Iowa Women's Basketball Tip Time Preview: Ashland University (Exhibition)

DII ASHLAND UNIVERSITY EAGLES AT #21 IOWA HAWKEYES

TIME: 6:30pm CT

TV: BTN+ – AJ Reisetter and Sam Kupres

LAST MEETING: First Ever Meeting

IOWA HAWKEYES PROJECTED LINEUP

Chit-Chat Wright	Point Guard	5-4/ Soph.	Averaged 7.2 PPG, 2.6 AST and 25.3 MIN at Georgia Tech last season. Made 43 threes and posted a 2.21 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Addie Deal	Guard	6-0/ Fr.	True freshman. Four-star, #15 player in the country by Rivals. McDonald’s All-American.
Kylie Feuerbach	Guard	6-0/ Grad	Averaged 6.7 PPG, 2.3 AST and 25.4 MIN last season. Career-high 38 made threes and 78 assists.
Hannah Stuelke	Forward	6-2/ Sr.	Averaged 12.7 PPG, 7.7 REB and 27.5 MIN last season. Scored 10+ points in 25 of 32 games. Recorded seven double-doubles.
Ava Heiden	Center	6-4/ Soph.	Averaged 5.0 PPG, 2.6 REB and 9.7 MIN last season. Scored in double figures in three of last four games.

SCOUTING ASHLAND UNIVERSITY

The Eagles finished 32-4 overall and 19-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference last season, winning both the conference regular-season and tournament titles for a fourth consecutive year. They advanced to the DII Sweet 16 for the eighth time in program history, falling to eventual champion Grand Valley State. Ashland University is ranked 6th in the preseason WBCA DII Coaches Poll.

Over the last 14 seasons, with seven of them under current head coach Kari Pickens, the Eagles have compiled a 422-45 record, with three DII national titles, two national runner-up finishes, three undefeated seasons, ten conference regular season championships and 11 conference tournament titles. Ashland University last played a DI opponent back in 2018, falling to Purdue 85-69 in an exhibition contest. The last time they defeated a DI opponent was in 2015 when they took down Bowling Green 59-53 in an exhibition.

They return just two of six players that started at least 15+ games last season, led by sophomore guard Ashley Mullet who averaged 6.9 points and 2.3 assists per game, while knocking down 53 three-pointers. Despite losing their top four scorers, the Eagles added Lewis University transfer guard Jenna Badali. A First Team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection, Badali averaged 10.9 points, 4.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game for the Flyers. Ashland College ranked second in DII in points per game allowed (50.2), fifth in made threes (290), seventh in assists (601) and 23rd in opponent field goal percentage (35.5%).

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

1. Five newcomers make their debut in the black and gold

Two transfers and three freshmen will take the floor at Carver for the first time dawning the Tigerhawk on their jersey for a game. Starting with the transfers, Chit-Chat Wright (GT) and Emely Rodriguez (UCF), they were brought in to have an immediate and large impact for this team. Both got high-major experience in the ACC and the Big 12 as freshman last season, which will no doubt carry over this year playing in the Big Ten. Then there’s the three true freshmen, led by four-star guard Addie Deal and four-star center Layla Hays, but don’t forget about Journey Houston. She was a high four-star before she tore her ACL in high school. All five of these newcomers will see their first minutes as a Hawkeye tonight.

2. Who does Jan Jensen go with in the starting lineup? First player or two off the bench?

An exhibition game against a DII opponent is not the game to assess who plays what share of the minutes, but we will get a bit of a look into the Hawkeyes rotation. Who is in the starting lineup? Is it Kylie Feuerbach or Emely Rodriguez? Is there a surprise elsewhere in the starting five? The other thing to watch will be the first couple of players off the bench. It seems very likely that Wright, Deal, Feuerbach, Rodriguez, Stuelke and Heiden is the top six, but who is that seventh or eighth player? Just something to keep an eye on.

3. What players get the majority of the offensive looks?

This one will be something to watch, not only tonight against Ashland, but over the course of the first couple of games of the season. The assumption is that Hannah Stuelke is going to be one of, if not the go-to scorer, while the Hawkeyes always give their center a healthy share of the looks, so Ava Heiden will get hers. As for the guards, it will be fascinating to see how the shot attempts divide out. Is it a pretty even share across the board? Does someone step up and take more shots than some others? It’s been said on a number of occasions, Iowa has a lot of weapons at their disposal, but how they plan to use them is yet to be determined. Tonight is our first chance to see them all in action.