Taylor McCabe’s injury hurts Iowa’s offense; Hannah Stuelke keeps scoring: college basketball

Taylor McCabe’s injury has slowed Iowa’s offense, while Hannah Stuelke keeps searching for scoring form.

Iowa women’s basketball is a powerhouse, reaching two straight national title games and multiple Final Fours. 

They were mainly due to star guard Caitlin Clark and coach Lisa Bluder.

Clark moved to the WNBA and has done well. She turned down a seven-figure offer to play in the offseason league Unrivaled so she could focus on rehabbing injuries from the most recent season.

Bluder retired after Clark’s last season and picked her successor, Jan Jensen, now the Iowa women’s basketball coach.

The Hawkeyes have had an impressive 2025–26 season. They are 18-4 overall and are third in the Big10.

Iowa has lost its last two games, including an 88-65 loss to UCLA in California Sunday night. UCLA controlled much of the game, keeping the Hawkeyes on defense.

Despite those two setbacks, Jensen is rebuilding the Iowa dynasty Bluder started, one clutch layup by star forward Hannah Stuelke at a time.

Stuelke is averaging 14 plus points and 8 rebounds per game, with a season-high of 31 points versus Lindenwood.

The senior began her career in Iowa playing alongside Clark in both the 2023 and 2024 National Championships, though the Hawkeyes didn’t win either. 

The gold and black had an impressive winning streak, including three back-to-back wins against ranked, fellow BIG10 opponents, until their recent loss to UCLA.

Over recent weeks, Iowa has continued to rise through the rankings, reaching top 10 rankings this past week.

The Hawkeyes are showing continued strength, even without starting guard Taylor McCabe, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury during Iowa’s game against Ohio St. on Jan. 25.

McCabe is tied for best 3-point percentage in school history, and is 11th in school history in 3-pointers made. 

Losing key players this close to the tournament could lead to an earlier loss in March Madness than expected or hoped for. 

The loss of McCabe exposed a weakness in offensive structure during their over 25-point loss to the Bruins on Feb. 1.

The Hawkeyes will be facing BIG10 opponents for their final seven games of the season, three of which are currently ranked in the top 25. 

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Clara Romae Slowinski is a student-intern at Penn State.