For years, the Iowa women’s basketball team has been known for their offensive firepower. The Hawkeyes still have the ability to light it up at times, but head coach Jan Jensen has structured this squad around defense after Caitlin Clark’s departure.
And that defense proved to be the primary factor during Thursday’s victory over Rutgers. Despite a poor shooting night, Iowa won in a 55-43 slugfest thanks to an aggressive defense that held the Scarlet Knights offense in check for most of the game.
“I think we said a couple times this week that you can’t underestimate anyone in the Big Ten,” fourth-year guard Sydney Affolter said. “Everyone’s so good, and I think we found a way to win. Our defense was really great.”
Rutgers came out of the gates strong, but the Hawkeyes slowly started to clamp down, allowing only eight points in the second quarter and six in the fourth quarter. The 43 points scored by the Scarlet Knights equals the Washington State game on Nov. 24 for the lowest total Iowa has given up all season.
Defense wins championships
At multiple intervals, Iowa held the Scarlet Knights scoreless for extended periods of time. The Hawkeyes saw a six-minute stretch in just the second quarter of play with no buckets from their Big Ten foe.
The Scarlet Knights, fresh from a 78-69 Sunday victory against Purdue, started strong, leading by as much as eight points nearly halfway through the first quarter. Rutgers kept a lead for just over 10 minutes of play, outscoring Iowa 14-10 in the first quarter.
Despite the early gap, the Hawkeyes proved too much of a presence defensively for the Scarlet Knights to hold enough momentum past the opening quarter of play.
Another important area for Iowa was turnovers. In a season where the issue of turning over the ball has won or lost games, the Hawkeyes’ performance against Rutgers, with 16 turnovers, left much to be desired.
“They’re a good defensive team,” Olsen said after the game. “We knew they were going to come in and really amp that up.”
However, Iowa forced 18 turnovers from the Scarlet Knights, and led 15-10 in points from turnovers. Olsen additionally recognized the challenges that Iowa had to start the game, also pointing out the Hawkeyes’ growth as a program.
“I thought we started out a little slow,” Olsen said. “I don’t know what it was, but we definitely can’t do that anymore. We kept fighting, found a way to win. That’s the most important thing, because [Coach Jensen] mentioned that earlier in the season, we probably would have lost that game.”
In addition to committing less turnovers, the Hawkeyes led the Scarlet Knights in rebounds, 37-31, and fastbreak points, 9-0. Iowa also recorded six steals and two blocks.
Now 18-7 overall, including 8-6 in Big Ten play, Iowa next travels to Columbus for Monday’s game against No. 9 Ohio State.
“It’s going to be difficult, but that’s what’s fun,” first-year head coach Jan Jensen said after the game. “The work that we’ve done, I think, to get here, I’m really just so thankful. Five weeks ago, that just seemed like a distant opportunity.”