Inside The Hawkeyes

Iowa Receives Stellar Injury News Prior to Michigan Matchup

The Iowa Hawkeyes were keeping an eye on their star senior's injury all week long.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke (45) celebrates an and-1 would during a game against Minnesota on Feb. 5, 2026, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke (45) celebrates an and-1 would during a game against Minnesota on Feb. 5, 2026, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

Hannah Stuelke is back. With a Top 15 showdown on the horizon, the Iowa Hawkeyes now know they'll be at full strength.

While this team would love to have Taylor McCabe on the court as well, they'll certainly settle for having one of the two.

Stuelke, who was a late scratch prior to the Purdue game, was dealing with an injury the team considered day-to-day. Clearly, that proved to be the case.

Just hours before tipoff at Carver, Des Moines Register's Dargan Southard confirmed Stuelke was not on the availability report.

Iowa Needs Hannah Stuelke to Step Up

One of the biggest keys to victory in this game is going to be how well the underclassmen play on both sides. Michigan's top three scorers are all sophomores, something Iowa is quite familiar with. Against the Boilermakers, all but 10 of their points came from sophomores or freshmen.

Obviously, Stuelke being out impacted that, but it's still a very impressive stat line. Coming into her second year as head coach, Jan Jensen knew this was an extremely young team. While that isn't always a bad thing, it sure makes it a lot easier knowing they have someone like Stuelke on the roster.

Iowa Hawkeyes forward Hannah Stuelke
Washington forward Brynn McGaughy (21) trails Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke (45) as she drives down court Feb. 11, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Stuelke, who played with Caitlin Clark en route to a pair of National Championship appearances, can change any game in an instant. She's lit up UConn in the past and has no issue taking over when she's called upon. If there was ever a time to drop 30+ and lead her team to victory, it's now.

Iowa's Odds of Winning Greatly Increase

ESPN Analytics has yet to adjust to the news that Stuelke will be back. Oddly enough, Michigan is now at a 62.5% chance to win, which was up from the first time it was mentioned in an article days ago.

Regardless, Iowa doesn't need analytics to tell them how things look going into this one. They know they're facing a tough Wolverines squad, one that took No. 2 UCLA to their limit. Looking at how Iowa's game went against the Bruins, that certainly puts things into perspective.

Iowa's starting lineup will be back to its usual five and that's great news for all parties involved. They'll be able to get Journey Houston and Addie Deal quality minutes off the bench as the likes of Ava Heiden, Stuelke, Taylor Stremlow, Chit-Chat Wright, and Kylie Feuerbach look to do their thing and pull off a huge upset at CHA.

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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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