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The day in Indianapolis at the Big Ten Women's Tournament belonged to the UCLA Bruins. The Iowa Hawkeyes made a return to the championship game with great wins over Illinois and Michigan. Still, the Bruins, a team destined to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, showed exactly why they are so elite.
The game started UCLA's way, and things never changed much. Iowa struggled with the Bruins' interior size from Lauren Betts, as so many teams have, and couldn't get things going offensively, which is a recipe for disaster against a UCLA team that is extremely potent on offense. UCLA used a hot start to pull away for a 96-45 victory.
While Iowa now waits for Selection Sunday, here are the takeaways from the loss to UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament final.
To knock off the Bruins in an upset, which is what a win for the Hawkeyes would have been, you simply cannot afford a slow start. UCLA has the horses to come out of the gates firing, and did in this game. Iowa struggled with UCLA's size on defense and didn't put up much of a threat on defense. The Bruins won the rebounding battle 37 to 31, scored 44 points in the paint to Iowa's 16, and set a Big Ten record with 34 assists on a 63% shooting performance.
The first quarter saw UCLA jump out to a 22-5 lead, and followed that up with a second quarter outscoring Iowa 20-15, to go into the half up 42-20. That score was assisted by the 11 turnovers Iowa committed, which dug too big a hole against a team of this caliber.
The loss stinks. It isn't fun to lose. A Big Ten Tournament title would have been extremely sweet for the Iowa Hawkeyes. But that isn't the end of this season. In fact, Iowa's two wins earlier in the Big Ten Tournament helped solidify the Hawkeyes' spot as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa is going to see postseason basketball return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, as they get to host the first two rounds, and barring a jarring upset in the first round against what is likely to be a No. 15 seed, the Hawkeye faithful are going to get to see this team two more times at home.
The path is there for the Hawkeyes. Iowa is going to be hosting the first two rounds at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They are going to be the favorite to come out of their quadrant. This team has the talent, the coaching, and the experience to win in the NCAA Tournament.
There is no reason this team shouldn't at least be in the Sweet 16 with a run to the Elite 8 and potentially even the Final Four in play, depending on the draw of their bracket. This season is far from over, and this team has some lofty goals that are still very much on the table and in play.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire : Takeaways as UCLA beats Iowa women's basketball in Big Ten Tournament
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The game started UCLA's way, and things never changed much. Iowa struggled with the Bruins' interior size from Lauren Betts, as so many teams have, and couldn't get things going offensively, which is a recipe for disaster against a UCLA team that is extremely potent on offense. UCLA used a hot start to pull away for a 96-45 victory.
While Iowa now waits for Selection Sunday, here are the takeaways from the loss to UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament final.
Iowa's passive start put them behind
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To knock off the Bruins in an upset, which is what a win for the Hawkeyes would have been, you simply cannot afford a slow start. UCLA has the horses to come out of the gates firing, and did in this game. Iowa struggled with UCLA's size on defense and didn't put up much of a threat on defense. The Bruins won the rebounding battle 37 to 31, scored 44 points in the paint to Iowa's 16, and set a Big Ten record with 34 assists on a 63% shooting performance.
The first quarter saw UCLA jump out to a 22-5 lead, and followed that up with a second quarter outscoring Iowa 20-15, to go into the half up 42-20. That score was assisted by the 11 turnovers Iowa committed, which dug too big a hole against a team of this caliber.
This changes nothing for the NCAA Tournament
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The loss stinks. It isn't fun to lose. A Big Ten Tournament title would have been extremely sweet for the Iowa Hawkeyes. But that isn't the end of this season. In fact, Iowa's two wins earlier in the Big Ten Tournament helped solidify the Hawkeyes' spot as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa is going to see postseason basketball return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, as they get to host the first two rounds, and barring a jarring upset in the first round against what is likely to be a No. 15 seed, the Hawkeye faithful are going to get to see this team two more times at home.
Flush it. Goals are still on the table.
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The path is there for the Hawkeyes. Iowa is going to be hosting the first two rounds at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They are going to be the favorite to come out of their quadrant. This team has the talent, the coaching, and the experience to win in the NCAA Tournament.
There is no reason this team shouldn't at least be in the Sweet 16 with a run to the Elite 8 and potentially even the Final Four in play, depending on the draw of their bracket. This season is far from over, and this team has some lofty goals that are still very much on the table and in play.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire : Takeaways as UCLA beats Iowa women's basketball in Big Ten Tournament
Continue reading...
