Iowa's Lucy Olsen Shares Referee Explanation for Controversial Call in Loss to UCLA
On Sunday, the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team nearly pulled off another massive upset against a top-ranked Los Angeles team just three weeks after defeating the USC Trojans on their home court.
Alas, they ultimately came up agonizingly short against the No. 3 ranked UCLA Bruins on Sunday, losing 67-65 to them after taking a seven-point lead into halftime.
But this result did not come without controversy. UCLA had the ball with the game tied at 65 and a few seconds left in regulation. Bruins guard Elina Aarnisalo was dribbling along the wing to the left while being guarded by Hawkeyes star Lucy Olsen. Olsen appeared to have tripped on the foot of UCLA post player Angela Dugalić while defending Aarnisalo, causing both guards to fall to the ground in a heap.
Despite what seemed like a clear trip, a blocking foul was called on Olsen, Aarnisalo made both free throws, and that was essentially all she wrote for Iowa.
The “blocking foul” on Lucy Olsen pic.twitter.com/SftJlSsNQG
— Ethan Petrik (@ethan_petrik) February 23, 2025
Many seem to believe that Olsen should have not been called for a foul, considering how she was tripped.
Olsen spoke with the media after the game, And when asked about her vantage point of the call, Olsen said, "I just got caught on the screen accidentally. Like, I got hit on a screen. Someone bumped me and I couldn't really do anything about that, and I just fell. And then they called a foul from me falling," per an X post from David Eickholt.
"I don't know. I guess I was not in legal guarding position, is what [the referees] said," Olsen added. "So I guess it makes sense. It's just frustrating... but that's all a part of it. So you've got to learn from it."
Lucy Olsen on her game-changing foul call with three seconds left: They told me I wasn’t in legal guarding position.
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) February 23, 2025
Her full answer here: pic.twitter.com/PcXjl0dfxe
This will certainly be a tough pill for Olsen and all of the Hawkeyes fanbase to swallow.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.