Iowa Fans Point Blame After Iowa State Defeat

No matter what the final score read, the Iowa Hawkeyes erased a 17 point deficit against Iowa State. That wasn't good enough to get the job done, but head coach Jan Jensen's squad fought until the very end.

Hawkeyes fans weren't happy with the outcome, nor should they be. Their football team lost to Iowa State earlier this year, and now the Cyclones picked up the win in the women's basketball edition of the Cy-Hawk rivalry. The final score was 74-69 as fans in Ames went home happy while Hawkeyes fans had a lot of thinking to do.

Iowa Hawkeyes Fans Begin To Point Fingers

I still think Iowa WBB is the better team. Both teams had a bad shooting from the line. But Jan will have the Iowa WBB well seasoned by tournament time. So Look-Out.
— Frank Sicilian (@sicil36973) December 11, 2025

While there are plenty of things that went wrong for Iowa against their rival, a few in particular stood out. One fan wrote, "Iowa hasn’t been able to make free throws since last year, and nobody says anything about it!!! It’s more than about just shooting more in practice! There’s a problem during the games, and it’s not going away!!!!"

6-12 from the free throw line simply isn't going to cut it, but there were other areas that concerned this fanbase, "I think Stuelke needs a player who understands her momentum, like when CC was still around. Because in this match, she didn't look her best."

It was fine. I think foul trouble really hurt Iowa. And that’s something the Hawkeyes need to avoid moving forward.
— Matthew (@wolfsburgfl) December 11, 2025

"The regression in Hannah Stuelke's offensive game is beyond concerning to me," another wrote. Stuelke ended up fouling out, but she made just five of her 14 field goal attempts and went 0-2 from the free throw line.

Fans continued to speak about Stuelke's performance, "Hannah Stuelke might be the most disappointing and underwhelming potential talent in women’s college basketball.
She should have gotten herself an elbow jumper by now, or at least some 1v1 moves to exploit defenders.
Instead, got 30 scored on her and did nothing on offense."

Refs glazing Audi crooks per usual
— Rashad Godfrey Jr. Truther (@uncensor3dhawks) December 11, 2025

That said, it was the officials who got Hawkeyes fans most upset, "Refs were awful. McCabe got hacked on a game tying 3. It was blatant," as another added, "Ref show at the end of the game was very suspect."

It's easy to point blame at the referees, but Iowa may have a true case in this game, "Iowa battled back 17 points just so the refs could give Iowa state the game." Regardless, the past is in the past and Iowa must move forward with no excuses.

Not the team I know in the third…
— Steven Descalso (@steven_descalso) December 11, 2025

"Hard loss but what grit, determination, and teamwork! This is a loss to grow from. Go Hawks!" this fan wrote. Another gave their positive remarks, "Good fight Hawks! Flush it, learn from it and move on!"

Another comment rolled in, "What a comeback, Hawks. Stay hungry! So much to build on!!" After tasting defeat for the first time, it'll be interesting to see how Iowa response. They're back in action against Lindenwood on December 13 before having a full week off to prepare for No. 1 UConn.

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