The Iowa women’s basketball team is off to a strong start in the 2024-25 campaign, owning big victories over Kansas, Drake, and BYU.
But despite their impressive record, turnovers continue to be an Achilles’ heel for the Hawkeyes. A 78-68 loss to Tennessee on Dec. 7 served as a major warning sign, as Iowa committed 30 turnovers in the loss.
“We handled the boards quite well against a really great rebounding team,” head coach Jan Jensen said during a news conference two days after the Tennessee loss. “We did not handle the pressure and the poise. We really had some flustered passes, sailed them, forced them.”
It’s hard to win a basketball game when you give the ball away at a high rate, and Iowa has historically struggled to win games with a high turnover rate. Since 2009, the Hawkeyes have never won a game where they have committed 25 or more turnovers.
“You never want that, but I also appreciated that they never really folded,” Jensen said. “They kept battling. Watching the film, I thought we saw some things that could’ve been easily corrected, and I think that they will be.”
Iowa’s turnover issues have carried over from the 2023-24 season, where they were responsible for 453 turnovers, good for an average of 13.7 per contest. The loss to Tennessee was another example of that weakness, something the Hawkeyes know they need to improve upon.
“Their press is really good, but we could’ve controlled that a lot better,” fourth-year Sydney Affolter said regarding the loss to the Lady Vols. “We knew we were going to turn the ball over a little bit, we knew they were going to get some offensive rebounds, that’s what their team’s about, but we definitely turned the ball over way too many times, and that led to easy layups for them.”
The loss to the Volunteers might be a fresh reminder in Iowa’s mind, but it’s not the first instance where turnovers have cost the Hawkeyes a game.
On Nov. 16, 2023, Iowa lost a close contest to Kansas State, with the Wildcats seizing a 65-58 triumph in Iowa City. Kansas State had nine turnovers over the entirety of the game; Iowa had nearly twice as many with 16.
The Hawkeyes were largely undeterred by the loss, continuing to win games and put up high numbers, but they suffered another difficult defeat on Jan. 21 to No. 18 Ohio State. Iowa outscored or broke even with the Buckeyes in each of the first three quarters but fell short in both the fourth quarter and overtime.
Similar to the Kansas State game, the Hawkeyes led in turnovers. Ohio State recorded 13, from which Iowa scored 10 points, while the Hawkeyes logged 15 turnovers, from which the Buckeyes nabbed an extra 18 points toward their 100-92 win. In fact, four of Iowa’s five losses last season saw the Hawkeyes commit double-digit turnovers.
The Hawkeyes have ultimately seen a lot of success in recent seasons with back-to-back national title appearances being prime examples, and this season has started with a lot of promise, especially for new additions to the program.
“It’s really exciting to be a part of it,” first-year Teagan Mallegni said. “I’ve worked really hard for this, so I think having the opportunity is really amazing. I think everything throughout these past couple games has really helped me.”
With big names and fierce competitors on the horizon, Iowa has plenty of areas in which the squad can excel and make a good run.
However, the Hawkeyes will have to rise to the occasion to take back this crucial area, and they are determined to not make turnovers a habit moving forward.
“There’s a lot of things that we can learn from a loss,” Affolter said. “Obviously, we would rather learn from a win, but we know what we have to work on, and it will prepare us for the rest of the season.”