Iowa women's basketball wins the Cancun Challenge with a stunning win over BYU

A day after looking a bit disorganized without its starting point guard, Iowa women’s basketball found itself in the same situation Friday at the Cancun Challenge.

The Hawkeyes’ follow-up efforts were much more forceful.

No. 24 Iowa took control early against BYU, found extra cushion in the third quarter and ultimately secured a 68-48, 2-0 victory at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico. Lucy Olsen was sidelined again with the knee injury she suffered in practice before Thursday’s win over Rhode Island, but Iowa (8-0) clearly had a better handle on correcting it this time.

A 10-3 lead early in the third quarter increased the lead from 25-19 at halftime to a more comfortable lead of 35-22. Thanks to another stifling defensive performance, Iowa’s lead didn’t dip below double digits the rest of the way.

The Hawkeyes contained BYU standout Delaney Gibb, who entered the game with the fifth-highest point total in the country as a freshman. Gibb only scored six points on 1-for-9 shooting, part of BYU’s overall offensive woes, which included a 7-for-23 performance from distance.

After the Cougars (6-2) were shut out, Iowa’s offense found enough strength without Olsen to eliminate the late drama. Hannah Stuelke scored a game-high 16 points on two three-pointers and received double-digit support from Addi O’Grady (12 points) and Aaliyah Guyton (11 points). Three treys from the freshman point guard highlighted an overall productive performance from deep (11 of 23), the most treys Iowa has made since the season opener.

Related Posts

Costco eggs sold under the Kirkland brand are being recalled due to salmonella risk

Sean Payton: It wasn’t pretty, but we did what we had to do

Leave a Reply Cancel reply