Iowa women’s basketball improved to 6-0 with a resounding 72-43 victory over Washington State (2-3) Sunday evening from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, bringing head coach Jan Jensen one win closer to tying Angie Lee for the best first-year start of a Hawkeyes head coach in program history.
The Hawkeyes and Cougars started back-and-forth, but Iowa’s defense permanently took command of the game early in the second quarter en route to a thorough 29-point victory.
Washington State was held to a miserable 17-for-62 (27.4%) shooting from the field, which included a 7-for-30 (23.3%) night from 3-point territory.
Offensively, the Hawkeyes shot 29-for-69 (42.0%) from the field but, were snakebit from beyond the arc, converting only 2-of-17 (11.8%). Iowa’s offense did most of its damage in the paint, where they outscored Washington State 38-18.
On the defensive side, the Hawkeye were relentless in rebounding by recording a season-high in total rebounds (53), defensive rebounds (35), and offensive rebounds (18). Iowa also finished with seven steals and seven blocks throughout the night.
Given the wide margin of victory, everybody on the Iowa roster was able to record minutes during Sunday’s game.
As Iowa cruised to another victory, here are the three stars that guided the team to the finish line.
Lucy Olsen
Olsen continued her stellar start to the season with a team-leading 17 points on 7-of-15 (46.7%) from the field, including 1-for-4 (25.0%) from deep in her 30:23 of game time. Olsen also converted on 2-of-4 (50.0%) from the charity stripe.
In addition to her scoring touch, the senior guard contributed five assists, one steal, and a season-high eight rebounds.
Olsen’s performance also means she has reached double figures in scoring and four or more assists in all six games with Iowa.
Addison O’Grady
O’Grady had another productive night by finishing with 14 points on 7-of-13 (53.85%) from the field with seven rebounds and two assists in her 25:03 of playing time.
The senior center’s efficient night continues her emergence as a go-to option beneath the basket as she has been in double figures in five of Iowa’s six games.
Ava Heiden
While in the shadows of O’Grady, the freshman center had a spirited night defensively in her 7:31 off the bench by recording a team-leading three blocks in addition to one assist and four points on 2-of-3 from the field.
Heiden’s effort off the bench is an encouraging sight as Jan Jensen will have a reliable force under the basket to use while O’Grady takes breaks throughout their games moving forward.
The Hawkeyes will travel to tropical Cancun, Mexico, for their next game against Rhode Island (4-0) on Nov. 28 at 5:30 p.m. (CT) at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya as part of the two-game Cancun Challenge.
The game is set to stream on FloSports (subscription required) and can be heard on the Hawkeye Radio Network.
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