Any thoughts about a quick turnaround after the loss to USC and a potential big upset, stuck around Pauley Pavilion for the first half but then the Bruins flexed their inside muscle, turning it into lopsided loss at UCLA. The Bruins won 88-65 to stay in first place by themselves in the Big Ten Standings.
The first quarter was an evenly matched shooting battle for both teams. Sophomore Chit-Chat Wright led with five points for the Hawkeyes with one rebound and an assist alike. Three Hawkeyes made up the scoring for the first quarter. Iowa was able to hold the Bruins scoreless in the last three minutes of the quarter, closing it out down 13-17.
UCLA was able to extend the gap in the second quarter. Wright and senior Hannah Stuelke combined for ten points. Despite the Bruin persistence, Iowa’s defense was able to force six turnovers, allowing only two baskets from UCLA in the last three minutes. The Hawkeyes went into half, trailing 28-39.
Sophomore Ava Heiden came out halftime with something to prove. Heiden scored all 10 of Iowa’s third quarter points through the three minute mark. A back-and-forth battle persisted before the Bruins took control on an 11-0 run to extend their largest lead of the day. The Hawkeyes managed to pull together a 6-0 run to close out the first half, with UCLA leading 62-45.
It wasn’t all bad for Iowa on Sunday but it once again showed that there are several things Head Coach Jan Jensen and the staff will need to clean up going into the stretch run and the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. Those include too many unforced turnovers, inconsistent scoring from starters including Ava Heiden and Addie Deal, who was shut down for a second game in a row. The third area of concern is if Iowa outscores a team in the paint, they win. If they don’t, they look off and often lose big like Sunday’s game.
The Hawkeyes are still in third place in the conference and in great shape going forward and they proved they can play with a team like UCLA, but they need to tighten up those three areas to avoid having to play a perfect game to win those type of games. This is a team that won eight games in a row including three against Top 15 teams. But in order to compete with the Top 5 teams like UConn and UCLA, there is work to be done. Up next is a home game against Minnesota at 6pm Coverage is brought to you by Ed Morse Chevy, Buick and GMC along with Muscatine Power and Water.
