Inside The Hawkeyes

Three Takeaways From Iowa's Lopsided Loss to UConn

The Iowa Hawkeyes may have lost by 26 points, but there were still a ton of key takeaways.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Dec 20, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Hannah Stuelke (45) defends the ball from UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong (21) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Pamela Smith-Imagn Images
Dec 20, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Hannah Stuelke (45) defends the ball from UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong (21) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Pamela Smith-Imagn Images | Pamela Smith-Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

Going into the Champions Classic, Iowa Hawkeyes fans weren't sure why they were massive underdogs. For those who haven't watched UConn Huskies play this year, they quickly learned why they are the No. 1 team.

The final score was 90-64 as head coach Jan Jensen knows this is a key game to learn from as B1G play will begin after Christmas. Penn State is the next team to await the Hawkeyes, but they're going to have to face the wrath of a team that just suffered their worst loss of the year.

There's no shame in losing to UConn, it's just a matter of how Iowa rebounds. As long as they take care of business moving forward, this is a game that won't be looked back on poorly.

1. Ava Heiden Was Once Again a Liability

Calling Heiden a liability seems harsh, but this is the exact same thing that happened to her against Iowa State. Jensen had to pull Heiden early as she picked up a few fouls, and she ended up sitting the majority of the second quarter. Against a team like UConn, Iowa knows they can't have their best player on the bench.

Heiden played just 18 minutes which is only two more minutes than she played against ISU. She was held to 4/11 shooting which tremendously brought down the team's percentage. Everyone else hovered around the 50% mark, and once again it was Stuelke who put the team on her back against the Huskies.

2. Hannah Stuelke Cannot Be Denied

For whatever reason, Stuelke always takes over against UConn. That's a great trait to have, and it'll do wonders for Iowa if they see the Huskies again this season. In the end, she may have had four turnovers, but she was 8/11 from the field and led the team with 17 points.

Stuelke couldn't quite replicate her final four success, but she still was a huge contributor to making sure Iowa wasn't embarrassed even further. She played her heart out, and that's all you can ask in a game like this.

3. Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers

26 turnovers is not an exaggeration. That's the number of times the Huskies took control when Iowa was on offense. It's a staggering number of turnovers, and even that is an understatement.

At one point the Huskies had 18 points off turnovers while Iowa had 20 total points. Turnovers decided this game, and it's not even close. It doesn't matter how many more rebounds Iowa had, UConn finished with 17 steals and had 41 points off turnovers. Simply put, that's unacceptable.

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Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.

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