No. 3 UCLA rallies from 12 down, escapes with a 67-65 win over Iowa

IOWA CITY — It wasn’t the first option.

But, Iowa Coach Jan Jensen said, it wasn’t a bad option.

Addison O’Grady for 3? For the win?

“She has 3-point range,” Jensen said. “That was the last option, because we knew (UCLA’s Lauren) Betts wouldn’t be coming out on her.

“It would have been a good play with a lucky ending.”

Instead, the shot misfired and third-ranked UCLA escaped with a 67-65 Big Ten women’s basketball victory before a crowd of 14,998 Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Bruins (26-1 overall, 14-1 Big Ten) overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit and took the lead on Elina Aarnisalo’s two free throws with 3.8 seconds left.

O’Grady and Betts were teammates at Grandview High School in Aurora, Colo., for three years.

“I love Addi,” Betts said. “When she checked in, I couldn’t help smiling. I’m super proud of her.”

Betts led everyone with 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. O’Grady had a handy 10 for the Hawkeyes (18-9, 8-8).

But a heroic 3-pointer was a bit much to ask; her last trey was more than two years ago.

“It would have been a storybook ending,” Jensen said. “Our first option was Hannah (Stuelke) on a quick drive. Our second was Lucy (Olsen), coming around.”

Olsen paced the Hawkeyes with 17 points, including three free throws that tied the game with 6.8 seconds left.

“I pride myself in that moment,” she said. “I said, ‘All right, if I hit these three, we’ll win the game.’”

Olsen got caught in a screen on the next possession and tripped Aarnisalo, who made the Hawkeyes pay with two from the line.

Iowa had won six straight games, then lost a toughie in overtime to Ohio State on Monday.

This was another one.

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“We’ve been so close the last two games,” Taylor McCabe said. “We know we can play with anybody.”

Jensen said, “I’m tired of collectively coming so close. Man, we battled. But we took too many shots at the wrong time. I can’t fault our effort, but just some bad decisions at the wrong time.”

Iowa led 46-34 when McCabe scored from inside the paint. But UCLA drew even at 50-50 by the end of the third quarter.

“We had a change in toughness, a change in aggression,” Bruins Coach Cori Close said. “After we were down 12, we won the rebounding battle and the toughness battle.”

Outrebounded 23-18 in the first half, UCLA flipped that — and more — with a 25-11 glass advantage after intermission.

Iowa was the national runner-up in 2023 and 2024, and Betts was eager for the Bruins’ trip to Iowa City.

“I’ve been watching (the Hawkeyes) for a long, long time,” she said. “I knew it was going to be a cool environment. A great opportunity for our team to experience this.”

UCLA got up 8-2 (Betts had six quick points), but an 11-0 run pushed the Hawkeyes in front, 31-25, and it was 36-29 at halftime.

Iowa was 3-of-13 from the field in the fourth quarter.

“We thought if we forced them into tough shots, we were going to win the game at the end of the day,” UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez said.

Close called the Hawkeyes “one of the most purposeful teams we’ve faced. They know what they are, and they have a toughness about them.”

Plenty tough, but it wasn’t quite enough.

“We’re going to let it hurt a bit, and we’ll be back at it tomorrow,” McCabe said.

The Hawkeyes play at Michigan at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

UCLA 67, Iowa 65

UCLA (67): Gabriela Jaquez 3-8 2-2 9, Angela Dugalic 4-9 0-1 9, Lauren Betts 9-12 4-7 22, Kiki Rice 3-11 4-4 12, Londynn Jones 2-9 2-2 7, Janiah Barker 0-0 0-0 0, Elina Aarnisalo 2-5 2-3 6, Kendall Dudley 1-2 0-1 2, Timea Gardiner 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 14-20 67.

IOWA (65): Hannah Stuelke 5-11 1-2 11, Taylor McCabe 4-6 0-0 10, Sydney Affolter 1-4 5-6 7, Kylie Feuerbach 2-8 2-2 7, Lucy Olsen 5-21 5-7 17, Aaliyah Guyton 1-2 0-0 3, Addison O’Grady 4-8 2-2 10, Taylor Stremlow 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-60 15-19 65.

UCLA 14 15 21 17 — 67

Iowa 12 24 14 15 — 65

3-point goals: UCLA 5-25 (Jaquez 1-4, Dugalic 1-4, Rice 2-7, Jones 1-6, Aarnisalo 0-3, Gardiner 0-1), Iowa 6-17 (McCabe 2-4, Affolter 0-1, Feuerbach 1-2, Olsen 2-7, Guyton 1-2, O’Grady 0-1). Team fouls: UCLA 21, Iowa 17. Fouled out: Rice. Rebounds: UCLA 43 (Betts 12), Iowa 34 (Affolter 11). Assists: UCLA 15 (Dugalic 6), Iowa 13 (Stremlow 4). Steals: UCLA 4 (four with 1), Iowa 8 (Affolter, Olsen, O’Grady 2). Turnovers: UCLA 14, Iowa 8.

Attendance: 14,998.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com