In a high-energy Sunday afternoon atmosphere inside a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa women’s basketball (19-9, 8-8) dropped a nailbiting 67-65 defeat vs. No. 3-ranked UCLA (26-1, 14-1), creating a two-game skid with two games remaining on the regular season.
Offensively, the Hawkeyes shot a respectable 22-for-60 (36.7%) from the floor, including 6-for-17 (35.3%) from beyond the arc and 15-of-19 (78.9%) from the charity stripe. Defensively, Iowa forced 14 Bruins turnovers, including eight steals and two blocks blocks.
While Iowa used the raucous Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd to their advantage in the first and second quarters, entering halftime with a 36-29 advantage, UCLA’s dominant 21-point third quarter tied the score at 50 entering the final 10 minutes of play.
There were plenty of foul calls in the fourth quarter, which forced both teams to shoot rather poorly. Eventually, UCLA took a two-point lead with four seconds left after guard Elina Aarnisalo sank two free throws. Unfortunately, a three-point attempt by center Addison O’Grady fell well short of the basket, essentially wrapping up the game.
Here are three thoughts gathered from following another gut-wrenching Hawkeyes’ loss on Sunday.
15,000 Fans Did Not Pay To See The Officials
The officiating of Sunday’s game was extremely inconsistent throughout the contest, which became very frustrating for both teams and fans. Specifically in the third and fourth quarters, it seemed as though the officials were trying to insert themselves into the game as quite a few questionable calls stunted momentum swings.
While blaming the officials for a loss is never the correct move, the way the game was called certainly changed the Bruins’ and Hawkeyes’ performances in the final quarter, as seen by the combined 7-for-26 (26.9%) shooting from the floor. Overall, 38 fouls were called in the game, with the Hawkeyes drawing 17 calls.
Hawkeyes Played Impressive Defensively
Despite the numerous foul calls on both teams throughout the game, the Hawkeyes played incredible defense against the Bruins, specifically guarding UCLA’s 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts in the post.
While Betts scored 22 points on 9-for-12 (75%) from the floor, the Hawkeyes’ decision to double and sometimes triple cover Betts forced the Bruins to play outside their leading scorer and take difficult shots.
The Iowa defense also ended the night with 21 turnovers, which allowed them to hold serve with the Bruins until the final buzzer.
Iowa Not Afraid Of Top-Tier Competition
Despite having a 9-9 record within the Big Ten thus far, Iowa displayed Sunday afternoon and throughout the latter half of the season that it is not afraid to play top-tier competition such as Ohio State, USC, and UCLA no matter how difficult they are to defend.
This mentality is one that head coach Jan Jensen hopes the Hawkeyes can take into the Big Ten tournament and display through a potential run in the NCAA tournament in March.
The Hawkeyes will hit the road for the final time of the regular season on Wednesday as it travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a clash vs. Michigan (19-8, 10-6). Tip-off inside the Crisler Center is set for 6 p.m. CT and will air BTN+ (subscription required) and the Hawkeye Radio Network.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball three thoughts from their 67-65 loss vs. UCLA
