Riding a five-game winning streak heading into Thursday night's matchup, Iowa women's basketball (18-7, 8-6) won 55-43 against Rutgers (10-15, 2-12 Big Ten) from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball wasn't its sharpest against Rutgers, but a stifling defensive effort and Lucy Olsen unlocked a winning route.

The Hawkeyes picked up their sixth win in a row against Rutgers. Takeaways as Iowa women's basketball stays hot at the right time of the year.

There’s not much pretty about it (except for Lucy Olsen’s 27 points), but Iowa handles Rutgers 55-43 for its sixth straight win.

With Wednesday night's win over Rutgers serving as Iowa's first Quad 1 victory of the season, the Hawkeyes have vaulted themselves from No. 70 to No. 62 in the latest KenPom rankings and from No. 67 to No. 60 in the NCAA NET rankings.

Playing on the road without Drew Thelwell and Owen Freeman in a season that has been going down the drain, the Hawkeyes showed perseverance. It was a team effort as Iowa outscored Rutgers by 20 in the second half to earn the victory.

Freshmen Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey and the Scarlet Knights play iowa, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, N.J. The Hawkeyes won, 84-73.

For years, the Iowa women’s basketball team has been known for their offensive firepower. The Hawkeyes still have the ability to light it up at times, but head coach Jan Jensen has structured this squad around defense after Caitlin Clark’s departure.

TIME: 6:30pm CT TV: BTN+ – Announcers TBA SERIES: 17th Meeting – Iowa leads the series 13-3 – Hawkeyes are 12-1 since Rutgers joined the conference BY THE NUMBERS OFFENSE: IOWA: 75.2 PPG, 46.6% FG, 33.