Iowa women’s basketball senior forward Hannah Stuelke will miss the Hawkeyes’ regular-season finale at Wisconsin on Sunday, according to a team release. The injury occurred during Thursday’s 82-78 victory over Illinois at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Stuelke was injured early in the first quarter after colliding with an Illinois player while attempting to secure a loose ball. She briefly left the game and received treatment before returning to the bench, ultimately playing 31 minutes and finishing with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block.
Iowa head coach Jan Jensen described Stuelke as “pretty sore” following the game, but initially indicated the injury wasn’t expected to be season-altering. Although, a subsequent team release confirmed Stuelke will be unavailable for the contest against the Badgers.
“It was pretty sore, and we subbed her a little bit,” Jensen said after the Illinois game. “There’s just a lot of emotion. She played through some adrenaline at Nebraska with her little shoulder incident.”
This is the second time this season Stuelke has been sidelined with an upper-body injury. She previously missed the February 19 game against Purdue due to a left shoulder injury sustained during the February 16 win over Nebraska. She returned to play in the following games against Michigan and Illinois.
Stuelke is averaging 13.9 points and a career-best 8.7 rebounds per game in 27 starts this season. Her absence leaves a void in the Hawkeyes’ frontcourt.
Iowa is expected to turn to first-year player Journey Houston in Stuelke’s absence. Houston started in place of Stuelke during the game against Purdue, scoring 16 points in that matchup. She averages 5.9 points and five rebounds per game.
The Hawkeyes and Badgers will tip off at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. The game will be streamed on B1G+. Stuelke is currently listed as day-to-day and is hopeful to play in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, which begins March 4th in Indianapolis.
