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Iowa women's basketball tabs Journey Houston as top summer surprise
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- Iowa women's basketball tabs Journey Houston as top summer surprise
Last season, the Iowa women's basketball program overperformed preseason expectations.
The Hawkeyes won 27 games, finishing second in a loaded Big Ten. While the season ended with early postseason disappointment, there was still a lot to like about what Jan Jensen did in her second year. Jensen is hoping to keep that momentum rolling into her third season in charge.
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Iowa returns a bright young nucleus, including Ava Heiden, Layla Hays, Chit-Chat Wright, and Taylor Stremlow. The Hawkeyes also return one of their breakout stars from last season, sophomore guard Journey Houston.
Houston appeared in 34 games as a freshman last year, playing almost 16 minutes per night. The 6-foot guard averaged 5.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, shooting 50% from the field. Despite her size, Houston impressed with her ability to get on the glass, grabbing key offensive rebounds in the back half of the season. Houston showed a lot of promise and appears to be building off that this summer.
Iowa assistant coach LaSondra Barrett spoke with reporters at Tuesday's practice, praising Houston's improvement this offseason. Barrett picked Houston as the Hawkeyes' biggest summer surprise.
"I think the mindset she's in after not making (Big Ten) freshman team, and you can argue that she probably should have been on there. But, I think she didn't let that bring her down. I think she has probably gotten in more workouts with coach Randi (Henderson) than anybody.
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"And then just to see her put up the shots that she's putting up in the gym. You actually see the work. Came in, body slimmed down and everything," Barrett said.
As Houston looks to add more dimensions to her game, Barrett said developing confidence is the biggest key.
"She's done well, she shot the crap out of it today... For her, it's just confidence. We all know how she's a gamer. She can play, but if she can really get confident, she'll be pretty dangerous," Barrett said.
Houston shot just 11 3-pointers last season, knocking them down at a 36.4% clip on the limited sample size. Iowa envisions Houston providing some guard-like qualities at the four in its four-out, one-in offense .
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"Well, it's different work. So, she worked a lot more at the four in the triangle. Now, she's kind of that four out and even trying to slide to the three, so she's working on ball handling, she's working on being able to guard guards, so if we have to play her at the three, she's able to guard a ball screen. But, she can be like a very big guard for us, so I think for her, her development is key, but she's putting the work behind it. She'll always be rewarded with the work," Barrett said.
Iowa is counting on Houston becoming an even bigger piece for them next season. Houston's improvement this offseason is a great sign that she could do just that. A frontcourt of her and Heiden is a great starting point for a Hawkeye offense looking to take the next step.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women's basketball tabs Journey Houston as top summer surprise
