It wasn’t a must win game, but for the Iowa women, it was a game that could keep them in the race for a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament and a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. Or it was simply a game they needed to win to get back on track. The Hawkeyes held 25th-ranked Washington to their second-lowest scoring output of the season, grabbing 65-56 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday night. With the win, the Hawkeyes move to 19-5 overall and 10-3 in Big Ten play.
Chit Chat Wright and Hannah Stuelke took over the game with three pointers and rebounds leading Iowa to a hard fought defensive win. Wright had 21 points going 6-for-13 from the field, 5-of-8 of those from beyond the arc, and four assists. Senior Hannah Stuelke followed with her seventh double-double of the season on 14 points and a tied career-high 16 rebounds. “I just think they needed it for their psyches. They needed to feel that (winning feel) again. It’s been tough (lately),” said head coach Jan Jensen. “Getting one after we’ve lost a few and then getting it when you’ve reformed (with Taylor McCabe out), I think it was really big…I think it was big for the confidence level (of the team).”
Wright drained a deep three-point basket to propel the Hawkeyes to an 11-0 run in the first five minutes of the second quarter, forcing a Washington timeout. Iowa’s defense stopped the Huskies from scoring for seven minutes of the quarter. The Hawkeyes shot 63.6 percent from the floor, headed into half up, 36-30.
Both teams came out of halftime letting the ball fly. At the seven-minute mark, the Hawkeyes pulled away with a 6-0 run to give them their largest lead of the day. Sophomore Ava Heiden led the scoring for Iowa, going 3-for-4 from the field with seven points. The Hawkeyes held a tough lead going into the final quarter up, 49-45.
The final quarter was a defensive battle. The Huskies were able to slowly chip away at Iowa’s lead, getting it back to a two-score game with a minute left before senior Kylie Feuerbach shut it down with a deep three-point basket. Iowa closed it out with a 7-2 run to secure the 65-56 win. Hannah Stuelke who finished the night with her 18th career double double commented, “I thought it was a really important game for us to come out and win to get our confidence back and realize what we can do. It felt like tonight we were having a lot of fun, no matter what the score was.”
Next up for the Hawkeyes is a road test as they face Nebraska on Monday, Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. in Lincoln. Full coverage here
