No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball’s lack of post depth proved to be its downfall in its 91-70 loss at No. 10 Iowa on Jan. 25.
After grabbing just three rebounds in the first quarter, the Buckeyes finished the game outrebounded 48-30 by the Hawkeyes.
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Ohio State forward Kylee Kitts was unavailable for the second consecutive game, as she is day-to-day with a shoulder injury she sustained against TCU on Jan. 19.
“Today was very difficult,” Ohio State center Elsa Lemmila said. “[Without Kitts] It’s harder for our guards because I do the same thing, I guard their five, but now we’re going to have a smaller guard covering a bigger forward.”
More: OSU’s Elsa Lemmila continues finding confidence following 2 surgeries
Guard Ava Watson, who replaced Kitts in the starting lineup, got the Buckeyes’ offense going by hitting back-to-back jumpers to give Ohio State a 5-2 lead.
Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke (45) shoots the basketball against Ohio State guard Jaloni Cambridge (22) Jan. 25, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
While Ohio State started strong, building a six-point advantage in the opening 90 seconds, the absence of Kitts’ height quickly became a detriment.
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Kitts leads Ohio State in rebounds with 7.1 per game. Without Kitts, Lemmila entered the game as the only Buckeye averaging six or more rebounds and the only starter standing over 6 feet.
“Iowa just played way better than we did,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. “They executed at a high level, they were gritty and we didn’t have it. … You’ve got to give them credit, and having Kylee would have been great, but I still don’t know if it would have been enough.”
Lemmila was unable to make an impact against Iowa, recording 6 points and four rebounds.
Iowa center Hannah Stuelke put together her sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and a game-leading 15 rebounds.
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Stuelke capitalized on the multiple occasions she matched up against Ohio State’s guards, scoring a majority of her points in the paint. During the Hawkeyes’ 20-6 run to close out the first quarter, Stuelke scored 10 points.
The Hawkeyes expanded on their 10-point lead by going 5 for 10 from beyond the 3-point line in the second quarter and led at halftime 48-32.
“We switched to zone, and it took them out of their rhythm for a little while, and then they kind of settled in,” McGuff said. “We probably stayed in it a little too long, and we weren’t rotating to the corners. If you look at it, they had at least three 3s against the zone, and they were all out of the corners.”
Iowa center Ava Heiden (5) and Iowa guard Kylie Feuerbach (4) defend a shot attempt by Ohio State guard Jaloni Cambridge (22) Jan. 25, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
The Buckeyes shot 34.2% from the field in the first half, with Watson and guard Chance Gray combining for 21 of their 32 points.
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Point guard and team-leading scorer Jaloni Cambridge was quiet until the second half but still finished with a game-high 26 points.
Ohio State returns to The Schottenstein Center on Jan. 29 for the first of a two-game home stretch against Wisconsin. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball fall to No. 10 Iowa on the road
