By John Bohnenkamp

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The urgency is missing from the Iowa women’s basketball team right now, and it’s showing in a three-game losing streak.

Grace Grocholski scored 21 points and Mara Braun added 16 as Minnesota defeated the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes 91-85 on Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It wasn’t that long ago that Iowa (18-5 overall, 9-3 Big Ten) was sitting in a tie with UCLA at the top of the Big Ten standings. Then the Hawkeyes went on a West Coast road trip in which they lost by a combined 35 points to USC and Big Ten leader UCLA, and this game wasn’t much better.

Minnesota led for almost all of the final three quarters, shooting 51.6% for the game, including 10 of 14 in 3-pointers. The Gophers led 77-57 with 7:51 to play in the game and had a 41-28 rebounding advantage.

“Yeah, it was really lackluster,” Iowa coach Jan Jensen said of her team’s defensive performance, and her players agreed.

“I would say it’s our energy,” said guard Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright, who had 20 points along with a career-high 12 assists against one turnover, a performance that Jensen felt was wasted in the overall outcome. “We wait until the last minute instead of coming out (with energy).”

“I would say it’s a concern, our urgency,” said center Ava Heiden, who led Iowa with 24 points. “We haven’t had that the last few games, and we have to recalibrate that moving forward.”

Jensen said the message to her team was simple.

“After I cooled down a little bit, I said we will not just win because we’re at Carver,” Jensen said. “I said the fan base is going to think that, but you can’t let that thought into your mind.”

It was the fifth consecutive win for the Gophers (17-6, 8-4), the program’s longest winning streak in Big Ten play since the 2018-19 season.

The Hawkeyes’ skid comes as they try to move on after losing starting guard Taylor McCabe, the team’s leading 3-point shooter, to a season-ending knee injury. It’s an absence that might be still wearing on the other players.

Minnesota led 49-39 at halftime, taking advantage of a 13-3 run to open the second quarter. The Gophers shot 64.3% from the field in the quarter, making all four of their 3-point attempts while their defense shut down the Hawkeyes. Iowa made nine of its 12 shots in the first quarter, but made just 5 of 17 shots in the second quarter, getting outrebounded by the Gophers 13-6 in the quarter.

That kind of play put pressure on the Hawkeyes, Jensen said.

“We, I think, are playing just a little bit not to lose instead of to win,” she said.

Iowa rallied to get within five points in the closing seconds, but couldn’t finish the comeback.

Tori McKinney added 15 points for Minnesota. Amaya Battle had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Finau Tonga added 10.

Ava Heiden led Iowa with 24 points. Chazadi Wright had 20 points and a career-high 12 assists.

Iowa had its 11-game overall winning streak, and a 14-game home winning streak, over the Gophers snapped.

Iowa is off until next Wednesday’s home game against Washington, but Jensen really doesn’t like the time off.

“Oh, I hate it right now,” she said. “I mean, I wanted to play after we lost to UCLA. I don’t play the next morning if they would have let us. I’m just wired like that. Maybe (the players) want the break and rest and all that. But heck, no, I hate bye weeks when we lose. Capital H to the A to the T to the E. But it is what it is.”