The Huskers simply did not have it on Monday night.

Nebraska women’s basketball fell to Iowa at Pinnacle Bank Arena, 81-66. The Huskers fall to 16-8 on the year and 7-6 in the Big Ten Conference while the Hawkeyes improve to 17-7 overall and 7-6 in the league.

Iowa tore off from the get-go while Nebraska struggled to find anything offensively. The Hawkeyes led 11-2 midway through the quarter, but the Huskers closed on an 11-5 run to trail by just three points heading into the second quarter.

An exchange scoring followed by a 7-0 run for Nebraska had the game tied at 24. But Iowa answered with a 9-0 run and never trailed the rest of the way.

Nebraska did close the gap to just two points early in the third quarter, but the Big Red would go on to shoot just 22% and lose the frame 22-11.

The Huskers shot 45% for the game, including 7-of-17 on 3s. The Hawkeyes shot 47.6% overall, including 12-of-24 from deep.

Nebraska kept the game as close as they did thanks to the free throw line. The Huskers made 23-of-29 free throws while the Hawkeyes made just 9-of-14.

Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen played the role of WNBA rookie of the year Caitlin Clark, carving up Nebraska for a game-high 32 points. Fremont native Taylor McCabe scored 17 points for Iowa, making 5-of-8 3s.

Alberte Rimdal led the Huskers with 20 points.

Nebraska is on the road Thursday to face No. 17 Maryland. Tip from College Park is set for 5:30 p.m. CST on Big Ten Network.

Box score

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