In just the third game of the season, Jan Jensen and the No. 10 Iowa Women’s Basketball squad (2-1) hit the road for one of the toughest challenges they’ll face all year, falling to the No. 2 UConn Huskies (1-1), 91-79 at Gampel Pavillion on Sunday afternoon.
The Hawkeyes were the aggressors early, winning the opening tipoff, getting Heiden the ball early for the first bucket, and jumping out to an 8-3 lead in the first 3 minutes of the first quarter. But UConn responded quickly and took control of the game
from there without ever looking back.
After getting in foul trouble in her team’s loss against Michigan, Sarah Strong got called first foul in first minute but that didn’t stop the reigning National Player of the Year, who erupted for a career high 39 points and 10 rebounds, with 26(!) of those coming in the first half alone.
Chit-Chat Wright lead the way for the Hawkeyes with 23 points on 8-15 shots, including 5-8 from deep, along with 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and a block. Ava Heiden was Iowa’s second leading scorer, scoring 15 points on 7-11 shots but struggled in foul trouble all game and never got into her regular rhythm. Dani Carnegie added 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, but went 0-7 for the day from beyond the arc. Amari Whiting was the only other Hawkeye in double-digits with 10.
A string of Iowa turnovers resulted in easy buckets for the Huskies, and what had been an early Iowa lead quickly turned into a 14-12 deficit thanks to an 11-0 UConn run over the course of 3 minutes that also saw Heiden get her first foul with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.
For the third straight game, the Hawkeyes were slow to find success from beyond the arc. As mentioned above, Carnegie didn’t make a shot from deep the entire game, despite getting good looks. The Hawkeyes finished the day shooting a respectable 37% from deep, but it wasn’t enough compared to the Huskies’ 52% on 11-22 shots from deep. With Iowa forced to go small for most of the game, the rebounding margin also proved to be a huge issue, with UConn beating Iowa on the glass 37-22. The lack of offensive rebound production really hurt Iowa’s chances to get back into the game when it was still manageable.
With Heiden riding the bench, the Hawkeys struggled in the second quarter. As Hays struggled with UConn’s size and Iowa’s 3-point attempts continued to miss, UConn’s did not, making two quick 3’s to open the quarter and establish a 26-14 lead with 8:35 remaining in the half. Out of the timeout, Chit-Chat Wright found the basket on a driving layup and Woliczko hit Iowa’s first 3 of the game to cut the lead to 7, but UConn immediately responded with another make from deep to bring the lead right back to double digits.
Jensen realized quickly that Hays wasn’t going to be able to do too much against UConn’s size and elected to go to a small lineup with 4 guards and Woliczko at the five. Every time Iowa made any kind of play to cut into the lead, UConn had a response on the opposite end of the court. Shots started falling from deep for Iowa, but the Huskies would make a three of their own in response and bring the lead back to double-digits immediately.
UConn’s defense made offense hell for the Hawkeyes, who turned the ball over nine times in the first half. Whether it was inbound passes or the half court offense, UConn had arms everywhere and stifled Iowa’s ball movement, and the small lineup made rebounding difficult. To make things worse, a Wright turnover led to a buzzer beating 3-pointer from Strong to give the Huskies a 52-37 lead heading into half.
Things looked promising to start the half, as Iowa forced Uconn into multiple turnovers, but Heiden was called for her third foul just 90 seconds into the quarter, forcing Jensen to bring Hays back into the game. But when Strong turned around and made another 3 pointer, Jensen brought Heiden back in, but the third year looked out of rhythm as UConn ripped off a 10-0 run to widen the lead to 62-39.
The Hawkeyes continued trying to stop the bleeding while also use the opportunity to figure out further rotations and lineups for the rest of the season. They did manage to rip off a 14-2 run in the fourth quarter to cut the UConn lead to 10, but it was too little, too late. It’s definitely a demoralizing loss, but it’s also not the end of the world for this Hawkeye team, who are still trying to figure things out with a starting lineup featuring 3 new starters. Considering the kind of fight this team showed down 20+, it bodes well for the rest of the season as the team prepares for Big Ten play.
The good news is that the Hawkeyes have what should be a get-right game this week at home against UNI. I don’t fault the team at all for programming this kind of game early in the season. Not only is this the kind of game you always want to schedule as you develop into an elite program, but it’s also an opportunity to figure out more about the team and how they’ll respond in different situations.
It may feel like it, but the sky is not falling on the season yet, but a game like this is still a reminder of how much work is ahead of this new look Hawkeye team in this still very young season.
