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Iowa Women's Basketball Stars Fueled by AP Top 25 Rankings Snub

Top players on the Iowa Hawkeyes took them not being included in the AP Top 25 rankings personally.
Grant Young|
Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke (45) drives to the basket as Missouri Western’s Tiani Ellison (21) defends Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke (45) drives to the basket as Missouri Western’s Tiani Ellison (21) defends Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team produced a dominant 94-57 win over the Toledo Rockets on Wednesday, which improves their record to 3-0 for the 2024-25 season.

It appeared that the Hawkeyes might have had a chip on their shoulder during the game, as if they felt like they had something to prove. And that something could have been them not being included in the latest AP Top 25 rankings.

There's no question that Iowa is a completely different team from the past squads that had Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, and Gabbie Marshall, who made it to two consecutive NCAA National Championship games.

But this new-look Hawkeyes squad still has superstars. And they've made it clear that this AP rankings snub has fueled their recent form.

"Let them sleep on us," said Hawkeyes guard Taylor McCabe (who scored 14 points on 4-8 three-point shooting in 18 minutes played on Wednesday) of the AP rankings, per Kyle Huesmann.

"The rankings only matter at the end of the year anyway."

The two best players on the 2024-25 Hawkeyes squad seem to be Hannah Stuelke and Lucy Olsen. The duo combined for 29 points while only taking 15 total shots between them against Toledo.

And after the game ended, Stuelke conveyed how Olsen felt after seeing the recent AP rankings.

"Lucy texted me right away, and we were like, yeah, that's not going to cut it, so I think it gave us a little fuel to our fire," Stuelke said, per Huesmann.

The Hawkeyes won't be snubbed by the AP Top 25 rankings for much longer if they keep winning games like they are right now.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers women’s basketball for Women’s Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI. His coverage centers on league trends and the growth of women’s basketball, both on and off the court. He also creates digital content focused on the sport’s biggest moments and personalities.

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