Iowa
Iowa can use flat Big Ten final to get sharper for NCAAs | Leistikow
INDIANAPOLIS — An overachieving body of work over 31 games left the Iowa women with an ideal situation for 2 hours of championship-game basketball opportunity at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Go play free against second-ranked and top-seeded UCLA in the finals of the Big Ten Tournament, and see what happens.
What happened wasn’t pretty. The Hawkeyes, in a polar-opposite performance from their first two games in downtown Indianapolis, stumbled out of the gates and played poor defense and lost decisively, 96-45, before another pro-Iowa crowd.
The 51-point margin tied for the fourth-most lopsided margin of defeat in program history and largest since the pre-NCAA era of women’s basketball, in 1976. The previous biggest loss of the 26-year Lisa Bluder/Jan Jensen era was 43 points, a 103-60 loss against Kansas State in the 2002-03 season.
So yeah, this one was tough to take. It was a disappointing ending and a realization that UCLA is much, much better than Iowa right now.
“A good win for them, a lot to learn for us,” Iowa sophomore guard Taylor Stremlow said. “We’re ready for this postseason.”
The postgame vibe in the Iowa locker room was that this was still a successful tournament for Iowa, and it was. The Hawkeyes (26-6) have taken a major step forward in Year 2 under Jensen, not only reaching the Big Ten semifinals (which it fell one point shy of a year ago) but making it to the CBS-televised championship game.
Whether the final margin was one point or 51 points, the game vs. UCLA needed to serve as a learning experience to prepare for what the Hawkeyes hope is to come, three weekends from now in either the Fort Worth or Sacramento regional.
One of the “why-not” things Iowa tried against UCLA was a zone defense, which it practices often but rarely uses, to try to slow down 6-foot-7 Big Ten player of the year Lauren Betts. If Iowa is going to advance through the NCAA Tournament, it’ll undoubtedly come up against a team with more size — maybe Oklahoma in the Sweet 16, perhaps South Carolina in the Elite Eight.
In 2025-26, Iowa matches up better with opponents that feature guards, with Chit-Chat Wright and Kylie Feuerbach as elite defenders. The goal with playing zone against UCLA was to hope the Bruins were cold from deep … and that was certainly not the case.
UCLA knocked down 6-of-11 3-point attempts in the decisive first half and 13-of-26 for the game (50%).
“With it being three back-to-back games, I think it was a good way to rest a little bit defensively, but also kind of give them something new … try to throw them off a little bit,” Feuerbach said. “Once again, they were hitting everything against the zone as well. Tough day.”
UCLA led, 42-20, at the break even though Betts had four points on 2-of-5 shooting. UCLA never cooled off, shooting 63.5% for the game. It rattled off 13 points in the first 2:09 of the second half to grow the advantage to 55-23, triggering Jensen to use the third of her four timeouts.
Things never got better for the Hawkeyes, who shot 27.9% from the floor. To show how tough a day it was, they were only 12-for-38 on 2-point shots … the team’s bread and butter typically with Ava Heiden (who led Iowa with 15 points and made the all-tournament team, along with Hannah Stuelke) in the middle.
Iowa’s Ava Heiden looks forward to playing at home in NCAA Tournament
The sophomore center talked about reasons for the 96-45 loss to UCLA in the Big Ten championship game.
“Now we’ve been there, we’ve done that,” Heiden said. “We have the knowledge of how to play in these high-emotional games with the turnaround time. That’ll help us in the NCAA Tournament.”
If you think about it, this Big Ten Tournament progression provided the perfect NCAA prep. Iowa’s 64-58 win over Illinois in the quarterfinals felt like a quintessential round-of-32 matchup, considering Shauna Green’s Illini are projected as a No. 7 NCAA seed.
Then came the toss-up type of game that Iowa could see, if it gets to the Sweet 16, against seventh-ranked Michigan. The Hawkeyes’ forceful 59-42 victory demonstrated they have the capability to put away a No. 3 seed if they bring their best defense to the Sweet 16.
And then … the Elite Eight-type challenge that the Hawkeyes, if they can somehow keep this magical season going, would need to conquer. UCLA will be a definitive No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament when the brackets come out March 15. The other No. 1s will likely be UConn (which beat Iowa, 90-64), Texas (the only team that beat 31-1 UCLA) and South Carolina (which needs no re-introduction to Iowa fans).
For now, the gap looks large between Iowa and any No. 1 seed. But the Hawkeyes realistically shouldn’t have Final Four expectations with an eight-player rotation Sunday that included three freshmen and three sophomores.
“We learned how resilient we can be. It’s hard on the body and the mind, this tournament, especially for young girls,” Stremlow said. “I still consider myself to be learning a lot. … Just getting this experience is really good for our team.”
This team has earned the No. 2 seed it will receive on March 15 from the NCAA selection committee. One blowout loss to an elite team will not change that.
The Hawkeyes’ next step is to make the Sweet 16 in Jensen’s second year after getting blown out by Oklahoma in the round-of-32 in a game that looked a lot like this one. We know from even the Caitlin Clark years that getting out of Iowa City won’t be a piece of cake (first two rounds will be at Carver-Hawkeye Arena). If the Hawkeyes can do that, they’ve shown enough this week to think they’ll have a realistic chance of reaching an Elite Eight.
“Just being in the final after people didn’t think we’d be in the top five at the beginning of the season, I think just proves a lot of people wrong,” Stuelke said. “We should take pride in that and how hard we’ve been working and try to make a deep run in the NCAA.”
Iowa’s Taylor Stremlow says UCLA loss will be a learning experience
Taylor Stremlow finished with six points in the Hawkeyes’ 96-45 loss to the Bruins in the Big Ten championship game.
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 31 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.
As we work through the month of June, things are starting to heat up on the diamond around Iowa high school baseball.
With the start of postseason play just around the corner in July, teams are working to get prepared for the stretch run.
High School On SI Iowa has a Top 25 state power ranking while the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association releases weekly class-by-class rankings.
Here are leaders as of June 17, 2026 for several major hitting and pitching categories. Stats are from those uploaded to the Bound website.
Iowa High School Baseball Leaders
Home Runs
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 9
- Colton Roemmich, West Des Moines Valley, 9
- Brandon Bea, Davenport North, 8
- Kamden Jorgensen, Saydel, 8
- Gabe Blanshan, Urbandale, 7
Running Batted In
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 38
- West Cole, Mason City Newman Catholic, 37
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 36
- Chance Georgius, Roland-Story, 34
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 34
Stolen Bases
- Aiden Ferry, Roland-Story, 38
- Tate Garman, Algona, 33
- Titan Foster, Nodaway Valley, 32
- Tate Moulton, Grand View Christian, 30
- Cael Wishman, Baxter, 29
Runs Scored
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 45
- Aiden Frey, Roland-Story, 43
- Cal Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 41
- Kolton Schiltz, Fort Dodge, 40
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39
Hits
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 38
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 36
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 35
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 34
Doubles
- Joe Nilles, Sioux City North, 13
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 13
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 12
- Brett Harris, Western Dubuque, 12
- Brooks Bond, Lewis Central, 11
Triples
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 7
- Will Nesler, Ankeny Centennial, 5
- Jacob Pierro, Dubuque Wahlert Catholic, 5
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 5
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 4
Total Bases
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 68
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 68
- Bryce Pauly, Davenport North, 67
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 65
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 62
Pitching Wins
- Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 9
- Chase White, Dyersville Beckman Catholic, 7
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 7
- Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 6
- Aidan Nielsen, Don Bosco, 6
Earned Run Average (min. 18 innings pitched)
- Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 0.00
- Luke Vestal, Pleasantville, 0.00
- Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, 0.24
- Will Litton, Iowa City Regina Catholic, 0.25
- Judd Jirovsky, Grundy Center, 0.26
Strikeouts
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 85
- Brody Wangsness, North Butler, 75
- Lincoln Roethler, Denver, 71
- Owen Klocksiem, Louisa-Muscatine, 67
- Cooper Chizek, Emmetsburg, 65
Opponents Batting Average Against (min. 18 innings pitched)
- Macklin Loftus, Logan-Magnolia, .017
- Jack Wedemeier, Waverly-Shell Rock, .065
- Teagan Brunk, Shenandoah, .069
- Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, .072
- Bronx Siebersma, MVAOCOU, .075
Saves
- Beckham Simon, West Liberty, 4
- Deacon Kucera, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 4
- Graham Rima, Pleasant Valley, 4
- Gavin de Jesus, Waukee, 4
- Easton Goodwin, Waterloo Columbus Catholic, 3
Innings Pitched
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 43
- Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 38.2
- Owen Galvin, Denison-Schleswig, 38
- Tallon Crandall, Carroll, 37.1
- Austin Remster, Melcher-Dallas, 37.1
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How much rain does Des Moines get? See the 5 wettest days on record
Wondering how the rainfall total compares? Here are the five wettest days on record for Des Moines, Iowa.
Drought conditions in Iowa improved for a second consecutive week, though areas of moderate drought expanded in parts of the state.
The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday. What are the current drought conditions in Iowa?
U.S. Drought Monitor map: How much of Iowa is in a drought?
The latest Drought Monitor report, released on Thursday, June 18, showed about 46% of Iowa experiencing some form of drought. This continues the streak of conditions improving week to week in Iowa. The previous report, released on June 11, showed that 63% of the state was experiencing some form of drought.
The most recent report reflects conditions as of 8 a.m. June 16, right as storms were sweeping through Iowa, with parts of eastern Iowa seeing more than 2 inches of rainfall. Light rainfall on June 17 led to areas like Iowa City and Burlington reporting around an inch of rain.
Here is the breakdown of current drought conditions in Iowa:
- 61% of the state of Iowa is experiencing no drought conditions
- 39% of Iowa is experiencing abnormally dry conditions
- 7% of Iowa is experiencing moderate drought conditions
- 0% of Iowa is experiencing severe drought conditions
Even though drought conditions have improved overall in Iowa, the area experiencing moderate drought increased from the week of June 11, particularly in northern Iowa. Much of Cerro Gordo, Hancock and Kossuth counties are under D1 conditions, with nearby Palo Alto, Winnebago, Floyd and Mitchell also in moderate drought.
Pockets of moderate drought also persist along the northwest edge of Iowa in Lyon, Sioux and Plymouth counties. In eastern Iowa, Jackson, Clinton and Scott counties saw their moderate drought status ease week to week.
Most of the U.S. is facing drought conditions
About 73% of the U.S. is experiencing some level of drought, a 2-percentage-point improvement from the prior week. Some of the most intense drought conditions are in the southeast and the mountain west.
Iowa Drought Monitor tracks conditions weekly
The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday.
The intensity levels range from abnormally dry, or D0, to exceptional drought, or D4.
Typically with D0 conditions, corn can show drought stress. Pond levels start to decline under moderate drought conditions and soybeans abort pods, according to the Drought Monitor. The Drought Monitor also has a look-back chart that compares drought conditions from 3 months ago up to 1 year ago.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
Confirmed tornadoes were reported in Illinois and Iowa Wednesday night as severe weather descended on a large swath of the Midwest.
According to the National Weather Service, a confirmed tornado was reported near the small northeast Iowa community of Harpers Ferry at 5:10 p.m., while a second confirmed tornado rolled through Charleston in central Illinois at about 6:40 p.m. local time.
Both tornadoes were flagged by the weather service as a “particularly dangerous situation,” a rare designation used by the weather service for environments in which “strong and violent tornadoes” are possible.
Photos and videos obtained by CBS News showed extensive damage in Charleston, with downed trees and power lines. Hail that measured 2.75 inches was also reported in the Charleston area, according to the weather service.
“There are a large number of trees blocking roadways throughout Charleston at this time,” Charleston police said in a Facebook post. “Unless it is an absolute emergency, do not drive or attempt to go anywhere.”
The city of Charleston later declared a local state of emergency.
One cell phone video captured the terrifying moments what appeared to be a large tornado tore through Effingham, Illinois, located about 40 miles southwest of Charleston.
Larry Thies, coordinator for the Effingham Emergency Management Agency, told CBS News that initial information indicated damaged buildings, trailers, and downed power lines and trees. He said officials were working to set up an emergency operations center, but were facing challenges because internet was down in the area.
The extent of the damage to region was still unclear. There was no immediate word of injuries or fatalities. CBS News senior meteorologist Rob Marciano said there were at least seven reported tornadoes during the weather event.
According to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, at least 55,000 customers were without power in Illinois.
Earlier Wednesday, Marciano reported that more than 125 million Americans were facing severe weather advisories, including the Gulf Coast states, which were under flood alerts due to Tropical Storm Arthur. Speaking on “CBS Evening News,” Marciano said such ripe tornado conditions were rare for June.
“This is unique for June, this is unusual to have such a strong jet stream just screaming across the country, then you’ve got the summertime tropical moisture coming in…and then some cold air coming in,” Marciano said. “And winds coming at different direction, at different levels, creating that spin. So what that equates to is really the high probability of seeing, not just tornadoes, but intense tornadoes of EF2 strength or higher on the ground for a long time. And also damaging winds at 75 mph or higher, and of course big time hail.”
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