The Hawkeyes knew it was going to be a tall task. Geno Auriemma’s team has been a dominant force to start this season and that showed again on Saturday afternoon at the Women’s Champions Classic in Brooklyn. Turnovers plagued Iowa for the entire game and that gave them almost no shot at pulling an upset. The top-ranked UConn Huskies defeated the 11th-ranked Hawkeyes 90-64 to keep their undefeated start to the season going. With the loss, Iowa falls to 10-2 on the season.
Iowa scored 64 points on 72 possessions (0.889 points per possession), while shooting 25-of-51 (49.0%) from the floor, 8-of-17 (47.1%) from three-point range and 6-of-8 (75.0%) from the free throw line. Hannah Stuelke led the way in scoring with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Chit-Chat Wright added 16 points and four made threes. Taylor Stremlow put up 11 points off the bench.
Connecticut scored 90 points on 70 possessions (1.286 points per possession), while shooting 36-of-69 (52.2%) from the floor, 13-of-29 (44.8%) from three-point range and 5-of-7 (71.4%) from the free throw line. Azzi Fudd knocked down five threes en route to a game-high 27 points and three assists. Sarah Strong added 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Blanca Quinonez had ten points and five assists off the bench.
The Hawkeyes outrebounded the Huskies 34-25, pulling down 24-of-33 (72.7%) defensive rebounds and 10-of-26 (38.5%) offensive rebounds. The turnover battle went in favor of the Huskies, turning it over just nine times, while Iowa turned it over a season-high 26 times. Connecticut outscored the Hawkeyes 55-22 in points off turnovers/second chance points.
BOX SCORE: #1 UCONN 90 #11 IOWA 64
