Jensen knows her newbies will need more responsibility as the Big Ten grind wears on. The quartet of Aaliyah Guyton, Taylor Stremlow, Ava Heiden and Teagan Mallegni offer strong rotational depth that could easily expand into something more.
Sunday’s win over Purdue was that group’s biggest step forward yet, with all of them on the floor together even for long stretches as Hannah Stuelke dealt with foul trouble. The freshmen were handed the keys for an extended test drive and didn’t crash.
“Some of our freshmen had some amazing moments today, and it’s so fun to see those flashes,” Jensen said Sunday. “That’s why they were a pretty highly decorated class.”
Steps forward, though, must continue — and Wednesday offers a manageable chance for more growth. Not all of them will shine in unison every night, but Jensen needs to feel even more comfortable deploying her freshmen without training wheels. That impact will spread throughout the entire roster as the Hawkeyes look to solidify their depth moving forward.
“Freshman year is a lot of ups and downs,” Stremlow said after Sunday’s strong showing. “It’s a roller coaster, whether it’s minutes or how you perform, it’s hard to know what to expect. This was definitely a confidence booster.”
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
- The Battle of the Big Ten: Iowa and Penn State are both members of the Big Ten conference, making this matchup a crucial game in conference play. Keep an eye on how the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions stack up against each other in this competitive conference showdown.
- Megan Gustafson’s Dominance: Iowa’s star player, Megan Gustafson, is a force to be reckoned with on the court. Watch as she dominates the paint and leads her team to victory with her impressive scoring and rebounding abilities.
- Defensive Intensity: Both teams are known for their strong defensive play, so expect a physical and aggressive game as they battle it out on the court. Pay attention to how each team’s defense impacts the game and ultimately determines the outcome of this exciting matchup.
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