High-five for Iowa: Lucy Olsen’s 32 keep the Hawkeyes surging

LINCOLN, Neb. — Lucy Olsen’s default expression is a grin.

These days, it’s wider than ever.

“It’s just clicking right now,” Olsen said. “I’m getting used to the physicality of the Big Ten.

“I don’t have many games left, so I’ve got to give it all I have.”

Olsen scored a season-high (and thus, Iowa-best) 32 points and dished out seven assists, leading Iowa to its fifth straight victory, 81-66 over Nebraska in a Big Ten women’s basketball game before a crowd of 6,535 Monday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Familiarity and urgency have Olsen at her best right now, and the Hawkeyes (17-7 overall, 7-6 Big Ten) are climbing. They have moved into a four-way tie for ninth place in the league with five regular-season games left.

“So thankful,” Iowa Coach Jan Jensen said. “This is such a great group, and I feel like God has blessed us with a good streak here.

“The locker room is so happy right now. I’m so happy for Lucy. She is playing free, and so many good things are happening.”

During this streak, Olsen is averaging 22.0 points per game. Her five-game field-goal percentage (41 of 75, .547) and her 3-point accuracy (10 of 21, .476) both are significantly higher than her career numbers (.419 and .313, respectively).

“She’s playing exactly how we thought she would play when she visited,” Taylor McCabe said of Olsen, who played her first three seasons at Villanova. “She’s so fun to watch.”

A lot more fun than the last time the Hawkeyes faced Nebraska (16-8, 7-6). Olsen was 1 of 6 from the line in the Jan. 16 meeting at Iowa City, and that opened the door for an 87-84 Nebraska win in overtime.

“You don’t get to play a lot of teams twice in a season,” Olsen said. “They beat us in our house, and we wanted to do the same thing to them.”

Despite more than its share of whistles, Iowa controlled the game throughout. The Hawkeyes got out to an 11-2 lead before Nebraska fought back to even-steven at 24-24.

Before the first period had concluded, Iowa starting post Hannah Stuelke had two fouls and backup Addison O’Grady had two more.

In Iowa’s breakaway stretch, Olsen was on the floor with four freshmen.

One of them was Ava Heiden, who hadn’t played in the last three games.

After Olsen’s three-point play put Iowa in front, three freshmen — Heiden, Aaliyah Guyton and Taylor Stremlow — hit a basket apiece to give Iowa a 33-24 lead.

“The freshmen are here to serve the team,” said Heiden, who scored six points. “We’ve got a lot of good people I’m behind, but I’m still getting reps.”

McCabe — who grew up at Fremont, Neb., 53 miles away — added 17 points (one short of her career-high), all in the second half.

She was 5 of 8 from long range.

“I probably had 60 people here,” she said. “We’re going to have a little reunion here (after the press conference).

“I knew (Nebraska) was going to scout me pretty hard. They were going to be stuck to me, so I had to stay patient.”

McCabe’s first 3-pointer opened the second-half scoring. Her second was part of a 7-0 run to give Iowa a 48-39 lead. Her third triggered an 8-0 surge to make it 60-46 at the end of the period.

The Huskers didn’t get within single digits again.

Sydney Affolter tacked on 13 points for the Hawkeyes.

Alberte Rimdal led Nebraska with 20 points. The Huskers were 23 of 29 from the free-throw line; Iowa was 9 of 14.

The Hawkeyes host Rutgers on Thursday.

Iowa 81, Nebraska 66

At Lincoln, Neb.

IOWA (81): Taylor McCabe 5-8 2-2 17, Sydney Affolter 4-6 2-3 13, Kylie Feuerbach 1-3 0-0 2, Lucy Olsen 12-20 4-8 32, Hannah Stuelke 2-10 0-0 4, Taylor Stremlow 1-2 0-0 2, Ava Heiden 3-4 0-0 6, Aaliyah Guyton 1-7 0-0 2, A.J. Ediger 0-0 0-0 0, Addison O’Grady 0-2 0-0 0, Teagan Mallegni 1-1 1-1 3. Totals 30-63 9-14 81.

NEBRASKA (66): Logan Nissley 3-7 2-2 11, Jessica Petrie 1-1 2-2 4, Callin Hake 0-2 0-0 0, Britt Prince 2-6 1-2 5, Alexis Markowski 4-9 6-10 15, Albert Rimdal 5-8 9-9 20, Kendall Moriarty 0-1 1-2 1, Kendall Coley 0-1 0-0 0, Amiah Hargrove 1-1 2-2 5, Petra Bozan 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 18-40 23-29 66.

Iowa 16 22 22 21 — 81

Nebraska 13 22 11 20 — 66

3-point goals: Iowa 12-24 (McCabe 5-8, Affolter 3-3, Feuerbach 0-1, 0-1, Olsen 4-7, Stremlow 0-1, Guyton 0-4), Nebraska 7-17 (Nissley 3-7, Hake 0-1, Prince 0-1, Markowski 1-1, Rimdal 1-3, Coley 0-1, Hargrove 1-1, Bozan 1-2). Team fouls: Iowa 25, Nebraska 18. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Iowa 31 (Stuelke 10), Nebraska 29 (four with 4). Assists: Iowa 16 (Olsen 7), Nebraska 12 (Nissley 5). Steals: Iowa 5 (Olsen 2), Nebraska 2 (Nissley, Rimdal). Turnovers: Iowa 10, Nebraska 15.

Attendance: 6,535.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com