Aarnisalo's late free throws give No. 3 UCLA a 67-65 win over Iowa

Feb 23, 2025, 09:32 pm

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- — Elina Aarnisalo made two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining to give No. 3 UCLA a 67-65 comeback win over Iowa on Sunday.

Lauren Betts had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Bruins (26-1, 14-1 Big Ten), who trailed by 12 points twice in the third quarter before rallying.

Iowa tied it at 65 when Lucy Olsen made three free throws with 6 seconds left. Aarnisalo was fouled when she was tripped by Olsen after she had fallen to the court trying to defend.

Iowa had a final shot to tie or win, but Addison O’Grady’s 3-pointer fell short.

Kiki Rice added 12 points for UCLA.

Olsen led Iowa (18-9, 8-8) with 17 points. Hannah Stuelke had 11 points, and O’Grady and Taylor McCabe each had 10.

Takeaways

UCLA: The Bruins survived early foul trouble to Betts — she picked up her second with 4:26 left in the second quarter and sat out the rest of the half. They shot just 5 of 25 on 3-pointers, but the last make came from Rice, whose 3 with 2:19 left gave UCLA a 62-60 lead. The Bruins wouldn't trail again.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes were hoping to knock off another top-5 team at home — they defeated No. 4 USC 76-69 on Feb. 2 — and had their chances late, but couldn’t convert. Olsen led Iowa in scoring, but shot just 5 of 21.

Key moment

UCLA went on a 16-4 run over the final 5½ minutes of the third quarter to tie it at 50. The run was started by a 3 from Angela Dugalic, only the second 3 of the game for the Bruins at that point.

Key stat

UCLA came in leading the nation with a plus-14.2 rebound margin. The Bruins outrebounded Iowa 43-34 for the game, 25-11 in the second half.

Up next

UCLA is at Wisconsin on Wednesday, and Iowa plays at Michigan on Wednesday.

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