SEATTLE, Wash. − Tension was escalating for the Iowa women’s basketball team in the final day of its trip to the Pacific Northwest.

Could the Hawkeyes finally put a five-game losing streak to rest? Or would the redeye flight home be filled with more anxiety, more questions?

As one successful flick after another from 3-point range swished through the nets at Alaska Airlines Arena, the smiles returned.

The high-powered scoring returned.

Lucy Olsen’s high-level play returned.

And the losing streak was dead.

The Hawkeyes unleashed a first-half shooting barrage to wipe away five games of frustration and kept it rolling to defeat host Washington, 85-61, in a clinical performance they desperately needed Wednesday night.

“We were sick of losing,” Iowa center Addison O’Grady said. “We wanted to leave here with one win, and we got it done tonight.”

More: Iowa women’s basketball vs. Washington recap: Red-hot Hawkeyes snap losing streak

At one point, the Hawkeyes had made 14 straight shots spanning nearly 15 minutes of game clock from early in the second quarter to midway through the third. It was that kind of night for the visitors, who shot 72% for the game (an efficient 33-for-46).

“On top of it being a win, it was just so good to see everyone play well and everyone play together,” Iowa junior Taylor McCabe said. “Just all of our weapons and pieces finally coming together and showing our stuff. I can’t stop smiling, honestly.”

Fittingly, it was McCabe who delivered Iowa’s first 3-pointer that provided a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Her laser from deep put Iowa in front, 11-9, and the Hawkeyes (down 9-4 early) were just getting started.

Then Olsen connected from 3 (a theme for the night) to aid Iowa’s 26-point first quarter.

Then Affolter, Olsen and McCabe went deep to start the second quarter, boosting Iowa’s lead to 35-14.

Then McCabe. Then Olsen. Then, Teagan Mallegni rattled home her first deep shot for a commanding 48-20 Hawkeyes advantage with 2:30 left in the second quarter. (Remember, Iowa scored just 49 total points at Oregon on Sunday.)

Mallegni had been 0-for-11 from 3 in 2025 until that make.

In other words, everyone was hitting.

Iowa finished the first half a perfect 8-for-8 from 3-point range, and coupled with O’Grady’s smooth interior work, the halftime edge was a commanding 50-26.

The only question from there was how tenuous would Iowa’s lead become?

The answer: Not one bit.

Taylor McCabe: ‘I can’t stop smiling’ after Iowa dominates Washington

The Hawkeyes’ junior guard had 11 points and was a big piece of an offensive clinic in an 85-61 rout of the host Huskies.

Second-half collapses had defined Iowa’s two most recent losses, including Sunday’s 50-49 setback at Oregon to kick off this first long-distance road trip in the new Big Ten.

But the offensive onslaught continued, as another Olsen 3-pointer with 4:49 left in the third quarter pushed Iowa’s accuracy to 9-for-9 from deep and the lead to an incredible 65-34.

Olsen would finish with 20 points, three nights after a forgettable performance in a 50-49 loss at Oregon and her best total as a Hawkeye since scoring 25 vs. Iowa State on Dec. 11. The Villanova transfer went 8-for-8 from the floor and added six assists. O’Grady was a force down low with 17 points, her most ever in a Big Ten game. Kylie Feuerbach (12 points, 6-for-8 shooting) and McCabe (11 points) also finished in double figures.

“We were just trying to be perfect and do everything right, because we were losing,” Olsen said. “And we all want to win. So we’re like, ‘We gotta fix this, we gotta fix that.’ … Tonight, we’re like, ‘Let’s just go out and play and see what happens.’”

Jan Jensen’s postgame relief, thoughts after Iowa trounces Washington

Iowa coach Jan Jensen discusses why the Hawkeyes played well in this matchup, an 85-61 rout of the Huskies.

While it may sound silly to place NCAA Tournament implications on a Jan. 22 game, both teams were trying to collect a potential bubble-tipping victory. According to ESPN’s Charlie Crème, the premier bracketologist on the women’s side, Iowa and Washington entered Wednesday’s contest among the “Last Four In” the 68-team NCAA field.

Iowa, which entered the game at a respectable No. 37 in the NCAA NET rankings (Washington was No. 46), made sure it collected its first Quad 1 win of the season. The Hawkeyes (now 13-7 overall, 3-6 Big Ten) had been 0-5 in such games previously. Washington fell to 13-7, 4-4.

Had Iowa lost, it would’ve encountered its first six-game losing streak since January 1999, when Angie Lee was the head coach and Jan Jensen was still a Drake assistant under Lisa Bluder. Instead, Jensen got to see her team relax and smile again.

“We just kept talking about, ‘The breakthrough is coming.’ And they believed,” Jensen said. “There’s a lot of basketball left to be played. A lot of great opponents. The Big Ten is so tough. But I love how they’ve been showing up. And I’m just so happy they got a win, because they’ve been close and didn’t fall their way. And tonight, it was nice that it fell their way.”

Up next, a nice break after the redeye flight from the Seattle-Tacoma Airport that was scheduled to land in the early-morning hours in Cedar Rapids. The Hawkeyes don’t play again until Tuesday’s 7 p.m. home contest vs. Northwestern. That will allow more time for junior forward Hannah Stuelke, the team’s leading rebounder who missed a second straight game with a concussion, to have a chance to return.

Why Addison O’Grady had a big game in Iowa’s win at Washington

The Iowa senior scored 17 points against the Huskies and described the vanishing pressure off this Hawkeye team.

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Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 30 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 (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.