Syd Affolter's career-high 24 points propel Iowa to victory over Michigan

It’s safe to say that the consecutive nail-biting defeats the Iowa women’s basketball team took over the past nine days provided plenty of fuel for them to come out and put together a resounding win on Wednesday night. Unfortunately for the Michigan Wolverines, they were just an innocent bystander that got caught in the Hawkeyes’ storm. Syd Affolter buried four triples in the opening quarter en route to a career-high 24 points, as Iowa rolled to a 79-66 win at the Crisler Center.

“Just being confident in myself,” said Affolter on what led to her big night. “I’ve been in the program for four years now, and have played with a lot of great players, so when my time was up (to contribute), I was ready to go. I’m just happy with all of the work I’ve put in.”

The senior forward from Chicago en fuego right from the opening tip. She put up 14 of her career-high 24 points in the first quarter, including four made triples to help propel the Hawkeyes out to a 25-18 lead after ten minutes. Syla Swords led Michigan with seven points in the first to keep the Wolverines within striking distance.

“My teammates gave me some great passes and, obviously, I can’t do it without them,” said Affolter. “I know I’m a good scorer, so just having that scorer’s mentality at all points in the game.”

Good shot ➡️ Great shot 🙌@_taylormccabe x @sydneyaffolter1 #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/kPr728e56z

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 27, 2025

It was almost like a track and field transfer of the baton in the second quarter. Syd Affolter handed her shot making powers to Lucy Olsen and things continued to roll smoothly for the Iowa offense. Olsen, who went scoreless for the first 13:22 of the game, came alive quickly, pouring in four made threes in the span of 4.5 minutes to extend the Hawkeyes lead to 45-28. Iowa knocked down 9 of 11 three-point attempts in the first half, leading the Wolverines 49-32 at halftime. Lucy Olsen and Syd Affolter combined for 34 of those 49 points and made all eight three-pointers that they attempted.

Iowa’s lead grew as large as large as 21 points just under two minutes into the second half, but the Wolverines weren’t about to get run off of their home floor. Similar to the Hawkeyes bid at a comeback against Maryland at Carver earlier in the year, Michigan wasn’t going to lay down and take the loss.

Taylor McCabe hit her second three-pointer of the game to make it 58-39, but the Wolverines answered with a quick 5-0 to force an Iowa timeout. Out of the timeout, Michigan inched closer. Brooke Quarles Daniels finished at the rim, while Macy Brown and Syla Swords each hit triples to whittle the Hawkeyes advantage to just 60-54. Over a stretch of less than three minutes, Jan Jensen’s squad came up empty on five of six possessions, allowing the Wolverines to climb back in it with a 15-2 run. A game that at one point looked destined for a blowout, all the sudden became a game very much up for grabs.

“We know basketball is a game of runs and Michigan’s a great team. They came out hot from halftime and we knew that they would,” said Syd Affolter. “Just controlling what we can control, and it was a little bit of box outs and defense, so we picked that up.”

After Michigan spent the majority of the third quarter climbing back into the game, Iowa spent the fourth quarter putting it away. A Lucy Olsen midrange jumper extended the lead back to 12 points, but freshman guard Olivia Olson got the basket for a couple of layups to draw the Wolverines within 68-60 with under eight minutes to play.

However, an 8-2 run from Iowa put to bed any thoughts of Michigan fully completing the improbable comeback and Iowa was able to comfortably finish out their 79-66 win. Freshman center Ava Heiden, who has played sparingly in Big Ten play, stepped up with a couple of baskets in key moments, including four points during the mini run to close out the game. She finished with six points on 3/5 shooting over six minutes.

“Hannah is battling some sort of stomach bug, so this was a game I thought we could really get some confident minutes for Ava (Heiden),” said Jan Jensen. “I was so happy she showed out because it is hard when you don’t get to play a whole lot…That’s a testament to her journey and she just has to be ready.”

On the night, Iowa shot 31 of 59 (52.5%) from the floor and 10/18 (55.6%) from three-point range. Syd Affolter led the way with her sixth double-double of the season, totaling 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Lucy Olsen finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists. Hannah Stuelke tacked on 13 points and five boards. Kylie Feuerbach did not show up much on the stat sheet, but her defense was crucial in holding Olivia Olson to just six points on 3/9 shooting.

Up Next: The Hawkeyes return to Iowa City for their regular season finale against the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 3:00pm CT on Peacock.