**A Four-Hour Drive to Watch Iowa Women’s Basketball: Fans Share Their Passion Despite Tough Loss**

NEW YORK — The four-hour drive was nothing for Laura Grimm, even though she doubted she’d witness a happy ending at her destination. Traveling from Washington, D.C., to Brooklyn gave Grimm a chance to watch Iowa women’s basketball—a team now two years removed from the Caitlin Clark era. Judging by its blowout loss to No. 1 UConn on Saturday, the Hawkeyes don’t seem poised for a Final Four run anytime soon.

While the program may not have championship expectations at the moment, its dedicated fandom hasn’t diminished. Grimm, who loved watching Clark, sat at the Barclays Center eager to see Iowa senior power forward Hannah Stuelke, who plays the same position Grimm did back at Marquette.

Grimm also noted that “both Taylors,” McCabe and Stremlow, are developing as players but voiced a common fan complaint: the team needs to improve its free-throw shooting, which hovered around 65 percent heading into Saturday’s contest.

Balancing compliments and critiques, as any passionate fan would, Grimm said, “They are clearly a team. They play for each other, they play to have fun, and they’re dialed in on every game. I just wish they made more of their free throws.”

Grimm first became a Hawkeye fan after marrying her husband, an Iowa native.

Meanwhile, Bruce Werning’s connection to Iowa basketball runs deeper. Growing up in Davenport—just an hour’s drive east of Iowa City—Werning has rooted for the Hawkeyes his whole life. Having worked in construction, he flew in from Chicago to witness the game.

Werning remembers the days before Clark’s rise, including when former Hawkeye Megan Gustafson was named Associated Press Player of the Year in 2019. He’s attended the Big Ten Tournament for the past four years and traveled to Charlotte last year for Iowa’s game against Tennessee.

With season tickets at Carver-Hawkeye Arena sold out for the third consecutive season, Werning said attending road games like this one is his next best option to support the team.

Kayla Prosinski’s story of becoming a Hawkeye fan differs from both Grimm and Werning. Hailing from Endwell, New York, Prosinski played basketball at SUNY Polytechnic Institute and attended the NCAA Tournament in 2023 when Clark led Iowa to its first of two consecutive Final Fours.

Prosinski described herself as a “neutral” spectator before meeting Iowa fans seated next to her. “They were so nice and so welcoming to any sports fan,” she recalled. “No matter if you’ve been watching basketball for a few months or your whole life.”

Sitting midcourt at the Barclays Center two years later, Prosinski—donning a gold Hawkeyes shirt—watched Stremlow, her favorite player on the squad and an embodiment of Iowa’s style of play.

“I [head coach Jan Jensen], I love the whole team, their hustle,” she said.

Despite the loss to UConn, at least Grimm saw improvement in free-throw shooting as the Hawkeyes went 6-of-8 from the line on Saturday.

She knew the Huskies were a tough team to beat but said she wouldn’t miss a chance to watch her newfound favorite team, even if it was likely to be a rout.

For Grimm, the four-hour drive was worth it—two ranked teams playing with joy under the bright lights in the Big Apple.

“There’s so much more pressure than when I played,” she said. “It’s so wonderful to see women play this sport with such enthusiasm.”
https://dailyiowan.com/2025/12/20/iowa-womens-basketball-new-team-same-national-appeal-for-fans/