The Iowa women’s basketball team came up short, 68-66, against No. 17 Michigan State in a nail-biting road battle in East Lansing, Michigan on Sunday. While the Hawkeyes showcased strong play and led for over half the game, 23 turnovers and shooting errors enabled the Spartans to comeback from nine down in the fourth quarter and steal the win.
Third-year Hannah Stuelke led Iowa in scoring with 18 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Stuelke was followed by fourth-year Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen with 13 points, as well as fourth-year Kylie Feuerbach with 12 points, all from the three-point arc.
The Hawkeyes drop to 9-2 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten play with the loss, while Michigan State remains unbeaten at 10-0.
First Half
The Hawkeyes started off slow, trailing 16-12 in the first quarter. Several Iowa players stood out, including Stuelke with seven points, three of them from the charity stripe, and Feuerbach with the team’s only three in the quarter.
Three-point shooting was a detriment in the period, as the Hawkeyes shot only 20 percent from downtown, while the Spartans doubled that at 40 percent. Turnovers continued to be another weak spot for Iowa, with the Hawkeyes logging eight turnovers compared to Michigan State’s four. Despite this, Iowa outscored the Spartans in points from turnovers, leading 5-2. The two teams also tied for points in the paint, breaking even at 6-6.
The Hawkeyes performed much better in the second quarter, outscoring Michigan State 21-12 and led by five at the break. Iowa once again led in points from turnovers, this time 6-2, also leading 5-0 in points from fast breaks and 8-4 in the paint.
Both teams left the court at the half with a game that favored Iowa, the Hawkeyes not only leading on the scoreboard, but shooting a higher field goal percentage for the quarter at 42 percent compared to the Spartans’ 30 percent.
Iowa still turned the ball over six times, but forced eight Michigan State turnovers in the process to steal the momentum.
Second Half
Iowa kept up a strong performance through the third quarter despite being outscored 21-19 by the Spartans, who logged an easy eight points from the charity stripe after struggling from the field.
Olsen continued to heat up with six points in the third quarter, outscoring her entire first half total.The Hawkeyes also got a hero in the form of Feuerbach, who posted three triples in the frame.
Both teams collected a combined four turnovers, but only the Spartans could score points off of them, logging three.
The Hawkeyes led by three points after the third quarter and nine early in the fourth, but Michigan State fought back, often using a full-court pressure defense that gave Iowa fits for the rest of the game.
Making matters worse, Iowa shot only 23 percent from the field 28 percent from beyond the arc. On the flip side, Michigan State improved its accuracy to 46 and 50 percent, respectively, to take the lead late in the game.
With the Spartans leading by one point with seconds to play, a lane violation on a made free-throw gave the Hawkeyes a chance to steal the victory. But Olsen’s game-winning jumper bounced off the back of the rim, and Michigan State held on for the win.
Up next
The Hawkeyes return home to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday for their game against Northern Iowa. The contest is set to receive coverage from both Big Ten Plus and the Hawkeye Radio Network.