Iowa Exceeded All Expectations Despite Losing B1G Championship Game

While the final score certainly favored one team over another, the Iowa Hawkeyes managed to get to the B1G Championship, which is worth celebrating.

Second year head coach Jan Jensen's squad was bounced in the quarterfinals during her first year. In one year's time, the turnaround was nothing short of incredible.

Coming into the year no one predicted Iowa to finish in the Top 5 of the B1G, so anything more than that is considered a win.

Taking down UCLA in the championship would've been amazing, but this team still has a lot to be excited about heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Iowa Can't Let UCLA Loss Phase Them

Final Score: UCLA 96, Iowa 45
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 8, 2026

Jensen went 23-11 (10-8) in her first season with the team and that record includes both the B1G and NCAA Tournaments. Even after falling to the Bruins, 96-45, Iowa sits at 26-6 (15-3) which is worth celebrating.

Iowa made plenty of mistakes, but they did so against the reigning B1G Player and Coach of the Year. UCLA is no joke and they're going to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for a reason. Now, it's up to Iowa to prove they belong. Jensen's squad was a No. 6 seed last year, so if they do end up getting a No. 2 seed in this year's tournament. that would be a massive leap.

The most impressive part is UCLA is a team full of seniors. There aren't many in-experienced players on that squad while Iowa was putting forward a team of freshman and sophomores. At the end of the day they were simply outplayed and that's okay. The Hawkeyes won their first two games with relative ease, but now they received a wakeup call heading into the tournament.

Key Numbers From B1G Championship

The Bruins go back-to-back 🥇 pic.twitter.com/5Nxc4ZoRlu
— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) March 8, 2026

Taylor Stremlow nailed a three to put Iowa ahead 3-0 in the first quarter but that was the only time Iowa led. UCLA went on a 22-3 run to end the quarter, one that was simply far too much to overcome.

To no surprise, sophomore center Ava Heiden led the way with 15 points. Getting her involved was much easier said than done, but Heiden was again extremely efficient as she was 7-11 from the field. Freshman Addie Deal was the only other Hawkeye in double figures, adding 11 bench points.

Six different Bruins finished with 10+ points and all but one of those were seniors. UCLA shot 63% from the field compared to Iowa's 28%, a staggering low number for this Hawkeyes squad. If that wasn't enough, the Bruins knocked down 13 three-pointers.

UCLA had 34 assists to Iowa's 11 which is another number that puts things into perspective. The Hawkeyes turned the ball over 19 times which has been their main kryptonite against top teams.

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