Taylor Stremlow netted a new career-high of 19 points, while Journey Houston filled in admirably for the injured Hannah Stuelke.
No. 13 Iowa women's basketball came away with another Big Ten road victory on Thursday evening, downing the struggling Purdue Boilermakers, 82-74, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Here are three observations from Iowa's win:
Sensational Stremlow
Jan Jensen's decision to insert Taylor Stremlow into the starting five continues to pay off for Iowa. True freshman Addie Deal was the initial replacement for the injured Taylor McCabe, but her inconsistent play over the Hawkeyes three-game losing skid prompted Jensen to bring in Stremlow.
Stremlow has done nothing but produce in the three contests since - all Iowa wins. The sophomore collected a season-high 17 points in Iowa's win over Nebraska on Monday, and waited just one game to surpass that mark.
Purdue certainly had a scouting report on Stremlow, but whatever head coach Katie Gearlds planned went up in flames very quickly. Stremlow simply couldn't miss in the first half, netting a new career-best of 19 points on a perfect 5/5 shooting from three-point range.
There's a common phrase in sports called the "sophomore slump," but the talented sophomore guard is playing like a veteran right now.
Houston fills the void
Senior forward Hannah Stuelke was a late scratch from the starting lineup due to an upper-body injury she suffered in Monday's win over Nebraska. A last-minute injury would cause some teams to panic, but Jensen's deep and talented young bench made the replacement an easy one - freshmen Journey Houston.
The 6-foot Houston is listed as a guard, but she's more than capable of holding her own in the paint. The Davenport, Iowa native has slowly increased her scoring production since late-January, and has now developed into a key role player for this Iowa team.
Houston's midrange game is what's really helped the Hawkeyes maintain their status as an elite offensive team, and the shot was falling on Thursday. The freshman scored 16 points (third-most on the team) to go with five rebounds and two assists.
Stuelke will regain her starting spot when she returns to the court (likely on Sunday against Michigan, per Iowa), but Houston is making a great case to take over the spot next season.
No trap game .... sort of
Iowa's showdown against No. 7 Michigan in Iowa City on Sunday has massive Big Ten tournament implications, but the Hawkeyes made sure to take care of business against the Boilermakers first.
Anyone who saw the first half of this game could stop reading right there, but Iowa sleep-walked through the second half after building a 61-39 lead. Purdue did begin to catch fire from outside, but 13 Hawkeye turnovers helped it cut the lead down to just 10 early in the fourth quarter.
Iowa used enough of Ava Heiden and Houston to cross the finish line, but Jensen knows her team will need to play a clean 40 minutes if it wants to take down the Wolverines on Sunday.
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