Hannah Stuelke, Lucy Olsen: ‘Momentum is on our side’ for postseason
Stuelke had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Olsen scored 22 points to lift the Hawkeyes past Wisconsin, 81-66, to clinch a 20-win regular season.
Lucy Olsen’s Big Ten arrival generated plenty of excitement from those who follow Iowa women’s basketball and the league as a whole. That feeling still remains as her lone Hawkeyes season is winding down.
As a result, Olsen has been named the USA TODAY Sports Network Big Ten women’s basketball newcomer of the year. Those inside the network who cover the conference also voted her as a second-team all-conference selection.
After arriving in Iowa City following three strong seasons at Villanova, expectations were sky-high for Olsen and the Hawkeyes. She shouldered the unenviable task of stepping in after Caitlin Clark, while trying to ignite another quality Hawkeye seasons after back-to-back Final Four trips.
Olsen’s start was a bit rocky, culminating with her on the bench late during multiple games on Iowa’s five-game losing streak in January. But everything since has been above and beyond. Olsen is the top reason why the Hawkeyes charge into the postseason with momentum and confidence.
Olsen enters the Big Ten Tournament as the conference’s fifth-leading scorer (18.0 points per game) while ranking third in assists per game (4.8). After just four 20-point showings through Iowa’s first 19 games, Olsen has seven over the Hawkeyes’ previous 10 games.
She single-handedly put Iowa on her back in wins over USC (28 points on 10-for-18 shooting) and at Nebraska (32 points on 12-for-20 shooting), while igniting an incredible rally at Ohio State with 11 of her 27 points in the final 61 seconds of regulation (Iowa lost in overtime).
The Hawkeyes aren’t where they are now without Olsen heating up and taking over. They’ll need their superstar at her best with the March challenges ahead.
USA TODAY Sports Network Big Ten women’s basketball selections
First team
- JuJu Watkins, guard, USC
- Kaylene Smikle, guard, Maryland
- Kiki Iriafen, forward, USC
- Cotie McMahon, forward, Ohio State
- Lauren Betts, center, UCLA
Second team
- Jaloni Cambridge, guard, Ohio State
- Lucy Olsen, guard, Iowa
- Kiki Rice, guard, UCLA
- Serah Williams, forward, Wisconsin
- Kendall Bostic, forward, Illinois
Individual awards
- Player of the year: JuJu Watkins, USC
- Coach of the year: Lindsay Gottlieb, USC
- Newcomer of the year: Lucy Olsen, Iowa
- Defensive player of the year: Lauren Betts, UCLA
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
