Hawkeye fans watching Iowa’s 69-62 Thanksgiving Day win over Rhode Island likely had the same thought.
Where is Iowa star senior point guard Lucy Olsen?
As Iowa head women’s basketball coach Jan Jensen laid out before the game on the Hawkeye Radio Network with play-by-play broadcaster Jon Swisher, Olsen sustained a freak injury just before one of Iowa’s practices in the Cancun.
“Yeah, you know, just a unique situation. And just so often in life sometimes surprising, unfortunate, unlucky situations happen. Lucy, we were just getting ready to practice, she just kind of tripped and kind of came off the floor and then hit a ledge and she had a pretty significant gash in her knee.
“Thankfully we had some team docs with us and they got her taken care of, but just kind of a game-by-game situation, because it’s a pretty substantial cut. But, thankfully nothing season-altering or season-ending. It just is a pretty tough cut, so we just want to be careful with it and be smart, because the season is still really young. Lucy’s as tough as they come and I know as it’s ready to roll, she’ll be ready to roll, too,” Jensen told Swisher of Olsen’s injury status.
It’s a big loss for Iowa for however long Olsen is sidelined. Olsen is currently averaging a team-high 17.3 points per game. The 5-foot-10 guard is also averaging 5.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9%.
Iowa used a strong fourth-quarter push to break a tie going into the final frame, pulling away from Rhode Island and improving to 7-0 on the season. The Hawkeyes began that fourth quarter on a 12-0 spurt.
Senior center Addison O’Grady led the way with 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Junior forward Hannah Stuelke added 13 points and senior guard Kylie Feuerbach scored 12.
Iowa plays BYU (6-1) at 8 p.m. CT in its final game of the Cancun Challenge on Friday night. The game will be exclusively streamed on FloCollege.
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