Is Hannah Stuelke the key to Caitlin Clark, Iowa making deep 2024 run? - ESPN

Caitlin Clark grabbed the pass and took a beat. Seconds were ticking away toward the end of the third quarter, with Iowa already up big over Minnesota. But Clark saw one of her favorite targets, Hannah Stuelke, obtain prime position between her defender and the basket in the low post.

From well beyond the 3-point arc, Clark fired a perfect pass to Stuelke, who sank the layup and drew a foul, in the process giving Clark her 902nd career assist — a new Big Ten record.

Stuelke, a 6-foot-2 sophomore forward playing a larger role for the Hawkeyes this season, has been featured in many of Clark's highlight reels, often as the recipient of her awe-inspiring dimes, including a no-look, behind-the-back pass Wednesday against Purdue.

But not always. In fact, in the game-winning play Iowa ran to beat Michigan State last week, Stuelke received the rock at the top of the 3-point arc, and although the ball was momentarily knocked away, she recovered it in time to pitch it to Clark for her now-famous step-back, logo 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining.

Clark is within reach of repeating as national player of the year as she propels the Hawkeyes to a 16-1 record despite losing two multi-year starters, most prominently the Robin to her Batman in Monika Czinano. But Stuelke, the Hawkeyes' second-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, has helped Clark establish Iowa as a contender again this season. And for the Hawkeyes to make it back to the Final Four in what could be Clark's final year in Iowa City, they'll need Stuelke to continue on her current trajectory.

«As [Stuelke] goes, we can go,» Iowa associate head coach Jan Jensen told ESPN. «The higher she takes her game, the higher it's going to help us go.»

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