A perfect conference record is no more for the Iowa women’s basketball team, who fell, 81-69, to USC Thursday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. The Hawkeyes fell to 18-3 overall and 9-1 in the conference, snapping what had been a historic start in the Big Ten that hadn’t been seen since the 1995-96 season. Instead, USC earned its first win over Iowa since 1984. 

First-year Journey Houston led the Hawkeyes with a career-high 16 points off the bench, connecting on 7-of-12 from the floor. Starting center Ava Heiden added 13 points, backup guard Taylor Stremlow tallied 11, and senior Hannah Stuelke scored 10. 

First-year guard Addie Deal’s first-career start in her home state wasn’t memorable in the stat department. Deal grabbed three rebounds but was held scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting from the field. 

USC guard duo Jazzy Davidson and Kara Dunn did most of the damage for the Trojans, combining for 46 points on 16-of-31 shooting. Dunn, a senior, logged a double-double with 12 rebounds, while Davidson, a first-year, dished a team-high eight assists. 

The Hawkeyes entered the fourth quarter down 21 points and never got within single digits for the rest of the frame. Iowa shot just over 40 percent from the field. Two other contests, against Baylor and Indiana, saw lower percentages but were both victories. 

Iowa guard Chit-Chat Wright drilled a deep three to cut the disadvantage to 15 just with just over six minutes remaining, but Dunn answered with an and-one, drawing a fourth foul from Heiden, returning momentum to the Trojans, who went on to win their second game in the month of January. 

Iowa found itself in a hole early after USC closed the first quarter on a 13-0 run, which included 10 combined from Dunn and Davidson. The Hawkeyes shot just 35.7 percent from the floor during the first frame. The Hawkeyes trailed by as many as 17 in the second before a late 8-0 run cut the Trojan lead to just six entering the halftime break. Stremlow knocked down a pair of triples during the spurt and led Iowa with 11 points at halftime. Iowa committed nine turnovers and finished the game with 12. 

Up Next 

Iowa will stay out west for a matchup against No. 2 UCLA on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 3 p.m. Central Time on FOX. Fresh off a conference tournament title last year, the Bruins are 20-1 on the season and are first place in the Big Ten. Senior center Lauren Betts leads the team with 16.7 points per game, one of four double-digit scorers for the Bruins. 

UCLA leads the all-time series against Iowa, 2-0, most recently prevailing, 67-65, last February at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.