After a thrilling Wednesday night victory over No. 17 Iowa State from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa women’s basketball (9-2, 0-1 Big Ten) suffered their second loss of the season and first conference defeat at No. 19 Michigan State (10-0, 1-0 Big Ten) on Sunday from East Lansing, Mich., 68-66.
While both teams shared relative shooting struggles throughout the contest, with the Hawkeyes finishing with a 36.5% clip from the floor and 36.0% from deep, Iowa’s 23 total turnovers and an ice-cold finish to the game buried their hopes of exiting Breslin Center victorious.
In terms of the Hawkeyes’ defense, they finished with 14 forced turnovers, including five blocks and five steals. The Hawkeyes also outrebounded the Spartans, 44-35.
Even with Michigan State going on a furious scoring run late in the fourth quarter, the Hawkeyes found themselves with an opportunity to take the lead in the waning seconds of the game, but a missed elbow jumper from senior guard Lucy Olsen put an end to the Hawkeyes’ last-ditch effort.
Despite the close loss to Michigan State, here are three Hawkeyes that stood out in Sunday’s game.
Hannah Stuelke
Stuelke continued her stellar play as of late on Sunday by posting a team-high 18 points on 4-of-10 (40%) shooting from the field and 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the charity stripe. She also added eight rebounds, two assists, and one block to her 34 minutes of playing time.
Despite the loss, Stuelke’s performance was her team-leading sixth game this season with eight or more rebounds and her 46th career game in double figures.
Kylie Feuerbach
Feuerbach had a steady showing from beyond the arc with all 12 points coming from her 4-of-7 (57.2%) performance from deep. She also added three rebounds, two assists, and one block to close out her 27 minutes of game time.
Feuerbach’s four treys tied her career-high for 3-pointers against a Big Ten team.
Taylor McCabe
Even though McCabe played only 12 minutes, McCabe managed to knock down a pair of 3-pointers.
For McCabe, her ability to inject offense in her minimal time off the bench gives head coach Jan Jensen the confidence to provide her starters a rest while not jeopardizing Iowa’s offensive production.
The Hawkeyes’ next game will be on Friday, Dec. 20, vs. Northern Iowa (5-5) from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on BTN+ (subscription required) and the Hawkeye Radio Network.
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