Defense returns for the Hawkeyes, and so do the good vibes

IOWA CITY — It took a quarter, but the Iowa Hawkeyes rediscovered their defense.

Their mojo returned with it.

No. 15 Iowa surrendered only 31 points in the final three quarters and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 65-56 Big Ten women’s basketball victory over No. 24 Washington before an announced crowd of 14,988 Wednesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I think we did a really good job knowing our scout. We took away the 3-pointer,” Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke said. “We were more intense on defense. That was a big focus.”

Iowa (19-5 overall, 10-3 Big Ten) had surrendered 86.7 points per contest in its recent slide, and the first quarter Wednesday was more of the same.

“We’ve really been challenging the intensity and transition defense,” Iowa Coach Jen Jensen said. “People weren’t communicating. There’s a lot of pointing and vocal communication that needs to happen. We’d been pretty silent with that (lately).”

Washington (18-7, 8-6) hit 12 of 17 shots and led 25-19 after one period.

Then, the Hawkeyes buckled down. The Huskies were 2-of-9 — with eight turnovers — in a five-point second quarter, and Iowa took a 36-30 lead into intermission.

  Buy Photo

The Hawkeyes led the rest of the way. UW got within one point on a couple of occasions in the third quarter, but a six-point run — a 3-pointer from Chit-Chat Wright and three points from Ava Heiden — stretched it to 44-37.

Wright made the play of the game at the 9:08 mark of the fourth quarter.

Heiden had just committed her fourth foul, and Washington’s Sayvia Sellers made two free throws to pull the Huskies within 51-47.

Wright drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing while absorbing a foul, then added the free throw for a four-point play and an eight-point lead.

“I wasn’t thinking too much about it. It was a good shot for me to take,” Wright said. “She got in my space and I knew I was going to get fouled and had to knock down that shot.”

Wright, who came to Iowa as a “pass-first” point guard, led all scorers with 21 points. She was 5-of-8 from distance.

“I talked to her Monday,” Jensen said. “I told her that she needed to sacrifice the pass-first mentality. She had to increase her (shooting) volume, increase that rate.

“She looked at me with those eyes and said, ‘I got you, Coach.’”

Stuelke added 14 points and 16 rebounds. Heiden tallied 11 before fouling out late.

Jensen inserted Taylor Stremlow into the starting lineup, replacing Addie Deal. The move worked.

Stremlow made 4-of-6 shots, scored nine points and invigorated the Carver crowd with a block of 6-foot-5 Yulia Grabovskaia. In Stremlow’s 32 minutes of court time, the Hawkeyes were plus-15.

“I was trying to free up some pressure on Addie,” Jensen said. “Who was going to give us that first punch right off the bat?”

Elle Ladine led Washington with 19 points.

The Hawkeyes play at Nebraska at 11 a.m. Monday.

Iowa 65, Washington 56

At Iowa City

WASHINGTON (56): Brynn McGaughy 1-4 0-0 2, Sayvia Sellers 6-11 2-2 14, Hannah Sires 4-7 0-0 9, Avery Howell 3-9 0-0 8, Elle Ladine 9-16 0-0 19, Chloe Briggs 1-3 0-0 2, Yulia Grabovskaia 0-3 0-0 0, Devin Coppinger 1-1 0-0 2, Teagan Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Sienna Harvey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 2-2 56.

IOWA (65): Hannah Stuelke 6-11 2-4 14, Ava Heiden 5-10 1-2 11, Taylor Stremlow 4-6 1-1 9, Kylie Feuerbach 2-4 0-0 5, Chit-Chat Wright 6-13 4-5 21, Addie Deal 2-8 0-0 4, Journey Houston 0-2 0-0 0, Layla Hays 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 25-54 9-14 65.

Washington 25 5 15 11 — 56

Iowa 19 17 13 16 — 65

3-point goals: Washington 4-21 (McGaughy 0-1, Sellers 0-4, Stines 1-2, Howell 2-7, Ladine 1-6, Briggs 0-1), Iowa 6-12 (Feuerbach 1-3, Wright 5-8, Deal 0-1). Team fouls: Washington 17, Iowa 9. Fouled out: Heiden. Rebounds: Washington 35 (Howell 10), Iowa 26 (Stuelke 16). Assists: Washington 10 (Sellers 3), Iowa 12 (Wright 4). Steals: Washington 5 (Stines 3), Iowa 6 (Heiden, Feuerbach 2). Turnovers: Washington 19, Iowa 9.

Attendance: 14,998.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com