Her offseason plan of competing with a traditional center and power forward on the floor concurrently was highlighted in a 65-58 home loss to Kansas State back in November. Bluder dabbled with the same type of offense the Hawkeyes used in their journey to the 2023 national championship game. But her personnel was different from that run, and Bluder knew it.
“I think everybody goes into the season with kind of a game plan, right?” Bluder said. “You go into a game with a game plan, and you think this is what’s going to be best. But you’ve got to make adjustments along the way. If it’s going astride, if it’s not going as well as you think, you’ve got to change things.”
Rather than sticking with the same lineup and expecting different results, Bluder adapted to her team’s strengths. She inserted now-injured guard Molly Davis into the starting lineup and shifted sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke to the five. Iowa decided to lean into its strength as an up-tempo offense. The change led to the desired result, but it wasn’t an easy transition for the 6-foot-2 Stuelke.
“Hannah had to adjust from something she wanted to be, which is the power forward, to something we needed her to be, and that was the center,” Bluder said. “There were a few growing pains in that, but she’s obviously adapted very, very well to that and now is embracing it.”
The Hawkeyes lead the nation in scoring (91.4 points per game) and 3-pointers per game (11) and have parlayed their line change to their second straight national championship appearance, this time against undefeated South Carolina — the same undefeated team the Hawkeyes beat in last season’s Final Four. Stuelke, who ranks second at Iowa in scoring at 14.1 points per game, has faced numerous bigger and more physical posts. She has enjoyed success and has waged a few losing battles, many of which have helped her improve. Now, in a figurative final exam, Stuelke faces her most difficult test of the season
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