Sydney Affolter talks about Iowa’s loss to Oklahoma, her career and legacy at Iowa, her relationships with teammates, the physicality of the Sooners, Iowa’s rebounding problems, the play of the freshmen, Year 1 for Jan Jensen, and more.

Sydney Affolter’s career night leads Iowa women’s basketball to 79-66 road victory over Michigan

Affolter posted career-highs with 24 points on nine made field goals and hitting all four of her three-point attempts.

Iowa guard Sydney Affolter attempts to block University of California Los Angeles forward Angela Dugalić’s shot during a women’s basketball game between Iowa and No. 3 University of California Los Angeles at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Feb. 23, 2025. The Bruins defeated the Hawkeyes, 65-67.

Fourth-year guard Sydney Affolter posted career-highs with 24 points on nine made field goals and four threes in Iowa women’s basketball’s 79-66 road victory over Michigan on Wednesday. The Hawkeyes get back in the win column after consecutive losses, and now improve to 19-9 overall and 9-8 in Big Ten play.

Affolter also secured 11 rebounds and two steals for her fourth-straight double-double. Lucy Olsen secured her fourth 20-point game in the past five contests, and Hannah Stuelke came through with 13 points.

Michigan’s Syla Swords finished as the only Wolverine to hit double figures with 22 points along with 10 rebounds on 9-of-20 shooting.

First Half

Iowa got off to a hot start offensively, hitting 10 of its first 16 shots on seven assists to hold the 25-18 first quarter advantage. Affolter led the team with 14 points in the opening period.

Affolter knocked down all four three-point attempts in the opening period, marking a season-high for threes made in a game this season. Her two made layups in the second quarter pushed her to a career-high 18 points by the 4:17 mark, along with three rebounds and two steals in the half.

Olsen put together a 16-point second quarter on 6-of-10 shooting and hit all four shots from deep after going shotless in the first quarter. Olsen and Affolter combined for 34 of Iowa’s 49 points in the first half, while Michigan scored 32 points as a team. Stuelke did her due diligence with eight points and three rebounds.

Michigan guard Syla Swords led her team with 10 first half points, while no other Wolverine scored more than seven. The Iowa defense held it to 40 percent shooting in the half.

Second Half

Stuelke’s second-chance layup and pair of free throws on Iowa’s first two possessions made her the third Hawkeye to reach double-digits in scoring. She finished as the team leader in third quarter points despite going scoreless the rest of the period.

Iowa led by as many as 18 in the third quarter before Michigan’s 17-5 run over 3:30 brought the lead down to as low as six. Five different Wolverines scored during that span as it outscored the Hawkeyes in the frame, 24-15, though it still held a 64-56 lead by the end of it.

A 10-2 Iowa mid-quarter run over 3:17 pushed its lead back up to 16 with just under four minutes remaining. First-year center Ava Heiden produced six second half points — including four timely fourth quarter points — to aid the Hawkeyes’ run. Iowa maintained the lead until the buzzer sounded.

Up Next 

Iowa will hold its last regular season game and senior night against Wisconsin on Sunday, March 2. The Badgers hold a 13-14 overall record and a 4-12 Big Ten record, meaning the Hawkeyes will be favored to take the victory at home.