The Hawkeyes had few answers for UCLA's bigs and struggled to take care of the basketball.
After a disappointing loss to USC on Thursday, No. 8 Iowa women's basketball was faced with the daunting task of taking down the red-hot and second-ranked UCLA Bruins.
The Hawkeyes stayed close for a half, but the Bruins did what they've done to just about every team on their schedule this year - pulverize them. Iowa came into Pauley Pavilion as an 18.5-point underdog, and it left with a 23-point loss (88-65) on Sunday.
Here are three observations from the Hawkeyes' loss:
UCLA's length overpowers Iowa
The main headline coming into this game was the battle of the post players - Hannah Stuelke and Ava Heiden for Iowa, and Lauren Betts for UCLA. Though the 6-foot-4 Heiden showed little fear going at the 6-foot-7 Betts, it was ultimately Betts and Co. who controlled this game throughout.
Betts recorded just six points in the first half, but the entire Bruin team looked like Betts in the half. UCLA's entire offensive game plan was to go through the paint, and the Hawkeyes had no answers for it. Iowa fans were surprised to see their team not doubling-up Betts and the other Bruin bigs, but the Hawkeyes didn't really have a choice because of UCLA's three-point shooting ability (they came in shooting nearly 40 percent from deep).
The Bruins were indeed efficient from the outside, making 6 of their 12 attempts from deep, but this game was so lopsided because of the discrepancy in the paint. UCLA recorded 56 points in the paint, resulting in an uncharacteristic night for the normally-stout Iowa defense.
The Hawkeyes came into the game boasting one of the Big Ten's best defenses, but the 88 points they allowed today was the second-most Iowa has yielded this season.
Not only did the Bruins cause problems for Iowa defensively, their length forced the Hawkeyes to commit 19 turnovers, which made a comeback impossible.
Heiden bounces back
UCLA's relentless work down low held Heiden scoreless in the first half, but the sophomore standout wouldn't be deterred in the second. The center was easily Iowa's best player on Sunday, as she finished with a team-high 19 points on 7/12 shooting.
The Hawkeyes' poor defense eventually made Heiden's efforts all for naught, but she helped spark a brief Iowa run that cut the Bruin lead to 13 with five minutes left.
West Coast blues
Winning games on the West Coast has been a problem for just about every Hawkeye team since Big Ten expansion. The football team blew an 11-point halftime lead and lost to USC, and the men's basketball team had a disastrous trip last season that ultimately was the beginning of the end to the Fran McCaffery era.
Jan Jensen's Hawkeyes came to California on a roll with three consecutive wins over top-15 teams, but experienced a harsh reality check in Los Angeles this week. Iowa went from the top of the conference to third place in a matter of days, but in no way is this season over.
The Hawkeyes have four tricky, but very winnable games ahead - Minnesota (home), Washington (home), Nebraska (away), and Purdue (away). No game is a gimme in the Big Ten, but Iowa has shown it can beat anyone at any time.
Don't let two rough games on the West Coast dictate that.
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