Inside The Hawkeyes

Iowa's Bench Players Continue To Pull Their Weight

There's no doubt the Iowa Hawkeyes wouldn't be where they are without these players off the bench.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Iowa guard Taylor Stremlow (1) sets up the offense against the Lindenwood Lions Dec. 13, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
Iowa guard Taylor Stremlow (1) sets up the offense against the Lindenwood Lions Dec. 13, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

No starter played more than 27 minutes as the Iowa Hawkeyes cruised to a 102-68 victory over Lindenwood. Head coach Jan Jensen has been toying with this lineup, especially with Chit-Chat Wright's return, and ultimately, she's gotten the best out of everybody.

Iowa's bench accounted for 36 of its 102 points against the Lions. Only two players didn't score, but those two combined for 15 minutes. That said, sophomore Teagan Mallegni returned with five points in three minutes, so truly anything can happen.

Regardless, Iowa's bench players give them an extra spark. Every team in the nation knows they need more than just their five starters to get them where they need to be, but there's just something different about this Hawkeyes bench.

Taylor Stremlow Is A True Leader

After a career night from Wright against Iowa State, Stremlow wasn't needed much. She played just nine minutes in that game, but another injury scare to the Georgia Tech transfer allowed Stremlow to see 20 minutes against the Lions.

Stremlow made the most of those minutes as she finished with eight points, seven assists, and four rebounds. She sees the floor arguably better than anyone on this team, and the way she leads Iowa's offense is second to none. It's clear she'll always be playing behind Wright, but she never lets that take away from her abilities.

Iowa guard Taylor Stremlow (1) sets up the offense against the Lindenwood Lions
Iowa guard Taylor Stremlow (1) sets up the offense against the Lindenwood Lions Dec. 13, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Layla Hays Continues To Develop

Jensen seems to have more faith in Hays than anyone else on this team. The 6-foot-5 freshman has 10+ minutes in her last three games and four of her last five. She had a trio of 20-minute games to start the season, but it'll be interesting to see where she fits once conference action starts and these games get a lot closer.

For the first time since Nov. 16, Hays dropped double-digit points. She was extremely efficient, shooting 83.3% as she led all bench players with 11 points. Not only did she score quite a bit, but she added five rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.

Journey Houston Seems Unstoppable

Iowa fans believe they got a steal when Houston committed to the Hawkeyes. She seemed to be severely underrecruited, but she ended up staying in her home state, which works out well for everyone.

Houston started the year a bit shy, but she's turned into one of the most dominant assets this team has off the bench. She shot the ball nine times against Rutgers and threw up seven shots in this one against the Lions. With 10+ points in two of her last three games, there's no telling how good she's going to look in a few years.

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Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.

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