Video: Iowa’s losing streak extends to four after 87-84 overtime loss to Nebraska
By Dallas Jones
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Pressure makes diamonds, but sometimes it can bust pipes. The Hawkeyes have found a way to lose in very different ways throughout this streak and the culprit tonight was the free throw line.
Iowa shot just 16-29 (55.2%) from the line tonight, 10-20 in the 4th/overtime. It has been almost ten years since the Hawkeyes lost four in a row and now they will hit the road to the west coast for games against Oregon and Washington.
A time for reflection after an uncharacteristic close this Thursday night, here is how it happened.
First Quarter: A hot start from the offense was needed for Iowa as they have struggled on that side of the court during their losing streak. They got exactly that tonight and it was led by two of their veterans. Kylie Feuerbach and Hannah Stuelke scored 10 of Iowa’s first 14 points, knocking down all four of their first shot attempts.
Nebraska would bounce back though. The Huskers put together a 16-2 run over three minutes to end the quarter. True Freshman Britt Prince led the Huskers with nine first quarter points. After trailing for much of the quarter, Nebraska took the lead and extended it to seven at the break 26-19.
Second Quarter: Iowa’s offensive struggles at the end of the first quarter carried over to the second as the Hawkeyes made just one field goal in the first four minutes of the quarter. Luckily for the Hawkeyes, their defense was there to pick up the slack. Iowa held Nebraska scoreless for over four minutes in the quarter as they chipped away at the lead.
Iowa finally got going towards the end of the quarter as they made five of their last seven field goal attempts. The Hawkeyes finished the quarter on a 9-2 run.
Hannah Stuelke (11) and Kylie Feuerbach (8) led the Hawkeyes at the break. Stuelke played exclusively at the center position for Iowa today and the switch paid off. Nebraska was carried by their shooting from deep in the half (8-17 ), four of those coming from true Freshman Britt Prince, who led all scorers at the break with 12.
Third Quarter: The intensity seemed to jump after the break as both teams came out with a lot of energy and physicality in the second half. Iowa held Nebraska to just 2-10 from the field halfway through the third, while Nebraska forced six Hawkeye turnovers in the same stretch.
Iowa only allowed two more field goals for the rest of the quarter and outscored Nebraska 19-13 in the half. The Hawkeyes shot 8-15 (53.3%) in the quarter. Addi O’Grady and Aaliyah Guyton scored six a piece in the quarter, both coming off the bench.
Fourth Quarter: The Hawkeye defense truly shined all night and as they brought a lead into the fourth, their defense was the separator. Four minutes into the closing quarter Nebraska has twice as many turnovers as made baskets and the Hawkeyes held their largest lead of the game at 64-53.
Nebraska would not go down so easy though, after a minutes time the Cornhuskers were in the middle of an 8-0 run and had cut the lead down to three. Both teams would trade baskets in the closing minutes, at one point Nebraska made nine straight attempts from the field.
With 1:12 left to play, the Hawkeyes led 73-72 with the ball. Lucy Olsen drew a foul, but missed both attempts at the line for the second time in the quarter. Luckily, Iowa secured the rebound and Kylie Feuerbach was fouled, knocking both free throws.
Nebraska once again called on the true Freshman Britt Prince for a big shot and that is exactly what they got as Prince tied the game on a step back three with 49 seconds left. After a few costly misses from the free throw line, Iowa had the ball with under five seconds in a tie game. Aaliyah Guyton got to the basket, but narrowly missed. Which meant free basketball in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Overtime: The free throw line was Iowa’s worst enemy in the 4th quarter (5-12) and that carried over into overtime as halfway into the extra period they made just one of their four attempts.
Nebraska on the other hand shot 16-18 from the line in the game and led 85-80 with 1:38 remaining in OT, even though they hadn’t made a field goal in the extra period yet at the time.
They would close the game out from the line as well, never making a field goal in the extra period. They shot 10-14 from the line in the extra period while Iowa shot 1-6 from the field and 5-8 from the line.
Four straight losses for the Hawkeyes drops them down to 12-6 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten. A lot of basketball left, but the road to the postseason is not as bright as it once looked.
Hear from Coach Jensen and the Hawkeye players postgame here: