Why Hannah Stuelke, an Iowa women’s basketball player, did not play in the second half on Saturday
The absence of Iowa women’s basketball team outstanding sophomore Hannah Stuelke from the team’s NCAA Tournament victory over Holy Cross on Saturday left Hawkeye supporters perplexed.
The Iowa coach, Lisa Bluder, explained the situation to ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game.
“I spoke with Coach Lisa Bluder of @IowaWBB about Hannah Stuelke’s absence in the second half,” Rowe tweeted. “They can give her Monday to recover because she didn’t feel well and we wouldn’t use her if we didn’t have to.”
ANALYSIS: Leistikow: Despite Caitlin Clark’s unsatisfactory and slow start, Iowa emerged victorious in the NCAA first round.
Subsequently, Stuelke disclosed that she experienced migraines.
“I wasn’t feeling well at half,” she said. Just migraines.
“I don’t think we really needed me to play when we play again in two days because I think we had the game under control.”
Stuelke continued by saying that she doesn’t believe the issue will prevent her from competing in the following round. “Definitely,” she answered.
That concludes our discussion. The Hawkeyes had enough firepower to overcome Holy Cross even with Stuelke sidelined by illness.
It appears like there is nothing to be concerned about, and Stuelke should be good to play in the second round on Monday against the winner of West Virginia-Princeton.
