Hawkeyes Fall to Southern California

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - USC (12-9, 4-6) defeated No. 8 Iowa (18-3, 9-1) inside the Galen Center, 81-69. The Trojans snapped Iowa’s 8-game winning streak in Los Angeles on Thursday night.  

Freshman Journey Houston led the Hawkeyes on the day with a career-high 16 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Sophomore Ava Heiden followed behind with 13 points, going 6-for-11 with eight rebounds and an assist.  

The Hawkeyes came out to a slow start, closing out the first quarter down, 13-28. Houston had four points with two rebounds and an assist. Kylie Feuerbach had three of her own with one rebound.   

Iowa was able to close the gap in the second quarter. Sophomore Taylor Stremlow led the scoring with nine points, going 3-for-5 from behind the arc. The Hawkeyes pulled down a collective 16 rebounds to cut the Trojan lead to five points. 11 bench points at halftime kept Iowa within striking distance. 

Iowa was able to score 10 paint points and cut the Southern Cal lead to three points before they quickly went on an 11-0 run. Senior Hannah Stuelke led with six third quarter points.   

Six different Hawkeyes scored in the fourth quarter. Houston led Iowa with six points in the final quarter. Iowa shot 27-of-67 (40.3 percent) from the field and 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) from deep during the game.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Journey Houston led Iowa with a career-high 16 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.
- It was Houston’s fourth game in double figures.
- Ava Heiden notched 13 points and eight rebounds.
- Heiden has reached double figures in nine straight games and against all 10 Big Ten opponents.
- Chit-Chat Wright registered eight points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.
- Taylor Stremlow added 11 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
- Hannah Stuelke recorded 10 points. 
- Addie Deal made her first career start as a Hawkeye.

TEAM NOTES
- It was Iowa’s third loss in the last 20 Big Ten regular season games.
- Iowa was 8-of-10 from the free throw line. 

UP NEXT
The nationally ranked Hawkeyes will continue their west coast swing to No. 2 UCLA on Sunday, Feb. 1 at 3 p.m. (CT) in Los Angeles. The contest will air nationally on FOX and the Hawkeye Radio Network.