Down Lucy Olsen, No. 24 Iowa women's basketball pushes past Rhode Island in Cancun Challenge

Down Lucy Olsen, No. 24 Iowa women’s basketball pushes past Rhode Island in Cancun Challenge

Posted by Admin November 29, 2024 Basketball

Under the tropical sun in paradise wasn’t really the place Iowa women’s basketball planned on finding the season’s first significant adversity. But here the Hawkeyes were, missing their starting point guard for their Cancun Challenge opener.

Down Lucy Olsen with a severe gash on her knee after tripping during practice, the No. 24 Hawkeyes had to navigate through a Rhode Island squad that wasn’t supposed to be this pesky. Iowa, though, rallied for a 69-62 win on Thanksgiving at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico.

The Hawkeyes (7-0) entered as nearly 30-point favorites, but with no Olsen, scoreboard drama lingered deep into the second half. Iowa trailed by one at halftime and was knotted 49-49 after three quarters, before finally pulling away in the final 10.

A 12-0 run to begin the fourth finally generated the necessary separation, with Addi O’Grady dropping eight consecutive points in a three-minute span. Her team-high 18 paired with 13 from Hannah Stuelke and 12 from Kylie Feuerbach to offset Olsen’s absence.

Down a senior starting point guard is bound to cause some turbulence, and Iowa experienced plenty through three quarters. Different lineup combinations were abundant — most notably Taylor Stremlow starting and extra run for Aaliyah Guyton — but Iowa’s defense stayed razor sharp until the offense finally found footing.

Rhode Island (4-4) didn’t crack the fourth-quarter scoring until nearly three minutes remained, as the Hawkeyes flirted with holding another foe under 60 points. While this matchup wasn’t pegged as a obvious adversity generator, Iowa handled the sudden change well.

As for Olsen’s status, Iowa coach Jan Jensen said on the pregame radio show that it’ll be a “game-by-game” situation until she returns. Iowa has one more game in Cancun (Friday against BYU), then a week off before facing Tennessee on Dec. 7 in Brooklyn.

“We were just getting ready for practice and she just kind of tripped, came off the floor and hit a ledge. She had a pretty significant gash on her knee,” Jensen said on the pregame radio show. “We thankfully had some team docs with us and got it taken care of.

“But it’s just a game-by game situation because it was a pretty substantial cut. But nothing season-altering or season-ending. It’s just a pretty tough cut. We just want to be careful with it and be smart because the season is still really young. Lucy is as tough as they come and when she’s ready to roll.”

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.