Iowa Women's Basketball Tip Time Preview: Drake Bulldogs

DRAKE BULLDOGS (1-1, 0-0) AT #21 IOWA HAWKEYES (2-0, 0-0)

TIME: 7:30pm CT

TV: Big Ten Network – Mike Hall and Lisa Bluder

SERIES: 57th Meeting – Iowa leads the series 31-25 – Iowa has won 21 of 22

BY THE NUMBERS

OFFENSE: IOWA: 102.5 PPG, 58.5% FG, 40.9% 3PT, 18.5 TO DRAKE: 78.5 PPG, 45.2% FG, 34.1% 3PT, 13.5 TO

DEFENSE: IOWA: 47.0 PPG, 29.1% FG, 27.7% 3PT, 20.5 TO, +30.0 REB MARGIN DRAKE: 74.0 PPG, 41.4% FG, 35.8% 3PT, 11.0 TO, +13.0 REB MARGIN

IOWA HAWKEYES PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Chit-Chat Wright	Point Guard	5-4/ Soph.	Georgia Tech transfer. Averaging 12.5 PPG, 8.5 AST and 27.3 MIN. Made 43 threes and posted a 2.21 assist-to-turnover ratio LY. 16 pts, 10 ast vs Evansville
Taylor McCabe	Guard	5-9/ Sr.	Averaging 9.0 PPG, 4.0 REB, 3.5 AST and 21.3 MIN. Career-high 68 made threes and 12 games with 3+ made threes LY. 12 pts, 4 ast vs Evansville
Kylie Feuerbach	Guard	6-0/ Grad Sr.	Averaging 6.0 PPG, 3.0 REB, 3.0 AST and 17.3 MIN. Career-high 38 made threes and 78 assists LY. 8 pts, 3 ast vs Evansville
Hannah Stuelke	Forward	6-2/ Sr.	Averaging 16.5 PPG, 7.5 REB and 23.9 MIN. Scored 10+ points in 25 of 32 games. Recorded seven double-doubles LY. 13 pts, 6 reb vs Evansville
Ava Heiden	Center	6-4/ Soph.	Averaging 17.5 PPG, 12.0 REB and 22.8 MIN. Scored in double figures in three of last four games LY. 14 pts, 10 reb vs Evansville

DRAKE BULLDOGS PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Abbie Aalsma	Guard	5-9/ Sr.	Averaging 22.5 PPG and 35.5 MIN. Started 28 of 34 games last season. Scored in double figures in 18 games. 23 pts, 3 reb vs Creighton
Ava Hawthorne	Guard	5-9/ Sr.	Averaging 6.0 PPG, 6.0 AST, 3.5 REB and 26.0 MIN. Made six starts last season. Scored in double figures in nine games. 7 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast vs Creighton
Grace Knutson	Guard	5-10/ Soph.	Averaging 17.0 PPG, 4.0 REB and 31.0 MIN. Cedar Falls HS all-time leader in made three-pointers. 20 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast vs Creighton
Anna Becker	Guard	5-10/ Fr.	Averaging 13.5 PPG, 6.5 REB and 30.0 MIN. Rated as the #7 player in KS by Prep Girls. 5 pts, 6 reb vs Creighton
Maggie Taylor	Forward	6-2/ Soph.	Averaging 7.5 PPG, 11.5 REB and 23.0 MIN. Ten games with 5+ rebounds last season. Second-tallest player on the roster. 4 pts, 7 reb vs Creighton

DRAKE PLAYER TO WATCH: Guard Abbie Aalsma

A former Illinois State transfer, Abbie Aalsma has seemingly taken over the role as the go-to scorer for the Bulldogs this season. She was an elite three-point shooter last season, knocking down 80 threes at a 45.2% clip, including 13 games with 3+ made threes, but only averaged 9.7 points per game as a secondary scorer. Aalsma put up 22 points in the opener and followed it up with 23 points and five triples in the loss to Creighton. If the Bulldogs are going to keep this one close, they’ll need much of the same from her. It is worth noting that last season, Aalsma averaged just 2.1 two-point attempts per game, but she’s changed her game, attempting 19 two-point shots through two regular season games.

IOWA PLAYER TO WATCH: Point guard Chit-Chat Wright

It’s been just two games, but the Drake defense has struggled to force turnovers, with just 12 against Eastern Illinois and 10 against Creighton. They rank 344th in turnovers forced per game. The Hawkeyes point guard, Chit-Chat Wright, has been elite at taking care of the basketball, totaling 21 assists to three turnovers over three games, including ten assists to one turnover against Evansville. If Drake isn’t able to get creative and put some pressure on Wright, she’s not going to make many, if any unforced errors, which will be bad news, especially if she can hit Stuelke and Heiden early and often.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

Drake Basketball has been a coaching pipeline over the past few years, with Jennie Baranczyk (WBB), Niko Medved (MBB), Darian DeVries (MBB) and Ben McCollum (MBB) moving to the Power 4 ranks over the past few seasons. It’s possible that Allison Pohlman is the next one to make the jump, leading Drake to a 93-42 record over four seasons, including a two NCAA Tournament’s and a 22-12 mark last season. The Bulldogs opened this season with a win over Eastern Illinois, but fell to Creighton, entering today with a 1-1 overall record. The Drake roster has seen plenty of turnover, with their top three scorers from last season moving on.

Looking at the rest of the Bulldogs projected starting five, it’s a lot of players playing in new roles. Outside of Aalsma, the other four projected starters averaged 10.3 combined points per game last season. The most experienced of the other starters, senior Ava Hawthorne has appeared in 96 career games. She was an efficient scorer last season, averaging 6.1 points per game, while shooting 48.4% from the floor and 38.7% from three-point range. Hawthorne scored in double figures in nine games, including three games with 15+ points. Through two games, she’s totaled just 12 points, but has tallied 12 assists.

Underclassmen guards Grace Knutson and Anna Becker have been very productive thus far, combining for 61 points and 21 rebounds. Knutson, a sophomore, saw limited minutes last season as a true freshman, but holds the Cedar Falls HS all-time record for most made threes in a single-season and in a career. As for Becker, the true freshman from Topeka, KS put up 20 points in her first career game against Eastern Illinois, but was just 1-of-7 from the floor against Creighton. Rated as the #7 player in Kansas by Prep Girls Hoops, Becker was a two-time United Kansas Conference Player of the Year at Seaman High School.

Rounding out the Bulldogs projected starting five, forward Maggie Taylor saw limited minutes as a true freshman last season, averaging 3.0 rebounds and 8.6 minutes per game. She averaged 13.8 rebounds per 40 minutes in her limited action, but has been strong on the glass thus far, pulling down 16 rebounds against Eastern Illinois and seven rebounds against Creighton. A multi-sport athlete in high school out of Rapids City, South Dakota, Taylor holds the Hill City HS record for career blocks on the volleyball court.

The other name to know for Drake is sophomore guard Peyton McCabe. As a true freshman last season, the young sister of Hawkeye sharpshooter Taylor McCabe, averaged just 9.2 minutes per game last season and shot 22.9% from three-point range. Set for a bigger role this season, McCabe tallied ten assists to just three turnovers against Eastern Illinois. During her three-year high school career at Skutt Catholic, she shot over 40% from three-point range.

A deeper look at the advanced stats behind the matchup between the Hawkeyes and Bulldogs…

THE PICK

Warren Nolan Projection: IOWA 84 DRAKE 67

Bart Torvik Projection: IOWA 88 DRAKE 63

This is a Drake roster going through some turnover. Gone are some of the mainstays from years past like Katie Dinnebier, Anna Miller and Courtney Becker. It’s hard to know exactly what to expect from this Bulldogs team, especially this early in the year, but this is a game that the Hawkeyes should be able to handle pretty comfortably. Drake does have some shooters with Aalsma, Knutson and McCabe, but Iowa will have a distinct advantage in the height department. There’s no doubt that head coach Allison Pohlman will have to scheme up some things to try to limit Iowa’s interior touches, but it’s hard to imagine they’ll be successful for 40 minutes. Unless Drake manages to make a bunch of threes and/or force some turnovers, they’re going to have a hard time keeping up in this one. IOWA 82 DRAKE 62