The Iowa women’s basketball team dropped a close contest to No. 3 UCLA inside a packed Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday afternoon.
While the Hawkeyes played hard and led by as much as 12 points, a scoreless three minutes in the fourth quarter gave the Bruins enough momentum to close the deal, 67-65.
“They battle, I’m so proud of how they battle,” first-year head coach Jan Jensen said. “We took some really ill-advised shots, and I cannot explain that. [But] I’m proud of them.”
Fourth-year Lucy Olsen led Iowa in scoring with 17 points, as well as five rebounds and two steals. The guard was followed by third-year Hannah Stuelke with 11 points and fourth-year Addison O’Grady and third-year Taylor McCabe with 10 points apiece. The Hawkeyes also held themselves to eight turnovers, while forcing 14 Bruin turnovers.
First Half
While UCLA jumped to a quick 2-0 lead after a back-and-forth defensive start, Stuelke kept Iowa in the game, capitalizing on an offensive board to put up the layup and the Hawkeyes’ first points of the day.
Despite this, the 26-1 Bruins kept ahead, pacing Iowa to an 8-2 lead just under halfway through the first quarter. The Hawkeyes found their footing with a close jumper from O’Grady, who closed the gap to 8-4 and, alongside Stuelke, kept Iowa alive in the size-based battle against UCLA and 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts.
The Hawkeyes were able to keep their heads in the game with another layup from O’Grady and a trey from first-year Aaliyah Guyton. With the seconds ticking away, a buzzer-beating three from fourth-year Olsen closed the gap to 14-12.
Big Lu at the buzzer
@LucyOlsenbball x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/8Qw8IJiOur
— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 23, 2025
Fourth-year Kylie Feuerbach tied the game up at 14 apiece with two shots from the charity stripe to start the second quarter, kicking off the start of a fast-paced segment of the competition that saw multiple ties.
Iowa’s scrappiness kept them in the game, with an offensive rebound by first-year Taylor Stremlow leading to a deep shot from the sharpshooting McCabe.
Minutes later, a rare layup and a three from McCabe gave the Hawkeyes a 29-25 lead, their first of the contest. Iowa’s offense kept chugging along, nabbing a 36-29 lead going into the locker room.
“If people are going to guard screens, then I’m absolutely capable of making back cuts and making reads from that,” McCabe said after the game. “In addition, I feel like if I go and set screens, it gets other people like Lucy open. [I’m] trying to work on that a little bit more.”
Second Half
A quick shot from downtown by Olsen put the Hawkeyes up to a double-digit lead as the second half commenced. With the ball in Iowa’s possession in the third quarter, Feuerbach found herself with an easy opportunity from downtown, chipping in the three to further grow the lead for the Hawkeyes.
Hit the shot. Hear them roar
@_taylormccabe x Kylie Feuerbach #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/ePVPkPLD34
— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 23, 2025
A fireball of shots and the thunderous home court advantage gave the Hawkeyes a 44-32 lead minutes into the third quarter. McCabe and Olsen both reached 10 points in the third quarter, while UCLA continued to struggle with deep shooting, having gone 1-for-11 in the first half – a 9.1 percent clip.
Foul trouble began to hurt Iowa as the half wore on. The Hawkeyes tallied 11 personal fouls in the third quarter alone, while the Bruins totaled only two. Fourth-year Sydney Affolter, who previously fouled out in overtime against Ohio State on Feb. 17, exited the game in the third quarter with three personals.
The multiple trips to the line allowed UCLA to close the gap, and the fourth quarter started with a 50-50 deadlock.
Fouls also caught up to the Bruins as well in the fourth, with UCLA picking up three personals in quick succession. A trip to the stripe by Olsen gave Iowa back a one-point lead, while an offensive rebound by Affolter kept the ball in Hawkeye hands.
With multiple personal fouls stacking up for both teams, the game had turned into a defensive slugfest with multiple foul shots bridging the gap.
With just over three minutes left in play, Iowa trailed, 56-59, before a fancy maneuver by Olsen closed the gap to one. A 2-for-2 trip to the charity stripe from Affolter gave the Hawkeyes a 60-59 lead going into a nail-biting last few minutes of play.
A trio of free throws from Olsen tied the game at 65 each, with just over six seconds left in play, but two more from the stripe for the Bruins gave UCLA the edge, 67-65, before time ran out to close the deal.
“It was a frustrating end of the game, but that’s all part of it,” Olsen said. “You gotta learn from it.”
Jensen echoed Olsen’s sentiment.
“It came down to the third quarter, where we didn’t execute,” Jensen said after the game. “I think that’s where it went. When that happened, we just got flustered at the wrong time. I can’t fault the effort, but today it was just bad decisions.”
Up next
Now 18-9 overall and an even 8-8 in conference play, Iowa travels to Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, for their penultimate Big Ten contest against the Michigan Wolverines.
The game is set to tip off at 6 p.m. Central Time on Big Ten Plus.