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30 turnovers lead to Iowa’s first loss, 78-68 to Tennessee
17th-ranked Hawkeyes slip to 8-1 despite a 23-point return by Lucy Olsen
Dec. 7, 2024 8:30 pm
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(This report was written in Cedar Rapids)
Lucy Olsen’s return was prolific, but not triumphant.
No. 17 Iowa couldn’t overcome an avalanche of turnovers (30, to be precise), and suffered its first women’s basketball loss of the season, 78-68 to Tennessee at the Champions Classic on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The game featured 10 ties and 16 lead changes, and the Lady Vols (7-0) closed with a 14-1 run in the final 3:40.
Olsen missed both of the Hawkeyes’ games at the Cancun Classic last week due to a cut to her knee, but returned to the starting lineup Saturday.
The Villanova transfer scored 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 23. She hit 7 of 14 shots, and all nine of her free throws.
Addi O’Grady added 17 points (on 8 of 11 shooting) and 11 rebounds.
But the turnovers were killer -- Tennessee scored 42 points off those 30 turnovers -- and the Hawkeyes (8-1) dropped their first game of the Jan Jensen administration.
This was nothing new: Tennessee forced its first six opponents into an average of 28 turnovers.
Talaysia Cooper paced Tennessee with 23 points, and six Lady Vols collected at least two steals.
O’Grady’s two free throws with 3:49 remaining gave Iowa a 67-64 lead, but it was all Tennessee the rest of the way.
Cooper’s basket at the 3:04 mark put the Lady Vols in front, 68-67.
Tennessee scored the first eight points, and made its first five shots on its way to a quick 10-2 lead. But the Hawkeyes answered with the next eight points to draw even.
Teagan Mallegni’s 3-pointer gave Iowa its first lead at 15-14, and the Hawkeyes enjoyed a 22-18 advantage after a quarter despite nine turnovers.
Iowa led by as many as seven points in the second quarter before a late Tennessee run knotted it 35-35 at intermission. Iowa went without a field goal for the last 4:16 of the half.
Saturday’s meeting was the first between the programs since 1993, when Iowa won an Elite Eight encounter in Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes host Iowa State at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com
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