Iowa reportedly in contact with Arkansas transfer F Maryam Dauda

The Iowa Hawkeyes have already made one big splash this offseason with the addition of Villanova transfer point guard Lucy Olsen.

Olsen was the NCAA’s third-leading scorer last season, averaging 23.3 points per game on a career-best 43.8% field goal shooting.

Iowa doesn’t want to stop there, though. The Hawkeyes are looking to add serious talent to their roster for the 2024-25 women’s college basketball season.

Kyle Huesmann of Hawkeye Report with On3 is reporting Iowa women’s basketball has reached out to Arkansas transfer forward Maryam Dauda.

The 6-foot-4 forward was a consensus five-star recruit in the 2021 class and was a McDonald’s All-American. ESPN rated Dauda as the nation’s No. 13 overall player in the 2021 class.

A native of Bentonville, Arkansas, Dauda will be a redshirt junior during the 2024-25 season. Dauda started all 33 games for the Razorbacks this past season, averaging 10.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.2 assists per game in 28.7 minutes of average floor time.

The former Razorback shot 45.5% from the field, 31.9% from 3-point range and 75.6% from the free-throw line in the 2023-24 season. Dauda entered the transfer portal on April 25.

Dauda flashed moments of brilliance against some of the best teams on Arkansas’ schedule last season. Dauda scored 16 points, blocked four shots and grabbed four rebounds against LSU and she scored 19 points and blocked three shots against national champion South Carolina.

If Iowa could add Dauda to the fold, it would add a proven five to pair with junior forward Hannah Stuelke, and it would create one of the Big Ten’s best post duos.

Stuelke garnered second-team All-Big Ten honors from the Big Ten’s coaches and media after averaging 14.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists on 62.7% field goal shooting.

Iowa signed one of the nation’s top bigs in the 2024 class, center Ava Heiden out of Sherwood High School in Oregon. Heiden was a four-star signee and the No. 42 player nationally per ESPN.

The Hawkeyes also return center Addison O’Grady, who has played in 102 career games and who averaged 3.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game last season. Iowa also brings back junior forward Jada Gyamfi and senior center AJ Ediger.

Adding Dauda to Iowa’s 2024-25 roster would represent the latest indication the Hawkeyes have truly morphed into a national power with longterm staying power.

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Story originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire