By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

IOWA CITY — It was a glimpse into Iowa’s women’s basketball future that is here now.

The final 3 minutes, 39 seconds of the first quarter of the 24th-ranked Hawkeyes’ 84-63 win over Purdue on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena featured a lineup that included four freshmen — Taylor Stremlow, Teagan Mallegni, Aaliyah Guyton and Ava Heiden. All that lineup did was turn an 18-11 lead into a 27-13 margin at the end of the quarter.

Then there was the final 4:40 of the second quarter, when a lineup that included Stremlow, Guyton and Heiden took a 35-29 lead and made it into a 50-32 halftime margin.

As the calendar nears its flip to 2025, the Hawkeyes’ transition into a new era is still a bit bumpy, yet they are finding new ways to win in this evolution.

“It’s fun to see those flashes, right?” head coach Jan Jensen said.

The four freshmen combined for 35 points — Stremlow, Guyton and Heiden each had nine points, and Mallegni had eight — in their 66 ½ minutes.

It’s when they scored that made the biggest difference in this game.

“Ava, Teagan and Aaliyah and I went in and got to bring some energy and get out there together,” Stremlow said. “And I think that was definitely a boost for the team. And I think just seeing that we helped out and could hold our own out there, definitely gave the coaches some confidence to continue playing us throughout the rest of the game.”

This was always going to be an interesting mix — veterans who have played in back-to-back national championship games combined with a freshman class that was ranked No. 9 nationally by ESPN. Stremlow, Mallegni, Guyton and Heiden were top-100 recruits nationally, and guard Callie Levin was Iowa’s Miss Basketball.

Jensen has spent the first two months of the season looking for combinations, and it will be an ongoing process. But she trusts her freshmen, and that says something about how they have played.

Jensen thought back to that first quarter when she talked about how they played. Heiden scored twice inside, Stremlow scored on a drive to the basket, and Mallegni hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock was running out.

“It was like they kind of hit every right note,” she said.

Those notes kept singing in the second quarter. Guyton hit a 3-pointer after Purdue got to within 32-27. Stremlow had two layups, and then Guyton closed the half with a layup with two seconds left.

“I  just think what’s nice about that is they got some good minutes, and they can store that,” Jensen said.

“Really fun,” Stremlow said when asked what it was like to play well in those situations. “I mean, we see it every day in practice. Just knowing that we get the opportunity to go out there and have the freedom to play our own game just inside of a system that works for all of us is really exciting.”

Stremlow, Mallegni and Heiden have been big parts of Iowa’s rotation all season. Guyton is slowly working her way into more minutes as she recovers from a knee injury she suffered last season.

It’s all about being ready, Guyton said. 

“I feel like it’s just talking with coaches and whoever is ahead of me and making sure I’m prepared for positions like this, for situations like this, where maybe the freshmen do need to step up a little bit more,” she said with a raspy voice. “So just making sure I’m prepared, studying, watching film, and just getting into the gym, working hard and making sure I’m prepared.”

There were also signs of the usual struggles freshmen face. Stremlow and Mallegni each had two turnovers. Guyton was 1 of 6 in 3-point shooting, and Jensen said she felt like Guyton forced some of those shots.

“I feel like some of our freshmen had some amazing moments, and they had some freshmen moments,” Jensen said.

All part of the evolution.

“I think we’ve come a long way,” Stremlow said. “I mean, I know we have since the summer. I’m sure Aaliyah would agree. Especially with Aaliyah coming back from an injury, you hesitate to think of how everything will mesh. But as you can see, we’re all flowing well together, and it’s really fun to play with that chemistry. And obviously we have some moments. I definitely bumped into Teagan a couple times or somebody.

“But I think just fixing those little tweaks, we’ll be fine.”

Photo: Iowa freshman guard Aaliyah Guyton (right) heads down court after fellow freshman Taylor Stremlow (1) knocked the ball away in the first half of Sunday’s game against Purdue. (Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)