Hawkeyes hold off Rhode Island | basketball

BOX score

Short-handed Iowa battled upset-minded Rhode Island 69-62 in the Cancun Challenge on Thanksgiving Day. According to the team, starting player Lucy Olsen was sidelined with a knee injury.

The 22nd-ranked Hawkeyes improved to 7-0 under first-year head coach Jan Jensen. Rhode Island fell to 4-4.

BYU is next in line for Iowa in Mexico. They tip off Friday at 8:00 p.m. CT. You must purchase a Flo Sports subscription to watch the game.

Addi O’Grady led the Hawkeyes with 18 points against Rhode Island. The breakout senior added five rebounds and three blocks. Hannah Stuelke contributed 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. She also caused seven fouls on the Rams.

It made sense for Iowa to compensate for the absence of its star guard by defending advantages in paint points and rebounds. Sydney Affolter took care of business in this area, tearing down nine game-high boards.

Freshman Taylor Stremlow started in place of Olsen, who leads the team in points and assists. Stremlow missed the only shot she scored in the 25 minutes played. She handed out four assists but turned it over six times.

Aaliyah Guyton, a freshman, played 14 minutes in her second game back after knee surgery in January. The point guard scored seven points and had two assists with three turnovers.

Stremlow and Guyton could be used for more minutes if Olsen is out Friday. The school said the senior struggles with her injury daily.

The Hawkeyes led by one point at halftime on Thursday. They needed threes from Guyton and Taylor McCabe late in the third quarter to tie the score at 49-49 heading into the final period.

From there, Iowa went defensive against the Rams and their post players went to work on the other end of the court. A 12-0 run in the first five minutes of the third quarter came on points from O’Grady (8), Stuelke (2) and freshman Ava Heiden (2).

Rhode Island got within six points of the lead in the final minute, but the Hawkeyes sank their free throws to seal the hard-fought victory. Kylie Feuerbach (12 points) knocked down two of them with :21 on the clock to seal the deal.

GAME NOTES (from hawkeyesports.com)

– The Hawkeyes are 7-0 early in Jensen’s tenure. She joins Angie Lee (1995-96) as the only coaches in program history to begin her career by winning her first seven games.

– The last time Iowa started 7-0 or better was 2017-18, when Lisa Bluder’s Hawkeyes started the season 7-0.

— Iowa’s 7-0 start tied for the fourth-best start in program history.

– This is Iowa’s fifth appearance at the Cancun Challenge. (2007, 2010, 2013, 2016)

– The Hawkeyes are 9-1 all-time in Cancun.

– Hannah Stuelke scored in double figures in her 43rd career game, which was the fifth-most in program history since 2020.

– Addi O’Grady scored more than 10 points for the sixth time this season.

– The Hawkeyes have won 116 games since 2020-21, which is the fourth-best team in the country.

– There were eight draws and ten lead changes in Thursday’s game.