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It seemed as if there was light at the end of the tunnel for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
They were on cusp of ending their three-game losing streak with a 65-53 lead over Nebraska with 6:05 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Hannah Stuelke had a double-double. Aaliyah Guyton was the freshman spark. Lucy Olsen was solid from midrange. Kylie Feuerbach came alive after struggling in the last three games. Addison O’Grady scored in bunches in the paint. Sydney Affolter crashed the boards and scored at the right time.
Their defense was tip-top and it seemed as if there was nothing the Huskers could do to break through. All seemed right, but there was one thing keeping the Hawkeyes from getting the monkey off their back: free throw shooting.
As the Cornhuskers quickly came back with an 8-0 run to pull within three with 4:50 left in the game, the Hawkeyes struggled to generate points from the stripe. They went 5-for-12 and found themselves in a panic over the prospect of another loss. Yet, the Hawkeyes had possession with the game tied at 77 with 2.6 seconds left. Guyton took it the hole, going for the winning layup at the buzzer, but to no avail.
Over the course of a five-minute overtime, free throws told the story. The Cornhuskers scored all of their 10 points at the line as the Hawkeyes’ struggles continued.
But just as fans made their way to the exit, the Hawkeyes still had a chance to at least force a second overtime. When the Huskers attempted to inbound the ball with six seconds remaining, Stuelke stole it at midcourt and the ball then found its way into the hands of Affolter, who heaved it from beyond the arc. But it didn’t go in.
In the end, not only did the Hawkeyes lose again, but they also shot 16-for-29 (55 percent) from the free throw line, while the Huskers shot 18-for-22 (81 percent), which told the story of the game.
Now the Hawkeyes find themselves in a position they haven’t seen since the 2015-16 season, the last time they lost four-consecutive games. After the Affolter asserted:
We just got to turn the page. Obviously, that’s one we would have liked to get, especially at home. But I think we battled all the way to the end, obviously it was a very back and forth game. All of our losses have been winnable games, which is the frustrating part. But we are going to Oregon and Washington and we’re gonna battle over there and give our best shot and we’re gonna practice tomorrow and get better.
As for getting better, Olsen was seen after the game shooting free throws after she shot 1-for-6 from the line.
Head coach Jan Jensen recognizes her players are putting forth the effort, while also acknowledging the need dig deeper to discover why her team is in the position it is now in, saying after the game:
I know they’re not trying to miss shots, they’re not trying to miss free throws. I just have to really start getting to the underlying reasons of why we’re having some non-productivity.
Iowa (12-6, 2-5) will play on the road against Oregon (13-5, 4-3) on Sunday, Jan, 19 at 5 p.m. ET. Then they play at Washington (12-6, 3-3) on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 9 p.m. ET.