Jeff Linder

Girls basketball: Cedar Rapids Washington moves into sole possession of the MVC Valley Division lead with a 43-37 win at Cedar Falls.

Call it Both Ways Podcast with Gazette sports writers Jeff Linder and Jeff Johnson talk Iowa high school and college basketball

Second-ranked UCLA outscored No. 8 Iowa by 30 points in the paint and handled the Hawkeyes, 88-65, in a Big Ten battle Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Women’s basketball: Iowa plays at UCLA in a top-10, Big Ten showdown, and the Hawkeyes will try to bounce back from their first conference loss of the season.

Women’s basketball: Coming off its first Big Ten loss of the season, No. 8 Iowa tackles No. 2 UCLA on Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.

Girls basketball: Surging Cedar Rapids Kennedy downs Xavier, 49-40, for its ninth win in its last 11 games.

High school softball: Nikki Gahring steps down as coach at Cedar Rapids Xavier after 21 years, 14 as head coach.

Down by as many as 18 points in the first half, Iowa (18-3 overall, 9-1 Big Ten) cut the deficit to 52-49 when Journey Houston scored on a behind-the-back transition feed from Taylor Stremlow at the 5:30 mark of the third period.

Girls basketball: The Gazette’s final rendition of 2025-26 mock regional pairings.

Girls basketball notes: Lisbon’s last league championship came in 1990, a six-on-six title in the Mideast Conference. The Lions are zeroing in on at least a share of the Tri-Rivers East Division crown.

The Hawkeyes (18-2 overall, 9-0 Big Ten) have been steady climbers in the Associated Press poll; they are up to No. 8 this week, their highest since the final 2024 ballot.

Addie Deal will make her debut in the Iowa starting lineup Thursday, due to the season-ending knee injury to senior Taylor McCabe. Deal has averaged 12.0 points per game in the last four games, including a 20-point output in Sunday’s 91-70 win over Ohio State.

Girls basketball Super Ten: Iowa City High and Iowa City West swap spots at No. 2 and No. 3.

Girls basketball: Down 10 points late in the third quarter, Springville forces overtime, then wins 57-54 to earn its first outright Tri-Rivers West Division title in 10 years.

Addie Deal will join Iowa’s starting lineup Thursday at USC. She’ll take the place of Taylor McCabe, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Sunday against Ohio State