One Alarming Reason Iowa Lost To UConn

The No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes are now 10-2 as they'll likely fall a few spots in the AP Top 25. There's no shame in losing to the No. 1 team in the nation, but UConn did something to Iowa that no team has done in ages.

The Huskies forced 26 turnovers, which proved to be the difference. Iowa was able to get UConn to turn the ball over nine times, but they only turned that into nine points.

On the other end, UConn had 41 points off turnovers. That's simply unacceptable, and everyone in the organization knows that. Iowa's 90-64 loss still stings, and it will for quite a while.

Dec 20, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Taylor Stremlow (1) dribbles the ball against UConn Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Pamela Smith-Imagn Images | Pamela Smith-Imagn Images

Turnovers Were The Only Thing That Cost Iowa The Game

WBB FINAL: #1 UConn 90, #11 Iowa 64
--UCONN: Fudd 27 pts, Strong 23 pts
--TURNOVERS: Iowa 26, UConn 9
--REBS: Iowa 34, UConn 25
--Stuelke 17 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts
--Wright 16 pts (4-8 3FG), 3 asts
--Stremlow 11 pts (3-5 3FG), 6 TOs
--Heiden 8 pts (4-11 FG), 6 rebs
--McCabe 3 pts
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) December 20, 2025

When looking at the numbers, the only glaring issue was the turnovers. For everything else, Iowa was right in it. They shot 49% compared to UConn's 52%. From 3-point range, they actually had a better percentage than the Huskies.

Iowa out-rebounded UConn by nine, which is a huge difference. They had just three fewer assists and blocks, but it was the steals and turnovers that got the job done.

UConn finished with 17 steals as part of their 26 turnovers. As head coach Jan Jensen said, going into the game, they speed everything up. This Huskies team is no joke, and Iowa learned that the hard way in the Champions Classic.

UConn Led Wire To Wire

Final Score: Iowa 64, UConn 90
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) December 20, 2025

The Huskies led by as many as 31 points as Iowa failed to ever take the lead. Turning the ball over 26 times will do that to a team, and it's not a number Jensen will be forgetting anytime soon. With 41 points off turnovers, just under 50% of the Huskies' scoring came from mistakes Iowa made.

In the end, there was only one Hawkeye who didn't turn the ball over. That was sophomore guard Teagan Mallegni, but it's worth noting she only played two minutes. Even her fellow sophomore guard, Callie Levin, turned it over and she played just four minutes.

Iowa's starting five accounted for 11 turnovers as the likes of Layla Hays and Taylor Stremlow struggled off the bench. It was by far Stremlow's worst game of the season, with six turnovers, something she typically never does. In her last four games combined, she had just seven turnovers.

This game taking place in December benefited everybody. It gave the Huskies another ranked win, but humbled Iowa in a sense that showed them how far they truly are from competing against the best team in the nation. If these teams meet again in March, things could go much, much differently.

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