The Iowa Hawkeyes welcomed the Division II Ashland Eagles to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for an exhibition game on Thursday night.
In their final tune-up before the regular season, the Hawkeyes expectedly dominated Ashland from start to finish, winning 104-63.
It was also not only the debut of the new student section at Carver-Hawkeye, but the debut of the two new transfers, Chit-Chat Wright and Emely Rodriguez, and three new freshmen, Addie Deal, Layla Hays, and Journey Houston.
Ashland scored the first basket of the game, but the Hawkeyes immediately responded with a 9-0 run. Iowa put up 51 points in the first half to take a commanding 51-27 lead into halftime.
The second half was more of the same as Iowa dropped 30 points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Even though it was only an exhibition game, here are the three things that stood out from Iowa's victory over Ashland.
Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke will be hard to handle in the paint
After the departure of Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, and Lucy Olsen, it is now finally Hannah Stuelke's team.
Stuelke has always played second fiddle to other players on the team and now as a senior, it is her turn to lead a young Hawkeye squad.
During the offseason, Stuelke worked on expanding her shooting range, but it was not needed on Thursday as she bullied Ashland in the pain.
She finished with a team-leading 23 points, and added nine rebounds, four assists, and a steal in Iowa victory.
It was great to see Stuelke take advantage of her size in the paint and dominate.
Her front-court running mate, Ava Heiden, also showed out in the win. Heiden played sparingly during the regular season last year, but had multiple stellar performances in the postseason.
Heiden will play a big role for the Hawkeyes this season (no pun intended), and she showed that on Thursday night.
Heiden finished with a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. She had some great post moves with her back to the basket, and showed her ability to run the floor.
Heiden (six-foot-five) and Stuelke (six-foot-two) will be one of the biggest front-court duos this season, and should eat in the paint against smaller teams.
Chit-Chat Wright and Emely Rodriguez will be great additions
You never know what you are going to get when you sign a transfer from the transfer portal. Each team scouts a player and attempts to sign the best fit to the roster, but you never know how someone will fit in.
Chit-Chat Wright and Emely Rodriguez showed in the game against Ashland that they will make solid additions to the roster.
It is hard to tell during an exhibition game, but the two new players look like the real deal.
Rodriguez (17 points, four assists) and Wright (12 points, four assists) combined for 29 points and eight assists on 71 percent shooting from the floor.
Wright will most likely start for the Hawkeyes this season, with Rodriguez getting spot starts and being one of the first players off the bench.
Addie Deal will be a solid contributor in year one
Deal is a highly-touted prospect (No. 17 overall) in the 2025 recruiting class and has high expectations this season.
In her first on-court action of the season, the McDonald's All-American made the most of her 18 minutes off the bench.
She finished the game with seven points, five assists, four rebounds, and made her only three-point field goal attempt.
Even if she does not start games for the Hawkeyes, Deal will make an impact this season as she can play both guard positions and the small forward position with her size and skillset.
Final thought
An exhibition game may not hold much significance in the larger picture, but it did give us a glimpse of some of the young Hawkeyes and the new transfers.
Iowa will look to utilize its size and skill in the paint, but whether it can shoot from the outside at a high rate remains to be seen.
The big question this season is if teams force Iowa out of the paint, can they take advantage and knock down long-range shots at a decent enough rate?
This team is young, but boasts a strong roster, and despite some growing pains, the squad should finish in the top half of the Big Ten this season.