Lucy Olsen dominates, Hawkeyes cruise to victory against Nebraska

When the Hawkeyes fell to Nebraska earlier in the year, it was squandered chances at the free throw line that let the Huskers erase an 11-point fourth quarter deficit and eventually win in overtime. Lucy Olsen was one of the players missed opportunities at the line late in that loss. She didn’t forget that and looked like a woman on a mission. Lucy finished with a season-high 32 points, carrying the Hawkeyes (17-7, 7-6) to an 81-66 win over Nebraska (16-8, 7-6) in Lincoln on Monday night.

“It was a little bit of a revenge game,” said Lucy Olsen. “None of us were happy that we lost the first time, and you don’t get to play teams twice in the Big Ten very often. I just didn’t want to lose. I know how hard we’ve worked in practice, so I just wanted to come out and see what could happen.”

During the Hawkeyes now five-game winning streak, Olsen has looked like the player she was at Villanova last season. Lucy got things rolling right off the bat in the first quarter, knocking down five of her seven field goal attempts, including a pair of three-pointers to help Iowa out to an early 16-13 advantage.

“It was just fun to watch her shine,” said assistant coach Randi Henderson on the postgame show. “She really used her change of pace and her change of speed with the dribble extremely well and bought herself a lot of time and vision. Her comfort with the ball in her hands, her ability to change speed today really helped.”

Her take charge attitude proved to be a much-needed mindset, as the Hawkeyes found themselves plagued by foul trouble throughout the majority of the game. At one point, with four players with two fouls, including both Hannah Stuelke and Addi O’Grady, Jan Jensen had four freshmen on the floor with Lucy Olsen. Ava Heiden, who was suddenly thrust into her first game action in 19 days, put up six points in the second quarter and Iowa was able to get to the half with a 38-35 lead.

“We had our most important bench minutes of the year today. Those minutes are so valuable and it’s hard for those players to stay focused and committed, but these girls, they’re starting to understand how important every role is,” said Henderson. “It’s just a testament to the belief that Jan gives them…the hardest roles are the ones where you’re not sure if your number is going to get called and I’m really proud of these young women for that.”

Although the final stats for the freshmen class didn’t jump off the page, Teagan Mallegni had a big basket, plus the foul, while Taylor Stremlow knocked down a midrange jumper. In total, the group of first-year players combined for 48 minutes on the floor and did not register a single turnover.

The Huskers, who got a lot of help from the free-throw line, were able to hang around for a while in the second half. However, an at one point, 29-9 disparity in free-throw attempts was not enough to keep Nebraska within striking distance. After the Huskers showcased their three-point shooting in Iowa City, it was the Hawkeyes sinking triple after triple inside Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Taylor McCabe and Syd Affolter extended the Iowa lead to 58-46, forcing a Nebraska timeout with under a minute to play in the third quarter. Then, the Hawkeyes lead never dipped below 12 points in the fourth quarter, while a pair of made threes from the Nebraska native McCabe put the finishing touches on an 81-66 win for Iowa.

“I think our defense was outstanding and I thought we executed the game plan,” said Henderson. “That was just a really fun game.”

On the night, the Hawkeyes were 30 of 63 (47.6%) from the floor, while they knocked down a season-best 12 of 24 (50.0%) from three-point range. Lucy Olsen finished with a season-high 32 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, including four made three-pointers. Taylor McCabe added 17 points and season-high five made threes, while Syd Affolter finished with 13 points, three made triples and four assists. They outrebounded the Huskers 31-29 and won the turnover battle, limiting themselves to just ten turnovers.

Up Next, the Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday for a matchup with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Tipoff is set for 6:30pm CT on BTN+.