The Iowa women’s basketball team came up just short on the road against Oregon, falling in Sunday evening’s game, 50-49.

The Hawkeyes came out ready to play and snap a four-game losing streak that started with a Jan. 5 loss to Maryland at home — ultimately to no avail. While the Hawkeyes heated up early on, the Ducks improved their shooting in the second half to keep Iowa at bay, eking out the one-point victory as time expired. Iowa fourth-year Sydney Affolter notched a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds, followed by fourth-year Addison O’Grady with 10 points of her own and first-year Ava Heiden with eight points.

Over the first half of play, Iowa held itself to a modest eight turnovers, forcing six turnovers from Oregon in the process. The Hawkeyes subsequently led the Ducks in points from turnovers, 6-5, including a steal by Aaliyah Guyton that traveled down the court to a close jumper from Lucy Olsen.

Teamwork @LucyOlsenbball x @aguyton11 #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/T0g2iGkE0J

— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) January 19, 2025

Iowa’s offense created multiple opportunities for scoring, including six points inside the arc from O’Grady. Meanwhile, the defense held Oregon scoreless for the majority of the first quarter, barring any points on the board for the Ducks until less than three minutes on the clock.

With the seconds ticking away to end the first quarter, Guyton capitalized on a good look from downtown, draining a three to advance into the second quarter with a 17-7 lead.

Rebounding was another key component of the first half, the Hawkeyes outpacing Oregon’s own efforts, 23-13. Seven of Iowa’s rebounds came from Affolter alone while the Ducks found themselves with only one offensive board in the entirety of the half.

The Hawkeyes faced more resistance in the second quarter, Oregon chipping in two threes to close the gap slightly toward the quarter’s middle. Iowa also found itself in a scoring drought midway through the quarter with the Ducks launching a three-minute 8-0 run. 

With Guyton, Taylor McCabe, and Affolter each knocking in a three, however, momentum stayed with the Hawkeyes going into the locker room, Iowa leading 32-22.

Falling apart

The offense picked up in the second half for both teams. Iowa guard Kylie Feuerbach grabbed an offensive rebound, hitting McCabe for a deep bucket to start the third quarter. 

Just in time

Kylie Feuerbach x @_taylormccabe #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/lv0J0bfRJ4

— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) January 19, 2025

However, the third quarter was the first in which Oregon led the Hawkeyes in scoring, holding Iowa to nine points while racking up 13 of its own.

Despite holding a lead in the double-digits to start the second half, the Hawkeyes failed to score in the final three minutes of the quarter, enabling the Ducks to cut the gap to six.

Oregon heated up in the fourth quarter, kickstarting its offense with a 9-0 run to start the game’s final quarter and taking its first lead of the night around halfway through the quarter.

Iowa’s first points of the quarter came from Heiden, who nailed two from the charity stripe to close the gap to one point. The Hawkeye offense remained stagnant for much of the game’s tail end, and Iowa found itself still trailing by one after a shot from Affolter with under a minute to play.

Ultimately, this deficit was all the Ducks needed to close the deal, giving the Hawkeyes their fifth straight loss, 50-49.

Up next

Iowa, 12-7 overall, remains on the road to take on Washington on Jan. 22. The game is set to tip off at 8 p.m. and receive coverage from Peacock and the Hawkeye Radio Network.