Iowa 91, NIU 73: Lucy Olsen shines in Hawkeye debut

Iowa used a 14-0 run early in the second quarter to pull away Northern Illinois with a 91-73 win to open the 2024-25 regular season. Move senior Lucy Olsen led all scorers with 19 points and a game-high seven assists Jan Jensenis the first career win as a head coach.

“It’s nice to get this (first) win,” Jensen said after the game. “Sometimes too much is made of it, but I understand why. Lisa is an icon and (I) take on a lot of new faces. It feels good to get it, and now I'm glad we got it, and now hopefully it'll really get rolling.”

Kylie Feuerbach and real newbie Teagan Mallegni Each contributed 14 points in Iowa's victory, although the game was not without its challenges.

Senior security guard Sydney Affolter has only recently returned to training after offseason knee surgery, and although Affolter is ahead of schedule in her return, Jensen's hopes of getting her on the court on Wednesday never materialized.

“A key cog in our wheel is Syd Affolter,” Jensen said. “Syd holds a lot of trouble.”

The All-Big Ten forward makes things more difficult on the wing Hannah Stülke He twisted his ankle at the end of the first quarter, but returned to the game at the start of the second half.

“I didn’t know what happened,” Jensen said. “I just saw her laying on the floor, my heart sank for a second, and then Raina (Harmon) told me she was fine. … I think it was a knuckle.”

1. Welcome to Iowa City, Lucy: Lucy Olsen's 19 points set an Iowa record for transfers in her debut game, and her seven assists went to five different teammates.

If this is what a debut performance looks like, imagine what will happen when this team is used to training at full strength.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena gave Olsen the full experience, pyrotechnics, full crowd and all, and she was sure she appreciated it.

“The energy, you could definitely feel it,” Olsen said. “It's loud there. It's really cool. I don't think I'll get used to running out of the tunnel. Every time I look around I think, 'Wow, there are a lot of people here'.”

“She looked at me during the national anthem,” Feuerbach chimed in.

“I just thought, 'Wow,'” Olsen said. imitates dizzy amazement.

Olsen caused plenty of excitement among fans, especially inside the arc. Her famous midfield game was actually on display as Olsen scored on jumps, in isos, on pushes in transition, and even on her own offensive rebound:

Although Olsen went just 1-for-5 from the middle in the win, her only three-pointer is exactly the type of shot she needs to make for the offense to get ahead against zone coverage. Olsen pivoted from a defensive rotation to the wing for the Extra Pass™ and didn't hesitate to practice it:

That three-pointer helped spark Iowa's decisive run early in the second quarter, when a 16-15 deficit led to a 29-16 lead. Olsen, who didn't get her first break until the final minutes of the third quarter and finished the game with 35 minutes, was a key factor in the run, contributing five points and two assists.

The fact that Olsen was able to be such a workhorse for the team – not just in minutes but also in orchestrating the offense – is a remarkable achievement even in the early stages.

“They're coming in and trying to learn what we expect from her, along with leading as a point guard who's been here for four years,” Jensen said. “And she really does a good job. And she is so selfless. You can see her hesitating whether I should shoot or not, and we try to encourage her to just lean into it. Listen to your gut feeling.” ”

Olsen, who averaged 23.3 points per game last season at Villanova, doesn't need much encouragement to call her own number as a Hawkeye. And the fact that Jensen trusted her ultra-athletic transfer to manage the offense from day one, even with an established leader in the backcourt, can only pay off more as the season progresses.

2. This is also Kylie's backcourt: To honor Olsen's well-deserved hype, perhaps the best player on Wednesday night was his fellow senior guard Kylie Feuerbachwho filled the statistics with 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists and six(!) Steals with just one turnover.

Feuerbach's four three-pointers were a career high, as were her rebounds and steals.

“I don’t always expect career highlights to happen,” said Feuerbach. “I come here with the same mentality as always: I’ll just work as hard as I can.”

“She is one of our most versatile players,” Jensen said. “She can defend. One of our best defenders, between her and Lucy. Kylie can attack. And when she gets her three-ball going, man, she’s a threat on a lot of different levels.”

In recent years, Feuerbach has shined through injuries, a transfer from Iowa State and a supporting role alongside several future WNBA players. On Wednesday, in her first year as a Day 1 starter, Feuerbach turned her years of unsung experience into excellence.

“When a child stays true to the progress – the process – and waits for the right time,” Jensen said. “Then when they get their moment, all the work they did in the dark, all the work they did (in practice) to prepare a… Gabby Marshall from last year, a Kate MartinA Caitlin Clark. And they were there, but partly in the shadows. And then when they get their moment, it kind of swallows me up.”

Feuerbach also owed her seamless transition to a statistically strong dynamo to the preparation that preceded this season.

“Being consistent in the gym, building my confidence and knowing that I have to put in the extra work to get where I am,” Feuerbach said. “I have great girls around me and they are all very encouraging.”

3. The freshmen have the sauce. On a team with the likes of Olsen and Feuerbach, not to mention Affolter or Stuelke, it could well be that the most watchable TV on this roster comes from true newcomers Mallegni and Taylor StremlowWisconsin natives who made a quick kickoff that had NIU going in circles – literally, in the case of the poor second defender on the floor:

Stremlow's magic was aided by Feuerbach charging on the touchline – as a decoy, as it turned out – so that even a slight feint towards the wing drew their attention from the passing window to Mallegni to start the fireworks.

This supernatural chemistry in court continues straight away To Feuerbach too, as the three combined for another highlight-reel transition layup – this one with a backcut and an assist for a layup starting with a ridiculous Pass past Stremlow to lead Feuerbach:

While Iowa's lack of healthy backcourt depth has resulted in Stremlow stretching her practice minutes to three positions in her first year, her playmaking ability and sustained energy on both ends of the court make her look like someone who has been in the Carver fold for years. Hawkeye Arena (and at Jensen) is on the way.

“Taylor Stremlow has that feeling,” Jensen said. “Taylor is that rare freshman who plays without fear. She'll make a pass, and she won't worry – she won't immediately look over and say, 'Am I coming out?' She'll make the pass because she thought it was a good pass, but she'll get there.

Stremlow finished the game with just two points, but three rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. This ability to influence the game in every way possible on both ends of the field is ultimately contagious to teammates.

“Just her personality has this energy,” Olsen said. “She came in and said, 'Okay, let's stop!' She has a lot to offer both offensively and defensively. I think we needed that little kick.

Meanwhile, Mallegni was second to Stremlow with 19 backup minutes (Heiden completed the freshman trifecta with 16), and her 14 points were the most by a true freshman in her Hawkeye debut since little-known guard Caitlin Clark in 2020. Clark is now a resident of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mallegni, a 6-foot-3 guard, has a wide range of skills to match her size, ranging from defending anywhere from the point to the 4 to being a near-automatic green light behind the arc. She shot just 1-for-5 from deep in Wednesday's debut, but went 5-for-5 inside the arc, including layups like this score on a 2-on-1:

While plus-minus data is notoriously noisy from game to game, Stremlow's +10 in her seven first-half minutes (+13 in 22 minutes total) was commensurate with her effect on the team's energy on the field, up to At this point, you might be wondering why Stremlow spent “only” seven minutes on the bench in the first half of her debut as a freshman.

These games early in the season – especially given the freedom of competition afforded by a lower-ranked opponent – ​​are indeed crucial find Five-player units like Stremlow and Mallegni fueled Iowa's second-quarter momentum. Just maybe not remain with you.

“In these games, you’re still trying to figure out who your people are,” Jensen said. “We have a lot of depth, but you're trying to figure out how, when, who and what combination. So sometimes we play around with it a little bit. And then something gets going, but you.” I want to try this (other) piece.

Still, the immediate impact that Stremlow and Mallegni showed as plug-and-play wing options from the first day of practice to this official debut means they will be good in the rotation, even if Affolter returns to a starring role as expected.

On the larger side of the rotation, rookie Ava Heathen came off the bench, as in the exhibition, after returning from illness, but played 16 minutes before the start Addison O'GradyIt's 14 minutes.

O'Grady was very productive with her minutes, dropping 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting with three rebounds and two blocks. Heiden, meanwhile, often struggled with double teams and the weak team's help on faceoff passes, finishing the game with 2-for-7 shooting.

“Ava processes a lot,” Jensen said. “With newcomers and adults, the game sometimes moves very quickly. What they were able to do in high school and what was asked of them is nothing inside (the paint). … I just think it takes time.” . But I think you'll continue to see Ava climbing.

Time isn't much of a luxury for the Hawkeyes, as the ambitious schedule takes them to Charlotte this Sunday to play Virginia Tech – the first of six major conference opponents on this season's non-conference slate.

While head coach Kenny Brooks left the Hokies for Kentucky, leaving the job to a new leader Megan DuffyThe Hokies still pose a formidable challenge to Iowa's still young freshmen and rotation. Virginia Tech opened the season with a 99-57 loss UNC Wilmington on Monday with an 18-point lead Matilda Ekh.

The game begins Sunday at 4:30 a.m. CT on ESPN2.