Following three consecutive losses, No. 15 Iowa defeated No. 25 Washington, 65-56, in a much-needed bounce-back win. The Hawkeyes grabbed the lead with a dominant second quarter and pulled away for good late in the fourth.
Sophomore guard Chit-Chat Wright led the team with 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting behind the arc. Senior Hannah Stuelke dominated the paint with her seventh double-double of the season, posting 14 points and 16 rebounds. Stuelke’s 16 rebounds tie her career-high.
“I’m just always keeping my energy level up, just getting after it and going to get the rebounds,” Stuelke said. “There’s not too many people that can out-jump me.”
The play of the game came from Wright, who nailed a three-point shot through contact early in the fourth quarter, drawing the foul. Wright completed the four-point play at the line, extending Iowa’s lead to 55-47.
“I just knew that shot was a great shot for me to take,” Wright said. “I knew it was going to be a foul and I just needed to knock down the shot.”
A Washington three by Elle Ladine cut Iowa’s lead to four with 1:36 to go in the game, but Wright responded on the other end of the floor by drawing a foul and knocking down both free throws to re-extend the Hawkeyes’ lead to six. Following another stop on the defensive end, sophomore Taylor Stremlow got crafty on a drive into the paint, using a pump-fake to clear her path to the rim for a layup.
With the lead back to eight, Iowa remained in control until the buzzer, highlighted by a three from senior Kylie Feuerbach, who finished with five points.
“I was just so happy for her because she wants it so much,” Iowa head coach Jan Jensen said. “Her smile coming to the timeout was priceless.”
In a back-and-forth first quarter, the Hawkeyes struggled to defend, and the Huskies led, 25-19. Washington scored 20 points in the paint and shot 70 percent from the floor. However, a pair of Wright threes kept Iowa within striking distance.
The second quarter began with yet another Wright three, her third of the game. The Hawkeyes proceeded to open up the quarter on an 11-0 run to lead, 30-25, holding Washington scoreless until 3:20 to go in the quarter.
Washington cut Iowa’s lead back down to two, but a strong seven-point quarter from Stuelke kept Iowa’s lead at six going into the half.
The third quarter saw more back-and-forth action, as the Hawkeyes held onto a slim, 49-45 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Taylor Stremlow looked comfortable in her eighth start of the season after being re-inserted into the starting lineup. Stremlow put up nine points and two assists while posting the best plus-minus on the team with +15.
“I thought Taylor did a really nice job, shooting 4-for-6,” Jensen said. “(She) had some big buckets there at the end and really had some good defensive assignments.”
Jensen made the move to start Stremlow over Addie Deal to relieve pressure from the freshman, who struggled following her jump to the starting five in the wake of Taylor McCabe’s season-ending injury. Jensen referred to Deal’s elevated shooting splits in games where she comes off the bench as a motivating factor for the decision.
The Hawkeyes shot 46 percent from the floor and 50 percent from long range.
Up Next
Iowa travels to Lincoln, where it’ll face off against Nebraska on Monday, Feb. 16, tipping off at 11 a.m. on FOX. The Hawkeyes won the first matchup in January, 86-76. The Cornhuskers currently sit at 12th in the Big Ten with a 16-8 overall record. Sophomore guard Britt Prince leads the team with 17.5 points per game. Iowa leads the all-time series, 26-17.