Iowa women look to end five-game losing streak when it faces Washington Wednesday in Seattle
By Hawk Fanatic
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Mired in a five-game losing streak and preparing to face Washington for the first time ever in a conference game in Seattle, the Iowa women’s basketball team is sort of in uncharted territory.
Iowa only lost five games overall last season on its way to a second straight NCAA runner-up finish.
But much has changed since last season from a roster standpoint, from a coaching standpoint and from a performance standpoint.
Iowa had to replace four of its top players from last season, including all-everything point guard Caitlin Clark, while Jan Jensen has replaced the retired Lisa Bluder as head coach.
The Hawkeyes won 12 of their first 14 games under Jensen, including a win over Iowa State, but are 0-5 since then.
Iowa lost to Oregon 50-49 this past Sunday in Eugene, Oregon, blowing a 10-point halftime lead (32-22) and scoring just 17 points in the second half.
Up next is a Washington team that is 10-2 at home this season and coming off an emotional 87-58 victory over Purdue this past Saturday in Seattle.
A sellout crowd watched as former Husky star Kelsey Plum had her No. 10 jersey lifted to the rafters.
The 87 points scored by Washington were the most by the program in a conference home game since 2017. The Huskies shot above 50 percent across all four quarters, including 61.1 percent (11-for-18) in the opening frame and 78.6 percent (11-for-14) during the third quarter.
Iowa, on the other hand, only scored eight points in the fourth quarter against Oregon and went nearly nine minutes without scoring in the second half.

“I think especially down the stretch when we gave up a couple buckets on the other side, we still need to trust in our offense and believe in each other when we don’t get stops,” said Iowa senior guard Syd Affolter, who grabbed 15 rebounds in the loss to Oregon. “It’s not the time to get really quick shots,
“So, I think we’re definitely learning on that. But we need to lean on each other and trust our offense.”
Despite the struggles on offense against Oregon, Iowa still had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but senior center Addi O’Grady missed a shot right before time expired.
Junior forward Hannah Stuelke didn’t travel with the team on this road trip and she missed the Oregon game due to a concussion, which she apparently suffered late in the loss to Nebraska.
She is also expected to miss the Washington game on Thursday as she remains in concussion protocol.
Iowa graduate guard Lucy Olsen has been in a prolonged shooting slump in which she has shot less than 50 percent from the field in all eight conference games.
The former Villanova star only made 2-of-12 shots from the field in the loss to Oregon.
Iowa (12-7, 2-6) vs. Washington (13-6, 4-3)
When: Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Where: Seattle, Washington
TV/stream: Peacock
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network
Series history: Washington leads the all-time series, 5-2. The Huskies have won the last three contests by a combined 16 points. Iowa’s
last win against UW came during the 1991-92 season. (58-39)