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195 I f you follow University of Iowa women's basketball, you won't be surprised that the Hawkeyes return a senior post player who is coming off season-highs in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals. What might surprise you is that the player is Hannah Stewart. Stewart is a 6-foot-2 center/power forward who has spent most of her career giving All-American Megan Gustafson a breather. While Gustafson and her national Player of the Year resume returns, so does Stewart, an equally valuable component to the team's success. is season, Stewart has assumed the starting power forward role, joining the 6-foot-3 Gustafson in forming one of the most daunting low post duos in the land. In seven games, Stewart averages 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. She is shooting 59.4 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the free throw line. "I want to see how efficient I can be in the minutes I am on the court," said Stewart, a native of Minot, North Dakota. "Efficiency is what I look at, but I don't want to say it's all about stats. My goal is to create the culture within our team of everybody loving everybody and being happy for every teammates' success." Last season Iowa put together winning streaks of eight, seven, and seven games and finished 24-8 overall, 11-5 in the Big Ten Conference. Stewart played in all 32 games, averaging 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. She shot 49 percent from the field and 64 percent from the line. It was Stewart's best season as a Hawkeye, but her production was oen overlooked when considering Gustafson, a double-double machine, averaged 25.7 points and 12.8 rebounds per game while shooting 67 percent from the field. "Sometimes people get caught up in how many points you score and that's how much value you have to your team," Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. "at is important, but there are other things coaches see that the fans don't see that are important to a team." One of those qualities is leadership. Stewart has been voted by her peers as a team captain for a second consecutive season. "I want to be the best leader I can be and leave everything I have my senior year," Stewart said. Having so many people look up to a career-long backup is not unprecedented, but it is rare. Among other things, Stewart is admired because of the way she accepted her role for three seasons while averaging 2.3 minutes as a freshman, 9.8 as a sophomore, and 17.2 as a junior (she averages 27.1 this season). It is also easy to be overcome by her genuine happiness when her teammates succeed, especially Gustafson. "It is worth it when you get to sit on the bench and cheer on your teammates and know you helped them get that way," Stewart said. "My freshman and sophomore years, in my head, I was taking credit for some of Megan's success because I know I made her push herself in the weight room, or work on offense, and that's why she is able to score so easily. When you put those little victories in your head, it really helps." e 2018-19 season appears to be Stewart's opportunity to shine with more minutes on the court. Chase Coley graduated aer starting all 32 games a year ago, opening a starting spot for Stewart. "It will be a different and a new role for Hannah," Bluder said. "I am so excited to see her have this opportunity in her senior year." When the Hawkeyes hosted Oral Roberts on Nov. 9, it marked the first time in 79 collegiate games that Stewart was in the starting lineup. at has required an attitude adjustment from when she was a go-to player at Bishop Ryan High School. Not only was Stewart named North Dakota Miss Basketball in 2015, but she was also named North Dakota Player of the Year in soball. Plus, she was an all-district and all-region volleyball player. In other words, Stewart wasn't used to sitting on the bench.