The UCLA Bruins barely needed to break a sweat to claim the Big Ten Tournament Title (along with a regular season title), trouncing the Iowa Hawkeyes SCORE Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis.
It’s a disappointing end to an unexpected run to the No. 2 seed in the tournament for the Hawkeyes, not only because of the loss, but also the lopsided nature of it. The Bruins were near perfect while the Hawkeyes couldn’t manage to buy a bucket.
If there ever was a game to legitimately burn the film, this is one
of them.
Ava Heiden led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 16 points, followed by Addie Deal with 11 (one minor bright spot), and Chit-Chat Wright with 9. Taylor Stremlow struggled, scoring as many points as she had turnovers with 6 each, while Hannah Stuelke was held scoreless and only took 4 shots. UCLA, meanwhile, had six players in double figures, and most of Iowa’s points came when the lead was already insurmountable.
They’ve been few and far between, but this was a game with the exact same formula as Iowa’s other losses against UConn and UCLA. The Bruins had the size to clog up the paint and Iowa’s guards couldn’t do anything to adjust from it, resulting in early turnovers from bad pass attempts underneath the basket and chucking up shots from deep instead of passing to create. It was essentially a perfect nightmare scenario for Iowa in terms of matchup and execution.
The Hawkeyes struck first with a Stremlow 3-pointer, but things got brutal fast as UCLA responded with a 13-0 run to take up a lead that Iowa would never get back under single-digits. The Hawkeyes struggled with the size of the Bruins, turning the ball over 5 times in the first four minutes alone, forcing Jensen to call a timeout.
Iowa faced the exact opposite scenario from their semifinal game against Michigan. The Bruins were hitting everything. Rice in particular was lethal, scoring the 7 of the 11 early points, while Iowa couldn’t hit anything from any spot on the court.
Things didn’t get much better for Iowa out of the timeout, as more than six minutes elapsed without the team scoring any points. Heiden ended the drought, but Iowa proceeded promptly turn it over again. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion, and Iowa ended the quarter trailing 22-5.
UCLA did an excellent job clogging up the post, which was a big part of Iowa’s turnovers, as they tried aimlessly and repeatedly to force the ball into the post to no avail. Stremlow looked particularly brutal on both sides of the court, giving Deal some extra minutes off the bench. Iowa was able to cut slightly into the deficit, but truly felt like nothing wanted to go in for Iowa, whether it was a bunny or highly contested, sending Iowa into the half trailing 42-20.
Any hope of things changing in the second half evaporated quickly. UCLA continued to torch Iowa from deep, and quickly a 20 point lead turned into a 30 point lead, as Jensen called a timeout when the Bruins went up 55-23 after barely two minutes of the third quarter.
The damage had been done by this point, but the Hawkeyes did not give up as the game turned into an opportunity to get experience for the freshmen and sophomores against elite talent. Addie Deal in particular had strong minutes, a good sign considering her performances have been up and down since her masterpiece game against Ohio State. These extended minutes will certainly be good experience for next year.
It was a disappointing game without a doubt, but if there is a bright side, it’s that this UCLA team will be completely turned over next year, losing multiple first round WNBA draft picks, while Iowa has two more years with this still extremely young core.
This is just the kind of game that showcases how far Iowa can still go as a program. Teams like UConn and UCLA are in a league of their own against anyone this year. It’s just the way it is. Iowa has the pieces in place — and the money to bolster the roster in weak spots — to contend for more Big Ten titles (and maybe an NCAA? Who knows!)
This game film will definitely get thrown into the trash, but there’s still good that can come from this. Maybe.
