By Hawk Fanatic

The Iowa women’s basketball team led No. 17 Michigan State for much of Sunday’s game in East Lansing, Michigan, but not when it mattered the most at the end.

Michigan State (10-0) continued the best start in program history by edging Iowa 68-66 in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Iowa, which led by five points at halftime, and by nine points in the fourth quarter, fell to 9-2 under first-year head coach Jan Jensen.

The Hawkeyes only shot 36.5 percent from the field and committed 23 turnovers.

Graduate guard Lucy Olsen was held to 13 points, which is six below her-team-leading average. The former Villanova star only made 4-of-17 field-goal attempts.

Junior forward Hannah Stuelke led Iowa with 18 points, but fellow starters Syd Affolter and Addi O’Grady only scored four points apiece.

Nyla Hampton sparked Michigan State’s late rally by scoring all 13 of her points in the fourth quarter. She helped to ignite an 18-2 scoring run that turned a 59-48 Hawkeye lead into a 67-60 deficit.

Stuelke picked up her second foul with 1 minute, 42 seconds left in the first quarter and she then sat for the rest of the quarter, which ended with Iowa trailing 16-12 and with Olsen and fellow starters Affolter and O’Grady all scoreless.

Iowa only made 4-of-12 field-goal attempts in the first quarter, including 1-of-5 from 3-point range, and committed eight turnovers, which was slightly ahead of its turnover pace in the loss to Tennessee when Iowa committed 30 turnovers.

Stuelke led Iowa in scoring in the first quarter with seven points.

She was inserted back in the game about three minutes into the second quarter, which continued to be a struggle for both teams offensively.

Olsen finally scored her first points in the game on a 3-point basket with slight more than two minutes left in the second quarter, giving Iowa 26-24 lead.

The Spartans answered right back with a basket to even the score at 26.

Iowa then closed the half on a 7-2 scoring run as Olsen made a basket right before time expired in the second quarter, giving Iowa a 33-28 halftime lead.

The Hawkeyes were riding an emotional high after having defeated No. 18 Iowa State this past Wednesday in Iowa City, and they led by nine points in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t finish the job.

Iowa has now combined to commit 53 turnovers in its two losses this season.