Lucy Olsen scored 28 points and Addison O’Gradyhad 13 as Iowa topped No. 4 USC on Sunday, 76-69, snapping the Trojans’ 15-game winning streak.
The win came on a day when Iowa retired Caitlin Clark‘s jersey number 22 in a postgame ceremony, and the Hawkeyes delivered a win to add to the honor.
Iowa (15-7, 5-6 Big Ten) opened the game with an 18-1 run, fought off a 17-1 response by the Trojans in the second quarter, then matched USC the rest of the way.
The Trojans’ biggest lead was 47-41 in the third quarter, and they were up 50-45 with 2:09 left in the period before the Hawkeyes scored six consecutive points, capped by Olsen’s jumper right before the buzzer.
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Olsen and O’Grady took control of the game in the second half. They had 23 of Iowa’s 25 fourth-quarter points to secure the win.
Sydney Affolter had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Hannah Stuelke added 10 points for the Hawkeyes.
JuJu Watkins led USC (19-2, 9-1) with 27 points. Kiki Iriafen had 13 points, and Kennedy Smith had 11.
Lucy Olsen finishes tough and-1 layup, helping Iowa defeat No. 4 USC
USC: The Trojans were staggered by Iowa’s early start, yet had a second-quarter response. Watkins got her points, but was 8 of 22 from the field and 1 of 7 in 3-pointers.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes were at their best to start the game, feeding off the emotion of a sellout crowd of 14,998. With Clark in attendance, the game felt like some of her best moments over the last couple of seasons.
USC had gotten to within 63-60 with five minutes to play, but O’Grady and Olsen answered with three consecutive field goals to put the Hawkeyes in command. Olsen later converted on a 3-point play — O’Grady had the assist on her layup — and Iowa had a 72-62 lead.
USC missed 20 of its first 22 shots. Watkins had the Trojans’ lone field goal in the first quarter.
Caitlin Clark joins USC vs. Iowa broadcast about being TIME Athlete of the Year, Super Bowl, & more
[Read more: Caitlin Clark, Fever will play exhibition game against Brazil’s national team at Iowa]
Clark, who spent four years with the Hawkeyes, became the all-time leading men’s or women’s scorer in NCAA Division I history, was a two-time Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year (2023, 2024), three-time Big Ten Player of the Year (2022–2024), three-time Big Ten tournament MOP (2022–2024) and a First-team All-Big Ten (2021–2024).
Clark finished her career at Iowa averaging 28.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.5 steals in 139 games (all starts). She’s the only player since 2003 to have 40 points and 10 assists in an NCAA Women’s Tournament game, and she did it twice with Iowa. Clark’s 3,951 points and 548 3-pointers all-time are both women’s NCAA D-I records.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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