Fourth Quarter At UConn Showed What Iowa Women's Basketball Can Become

Through the first three quarters of Iowa women's basketball's showdown against No. 2 UConn at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, a similar déjà vu feeling rippled through the bodies of every Hawkeye fan. 

Their team faced the exact same scenario one year ago, when a young Iowa squad was simply outmatched by a UConn team that won its first 38 games of the season before losing in the Final Four. The 11th-ranked Hawkeyes fell by 26, 90-64, to the Huskies that day, and the score was probably worse than that. 

Outside of Iowa's two losses to UCLA in Big Ten action, the UConn loss was probably the Hawkeyes' most embarrassing defeat of that 2025-26 season. It was certainly a learning curve for Iowa that day, but like coaches always say, being a successful team requires a response to adversity. The Hawkeyes definitely responded from that rough night in Brooklyn with emphasis, winning 27 games and earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, a sign that the program was more than capable winning post-Caitlin Clark. 

Flash-forward to today, and the same path sits in front of Jan Jensen's team. No. 10 Iowa suffered a 91-79 loss to No. 2 UConn, but take a look at that final score. While some 12-point losses in basketball can be misleading because of a team tallying garbage time points in the final seconds, there was nothing garbage about how this game ended. 

The Hawkeyes appeared destined for a 20 or 30 point loss after they trailed 72-51 after three quarters, but instead of playing out the string of an already-decided game, Iowa decided it would give the Huskies a run for their money. 

And not only did the Hawkeyes successfully make this an interesting game in the fourth quarter, they had legendary Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma barking at his players to finish the game. 

Chit-Chat Wright suddenly couldn't miss from beyond the arc (she went 3-of-4 in the fourth) and Ava Heiden, who missed most of the first half due to foul trouble, was getting whatever she wanted at the rim. The defense was also superb, forcing four UConn turnovers and keeping the ball away from Huskies star Sarah Strong. Strong had a career-best 39 points in this one, but the Hawkeyes managed to hold her to just six points in the frame. 

By the time anyone could blink, the scoreboard revealed that Iowa was down 10 with just over three minutes to go. UConn nailed a triple on their ensuing possession to swing the game back in its favor and rode out the waning minutes for the victory after that, but the Hawkeyes did outscore the Huskies 28-19 in the period. 

This type of energy circles back to what Jensen said at media availability on Nov. 4. 

Iowa's third-year head coach told the press that while she obviously hoped to win in Storrs, she also wanted to use the experience to learn more about her basketball team. The first three quarters of the contest didn't show much, but the furious fourth quarter rally probably gave Jensen a lot of information.

Do the Hawkeyes have some things to work on? Absolutely, but Iowa showed what it could become in 2027 during the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes have a chance to work out the kinks against Northern Iowa at home on Thursday (7:30 p.m., FS1) before another pivotal non-conference clash against Vanderbilt arrives on Sunday. 

There are no moral victories in sports, but Iowa has to feel a lot better about itself after the impressive fourth quarter. It's only November, after all.