Let’s get the obvious out of the way at the start: officiating impacted the result of Nebraska’s 93-83 loss at Iowa Sunday.
The Huskers (13-4, 2-4 Big Ten) were called for 21 more fouls (28-7) and shot 26 less free throws (34-8). Four of Iowa’s fouls came in the final quarter, which saw five of Nebraska’s free throw attempts.
Iowa (10-4, 4-1 Big Ten) was not called for a defensive foul for the first 25 minutes of the game.
The Hawkeyes utilized 31 made free throws to steal a 10 point win.
Nebraska started the game on fire, using a 15-1 run to take a 30-14 lead after the first quarter. Alexis Markowski scored 16 of her team-high 27 points in the first frame.
But Iowa pulled to within one by halftime, adding 12 more points at the free throw line and scoring seven points off of Nebraska’s four turnovers in the quarter.
The lead flipped in the third quarter, with Iowa leading 67-66 going into the final frame. A 5-0 Hawkeye run to start the fourth quarter was enough for Iowa to pull away and hold on for the win.
After shooting better than 60 percent a week ago in Lincoln, Iowa shot 49.2 percent Sunday. That includes 4-of-11 shooting from 3, much lower than the 11 triples made in the first meeting.
Catilin Clark totaled a triple-double, scoring a game-high 31 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. She was also 12-for-12 at the line.
As part of a career-high 27 points, Markowski made 6-of-7 3s. Coming into the game, she was 4-for-7 from deep on the season.
Issie Bourne was the only other Husker to reach double figures, scoring 15 points.
Nebraska saw Bella Cravens play for the first time this month, though she was only on the court for two minutes. The Huskers were also without the services of starters Sam Haiby (shoulder) and Jaz Shelley (illness).
Having lost four of the last five games, the Huskers return home Thursday to host Rutgers (7-12, 0-7 Big Ten).