Iowa tops Wisconsin (again), 81-66; they’ll meet again Wednesday in Indianapolis

IOWA CITY — The Senior Day seniors’ moment came at the start of the second half.

Sydney Affolter, for three. Kylie Feuerbach, for three. Lucy Olsen, for three.

Mired in a halftime deadlock, Iowa got some much-needed separation in that senior-led surge and went on to defeat Wisconsin for the 30th consecutive time, 81-66, in a Big Ten women’s basketball game before a crowd of 14,998 Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“The beginning was a little wonky. At halftime, (Coach Jan Jensen) gave it to us a little bit,” Olsen said.

“Momentum is on our side right now.”

The Hawkeyes (20-9 overall, 10-8 Big Ten) won for the eighth time in their final 10 regular-season games.

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They will be an 11-seed at the Big Ten tournament and face Wisconsin (13-16, 4-14) again in the first round at 7:30 p.m. (CT) Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis.

Six-seed Michigan State awaits in the second round at 8 p.m. (CT) Thursday.

Iowa has won the last three Big Ten tournament titles. This time, it heads in as a long shot, albeit a surging long shot.

“An 11 is what we are. That’s how we’ll approach it,” Jensen said. “We don’t want rear-view mirrors. We just look ahead.”

One of five seniors playing at Carver for the final time (presumably), Olsen led the Hawkeyes with 22 points. Hannah Stuelke added 21 points and 15 rebounds, nine on the offensive end.

“A couple of those were my misses,” Stuelke said. “We really wanted to get a win for the seniors, and that boosted my energy.”

The Badgers played Iowa to a 36-36 standstill in the first half. Two minutes into the third quarter, the Hawkeyes were in control, 45-36, and the margin never ventured under five points again.

For a couple of possessions late in the game, all five seniors — Olsen, Feuerbach, Affolter, Addison O’Grady and A.J. Ediger — were on the court at the same time.

Then, Jensen took them out, one at a time.

Affolter and O’Grady tallied 10 points apiece. Feuerbach registered eight.

Olsen came to Iowa after three years at Villanova, and stands nine points away from 2,000 for her career.

So it’s Iowa-Wisconsin again in three days.

Good thing? Bad thing?

“It’s just a thing,” Jensen said. “You can always find a reason you don’t want to play somebody. I don’t really have a feeling on it.

“Anything can happen in March. We’ve got to be ready. If we’re not ready, we won’t have as much fun.”

Wisconsin’s last victory in the series was Feb. 11, 2007.

Serah Williams posted 18 points and 10 rebounds for Wisconsin. Carter McCray added 17 points and 10 boards.

Iowa 81, Wisconsin 66

At Iowa City

WISCONSIN (66): Serah Williams 6-16 6-6 18, Carter McCray 6-13 5-5 17, Tess Myers 4-9 0-0 12, Ronnie Porter 3-8 2-2 8, Natalie Leuzinger 1-3 0-0 2, Halle Douglass 3-5 0-0 6, Lily Krahn 1-3 0-0 3, Alle Bisballe 0-0 0-0 0, Jovana Spasovski 0-0 0-0 0, Gracie Grzesk 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 13-15 66.

IOWA (81): Hannah Stuelke 7-12 7-7 21, Taylor McCabe 0-5 0-0 0, Sydney Affolter 4-6 0-0 10, Kylie Feuerbach 2-5 2-2 8, Lucy Olsen 9-16 2-2 22, Aaliyah Guyton 1-3 0-0 3, Teagan Mallegni 0-2 1-2 1, Addison O’Grady 5-5 0-0 10, Taylor Stremlow 1-2 0-0 2, Ava Heiden 1-2 2-2 4, A.J. Ediger 0-0 0-0 0, Jada Gyamfi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-58 14-15 81.

Wisconsin 21 15 17 13 — 66

Iowa 20 16 26 19 — 81

3-point goals: Wisconsin 5-15 (Williams 0-1, Myers 4-7, Porter 0-2, Krahn 1-3), Iowa 7-20 (McCabe 0-5, Affolter 2-3, Feuerbach 2-3, Olsen 2-4, Guyton 1-2, Mallegni 0-2, Stremlow 0-1). Team fouls: Wisconsin 16, Iowa 16. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Wisconsin 25 (Williams, McCray 10), Iowa 34 (Stuelke 15). Assists: Wisconsin 14 (Douglass 6), Iowa 19 (Affolter 4). Steals: Wisconsin 5 (Myers 2), Iowa 6 (Stuelke 4). Turnovers: Wisconsin 13, Iowa 11.

Attendance: 14,998.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com