Hannah Stuelke's grand gesture after a disappointing loss proved how much she cares

What a wild ride it's been for senior Hannah Stuelke.

In her first two years in the program (2022, 2023), she played alongside Caitlin Clark and experienced the thrill of making back-to-back NCAA Championships, falling just short both times.

Iowa made it back to the Big Dance in 2025, only to be knocked out in the second round by Oklahoma, and suffered a similar fate this season.

After all the highs and lows, Stuelke has always found a way to put a smile on her face, but she couldn't hold back tears as she thanked the fans one last time as she walked off the court following a heartbreaking double OT loss to Virginia.

Stuelke stuck around to sign autographs and thank the fans

Overwhelming support for the Iowa women's basketball program has long been a common theme, and Stuelke knows that.

Fighting through all the emotions she was going through after playing her last game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, she still made an effort to sign autographs in one last thankful gesture to the Hawkeye faithful.

Following the loss, Stuelke said the fans' support meant a lot to her, especially some of the kids who hung around for autographs.

It was a school day, so many of them probably called out to see the Hawkeyes take on Virginia, and Hannah was "so thankful" they came out to support them.

The former Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year had mixed results in her time as a Hawkeye, going from a potential star as a freshman to often taking a back seat to other players, but she never complained and always put in the hard work.

Iowa fans will always remember her 47-point outburst in the 2023-2024 and there could not have been a better representative of what the Iowa women's basketball program stands for than Hannah Stuelke.