Hawkeyes fall short against Ohio State in the Big Ten Quarterfinals

The Hawkeyes and Buckeyes battled back-and-forth for 40 minutes, a spot in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals squarely up for grabs even with just seconds remaining. March tends to deliver some classics. That’s why they call it March Madness.

For as well as Iowa has played down the stretch this season, they’ve still had some heartbreaking finishes, and this one will certainly be filed away in the painful category. A pair of made free throws from Cotie McMahon put Ohio State in front with under ten seconds to play and Hannah Stuelke couldn’t get her jumper to fall at the buzzer. After winning their first two games of the tournament, the Hawkeyes relinquished their tournament crown after nearly four years, falling to the Buckeyes 60-59.

“We’re disappointed, but I told the players in the locker room I just couldn’t be prouder of them. They just battled. We just came up a little bit short tonight,” said head coach Jan Jensen. “Unfortunately, it’s kind of been the story of our games the whole season.”

Although the result of Friday night’s game will likely have little to no impact on their NCAA Tournament seeding, it was another painstakingly close loss. They’re now just 1-6 in games decided by five points or less. As disappointing as that stat is, Jan Jensen is just happy that her team is going to make the field of 68 after sitting with a 12-7 record in the middle of January.

“I think back where we were when we hit the West Coast trip. We were in the middle of that adversity where we lost a few in a row…I just kept saying, hey, we’re closer than we’re farther,” said Jensen. “I’m just thrilled we’re going to see our name pop up, really feel grateful for that. These kids deserve it. They’ve battled.”

Many wondered, coming into the game, how the Hawkeyes would perform playing their third game in three days, while the Buckeyes had not played since their regular season finale on Sunday. Offensively, the first half was a struggle. Iowa shot just 3/17 (17.6%) from the floor in the opening quarter, but their defense was able to force seven turnovers and a late bucket from Lucy Olsen cut the Ohio State advantage to 14-9 after ten minutes.

The Hawkeyes effort on the defensive end when things didn’t start well shooting the basketball, allowed them some extra time to get things rolling. Trailing 18-11 in the second quarter, a quick 7-0 run capped by a transition three-pointer from Lucy Olsen evened the game up and forced OSU head coach Kevin McGuff to take a timeout. Frontcourt play gave Iowa some momentum prior to the half, with Hannah Stuelke totaling six points and six rebounds in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Ava Heiden, still riding the high from her performance against Michigan State on Thursday, helped spark a 7-2 run to end the half. Despite shooting under 20% in the first quarter and turning it over 11 times, the Hawkeyes trailed just 29-28 at the break.

There was little to no separation in the second half. From the 2:51 mark in the second quarter until the 4:10 mark in the fourth quarter, neither side had larger than a four-point lead. The biggest swing over that stretch came early in the third quarter. A quick bucket from Cotie McMahon gave OSU a three-point lead, but the Hawkeyes answered with a 9-2 run capped by a Syd Affolter triple and a Lucy Olsen finish in the lane made it 37-33 Iowa. That momentum was short-lived, and it then it was back to trading buckets in what was a back-and-forth affair.

With under five minutes to play in the game, it appeared Ohio State was going to be the one to make the move and take control. A corner three-pointer from Taylor Thierry put the Buckeyes in front 57-51, but the Hawkeyes weren’t done yet. Ava Heiden cut the deficit to 57-53 with a bucket in the paint, while Syd Affolter knocked down back-to-back clutch triples to give Iowa a 59-58 lead with 1:18 to play.

They moved a step closer to victory with a defensive stop and on the ensuing possession, Kylie Feuerbach got a look at what would have been the dagger. Nearly the same shot that she hit to finish off the win over Michigan State, this time, it didn’t go. Down the stretch, the extra shots that would have turned the tides of the game just didn’t fall. Taylor McCabe, the normally dead-eye three-point shooting, was 0/6 from behind the arc.

“We forced some shots in the first half, but I think we got tremendously good looks. Unfortunately, Taylor McCabe was just really cold. I’ll take Taylor McCabe just about every day. I’ll take Kylie Feuerbach in that corner pocket that last 40, 50 seconds left.”

On the Buckeyes final offensive possession, they did what everyone expected. Got the ball to Cotie McMahon and let her go to work. She got to the basket and drew a foul on Hannah Stuelke. A 65% free throw shooter, McMahon stepped up and calmly hit both to give OSU a 60-59 lead.

Iowa still got a look. After Syd Affolter was turned away at the rim, the Hawkeyes got Hannah Stuelke a look at a baseline jumper with 0.7 on the clock. As good of a look as you could hope for with that much time left, but it wasn’t to be.

“I thought we got a great look in the end,” said Stuelke.

“You don’t like to lose. It’s so weird about sport, the difference — the euphoria of a win to the disappointment of a loss. But so many more positives out of this experience for sure,” said Jensen. “I think what they’ve been through, if you can come through adversity and look back on it and really look at where you’ve grown and have more success than not, I think you should feel really good about getting to play in the Big Dance.”

On the night, Iowa shot 23 of 59 (39.0%) from the floor and 7 of 21 (33.3%) from three-point range. Contributions came from everywhere, with Hannah Stuelke recording a double-double 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way, but Lucy Olsen (14), Syd Affolter (14) and Ava Heiden (10) all reached double figures.

Ohio State outrebounded Iowa 38-37, outscoring the Hawkeyes 12-4 in second chance points. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes were able to match Iowa’s three-point shooting output with seven made threes for each team. Those two areas were the difference in the game.

“I think we got a lot of good open shots. We just didn’t hit as many as we needed to. I missed a lot of layups,” said Lucy Olsen. “Just a few more makes, and that’s our game.”

Up Next: The Hawkeyes will await Selection Sunday and their regional assignment for the NCAA Tournament. The Selection Show is set for March 16th at 7:00pm CT on ESPN.