Hawkeyes make an already-special day unforgettable with a stunner over No. 4 USC

IOWA CITY — Caitlin Clark made the day memorable.

The Iowa Hawkeyes made it perfect.

Lucy Olsen scored 23 of her game-high 28 points in the second half, and Iowa shocked No. 4 USC, 76-69, in a Big Ten women’s basketball game before a raucous sellout crowd of 14,998 Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“Today showed how good we can be,” said Iowa’s Addison O’Grady, a huge spark off the bench in the paint.

“We believed it, and now we have a win against a really good team.”

When it was over, the Hawkeyes of this year got something their Clark-era counterparts did not:

A Carver court storm, at least from a good number of the students. Once they returned to their seats, the jersey-retirement ceremony for Clark began.

Iowa (15-7 overall, 5-6 Big Ten) won its third straight game, and — at least for now — separated itself from the NCAA tournament bubble.

“It was really cool,” Olsen said. “I think that now we’re rolling.”

Speaking of rolling, Iowa stormed to an 18-1 lead late in the first quarter, holding the Trojans (19-2, 9-1) without a field goal in their first 13 attempts.

USC was 1-of-21 when it trailed 23-4, its largest deficit of the game.

“It was an off night for our whole team,” USC star JuJu Watkins said. “It’s a testament to the environment here. We love playing in front of big crowds, and this was electrifying.”

Nearly as quickly as Iowa built the 19-point lead, USC erased it. Watkins’ steal and layup at the halftime horn put the Trojans in front, 29-28, and you got the sense the Hawkeyes’ start would be for naught.

But they dug in, and got it done.

Olsen and O’Grady combined for 23 of Iowa’s 25 fourth-quarter points to put a seal on a stunner.

After USC’s Avery Howell hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 53-53, Olsen delivered from the lane with 8:45 remaining to put Iowa ahead for good.

“She’s a very talented scorer,” USC Coach Lindsey Gottlieb said. “She’s so bouncy. When she gets to her spot, she’s going to capitalize.”

Olsen did it with her midrange game — all 10 of her field goals were two-pointers — and hit 8 of 9 from the free-throw line.

“In the third quarter, I told her, 'You’ve got to know how much I believe in you. It’s go time,’” Jensen said.

Starting post Hannah Stuelke committed her fourth foul with 3:23 left in the third quarter. O’Grady came in, and didn’t come back out.

O’Grady finished with 13 points, 12 in her final, prolonged tour of duty.

Meanwhile, as Jensen said: “Hannah was cheering her little heart out.”

She wasn’t the only one.

USC finished at 35.4 percent from the field and committed 18 turnovers. Watkins led the Trojans with 27 points, but was 8 of 22 from the floor.

“We wanted to make sure that JuJu passed,” O’Grady said. “When she wasn’t hitting (early), it gave us a lot of confidence.”

Sydney Affolter tacked on 11 points for the Hawkeyes, Stuelke 10.

The Hawkeyes play at Minnesota on Thursday.

Iowa 76, USC 69

At Iowa City

USC (69): Rayah Marshall 1-4 0-0 2, Kiki Iriafen 4-11 5-5 13, Kennedy Smith 4-11 1-2 11, JuJu Watkins 8-22 10-11 27, Talia van Oelhoffen 1-6 0-0 3, Kayliegh Heckel 1-4 0-0 3, Avery Howell 3-5 0-0 8, Malia Samuels 0-1 0-0 0, Clarice Akunwafo 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-65 16-18 69.

IOWA (76): Hannah Stuelke 4-8 2-5 10, Taylor McCabe 3-7 0-0 9, Sydney Affolter 1-5 8-10 11, Kylie Feuerbach 0-1 0-0 0, Lucy Olsen 10-18 8-9 28, Aaliyah Guyton 1-9 0-0 3, Taylor Stremlow 0-0 2-2 2, Addison O’Grady 6-8 1-2 13, Teagan Mallegni 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 21-28 76.

USC 4 25 21 19 — 69

Iowa 18 10 23 25 — 76

3-point goals: USC 7-24 (Smith 2-6, Watkins 1-7, von Oelhoffen 1-5, Heckel 1-2, Howell 2-3, Samuels 0-1), Iowa 5-18 (McCabe 3-7, Affolter 1-3, Olsen 0-2, Guyton 1-6). Team fouls: USC 24, Iowa 19. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: USC 37 (Iriafen 8), Iowa 37 (Affolter 9). Assists: USC 11 (Watkins 3), Iowa 16 (Feuerbach, Olsen 4). Steals: USC 12 (Smith 4), Iowa 11 (Affolter 5). Turnovers: USC 18, Iowa 17.

Attendance: 14,998.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com