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The Iowa Hawkeyes ended the 2024-25 regular season on a positive note with an 81-66 win over the Wisconsin Badgers on Senior Day.
Before a sold-out crowd at Carver Hawkeye Arena, the Hawkeyes captured their 20th victory in the first year of Jan Jensen’s tenure as head coach. It’s their eighth 20-win season in the last 10 years, as well as their 13th-consecutive win over the Badgers.
After jumping out to a 10-2 start, the Hawkeyes found themselves in an unexpected dogfight against the lowly Badgers, who proceeded to go on a 9-2 run of their own. Wisconsin led 21-20 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, both sides struggled to gain control of the contest, with Iowa scoring the only three points through the first five minutes. But then Hannah Stuelke came alive for the Hawkeyes, scoring or assisting on 13-consecutive possessions to put Iowa up 34-29. The Badgers continued to make inroads, including a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer by Tess Meyers that tied the game at 36.
The first two minutes of the third quarter saw the Hawkeyes get back to where they wanted to be. Three-consecutive 3-pointers by three seniors Sydney Affolter, Kylie Feuerbach, and Lucy Olsen put the Hawkeyes in front 45-36.
That set the tone for a third quarter that saw the Hawkeyes stretch their lead to as many as 11 with Olsen scoring at will. In the fourth quarter, Olsen continued her dominance by scoring the Hawkeyes first six points. From there, the Hawkeyes had victory in their sights, culminating in an Affolter 3-pointer in the final minutes to increase their lead to 75-62, the largest of the game. Iowa also outrebounded Wisconsin 12-2 in the quarter, with Stuelke doing much of the work on the glass.
Then, in the waning moments, Jensen sent out all five seniors—Olsen, Affolter, Feuerbach, Addison O’Grady and AJ Ediger—on the floor.
When all was said and done, Olsen finished with 22 points, three rebounds and three turnovers. Stuelke claimed her ninth-career double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds. Affolter and O’Grady each came away with 10 points, with Affolter dishing out four assists and O’Grady grabbing three rebounds. Feuerbach scored eight points and handed out three assists.
After the end of the game, the five senior players, along with their families, were honored for their accomplishments. Olsen and Affolter spoke to the fans on behalf of the senior class, followed by some words of praise from Jensen.
For a season that began a new era for the program (and with many counting them out from the jump), the Hawkeyes showed themselves to be a unique blend of veterans and freshmen that could compete with the best of them. Sometimes coming out on top, sometimes just a bit short, but never without a fight.
It is those sensibilities that Olsen says defines the makeup of the senior class, sharing postgame:
I think everyone is just so hard working, gritty, they’re never going to give up just thinking about each of them. Each of them brings so much to the team and we wouldn’t be here without everyone’s leadership and just the effort they bring every day. There’s been a lot of hard days that everyone showed up and showing that you never give up, it will turn around and I think everyone’s done a good job at that.
Iowa (20-9, 10-8) is the No. 11 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis (Mar. 5-9). Their tournament begins with a rematch against Wisconsin (13-16, 4-14) on Wednesday, Mar. 5 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
