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On Thursday night, No. 8 Iowa's undefeated start in Big Ten conference play was ruined by an 81-69 loss to USC. However, coach Jan Jensen already knows an X factor that could help the Hawkeyes get back on the right track.

"It's a known X factor, but we need Hannah," Jensen told CBS Sports in December. "I need her to be a little more consistent on that offensive end and defense. She is a great defender. But for us to do what I'd like to do in that Big Ten run, we need her to be that Hannah of old (days). Especially her younger days, trying to hit those runouts from Caitlin (Clark). I'm hoping she can just relax and enjoy this last part of her senior campaign. I think she is a big X factor, really. Just getting her to relax."

Against USC, Stuelke got two fouls in the first three minutes of the game and scored only two points in the first half. She scored eight more points in the second half, but overall, this was not her best performance. That being said, Stuelke has shown she can rise to the occasion. After all, this is the same player who led Iowa in scoring during the Hawkeyes' Final Four win against UConn in 2024.

"My job as a coach is to just keep pushing buttons," Jensen said. "I love Hannah Stuelke to death. And I will push every button until we can't push it anymore… I know we will find it."

The need for Stuelke to take over is now even more crucial for Iowa. Earlier this week, the team announced that Taylor McCabe is out for the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL. After losing to USC, Jensen talked about how the team struggled without her veteran leadership on the court.

One bad game doesn't mean Iowa won't be a contender in the Big Ten, but how they bounce back from this loss will be important. The Hawkeyes have to regroup quickly because they are staying in Los Angeles to face UCLA on Sunday. The Bruins are ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 and are now the only undefeated team remaining in Big Ten conference play.

Stuelke struggled with consistency at the start of the season and had two games in which she scored under five points. However, she picked up momentum during Iowa's 9-0 start  in conference play, which is the program's best league start since the 1995-96 season.

She was recently named the AP National Player of the Week, United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week. It was all well deserved, as Stuelke led Iowa to consecutive victories over No. 15 Michigan State, No. 15 Maryland and No. 12 Ohio State. In that stretch, she averaged 17.3 points and 11.7 rebounds per game while shooting 55% from the field.

Jensen was happy with those stats, but a few days ago, she shared that one of her proudest moments actually came when Stuelke shot 2 of 11 from the field against Northwestern. While she does want Stuelke to score, Jensen knows success starts with the right mentality.

"I told her after the game, few times I've been as proud of her (as I was that day)," Jensen said. "She willed us in huddles. As frustrated as she was because she shot really poorly, you could just see a senior that really had taken another step and said, 'Everybody, get on!' I think she is doing that with her play. 

"Even if she is not always the most consistent, she's gonna get it back another way and she's forward thinking. She's enjoying the rest of the ride and that's where exactly you need her to be, because that's what's lifting everybody else up."

Here are other recent women's college basketball storylines:

Audi Crooks and Bill Fennelly make history

Iowa State star Audi Crooks reached 2,000 career points during the Cyclones 84-70 win against Texas Tech on Wednesday. That was Crooks' 89th college basketball game, which made her the fastest player to reach the 2,000 mark in Big 12 history. The 6-foot-3 junior center is leading the nation with 26.3 points per game, and she is doing efficiently by shooting 67.6% from the field.

Also noteworthy, the win against Texas Tech was Bill Fennelly's 297th victory in conference play, which officially makes him the winningest coach in Big 12 Conference history. He surpassed now-LSU head coach Kim Mulkey, who set the previous record when she coached Baylor from 2000 to 2021.

Triple overtime madness

We've seen quite a few overtime games recently, but Virginia and Wake Forest took it a step two steps further. On Thursday, they played for two hours and 32 minutes before Virginia walked away with a 109-103 triple overtime victory on the road.

Virginia starting guard Kymora Johnson scored 26 points, while teammates Caitlin Weimar and Gabby White combined for 47 points off the bench. The Demon Deacons didn't get the win, but this was the most points Wake Forest has ever scored in an ACC game. They were led by a career-high 30-point double-double performance from freshman guard Milan Brown.

Tennessee suffers first SEC loss

Mississippi State upset No. 15 Tennessee 77-62 in Knoxville on Thursday night. There are no easy days in the SEC, and the Lady Vols had to be reminded the hard way. According to Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell, her team did not show up ready to compete. 

"I think the prep leading up, people not wanting to play, not listening, having to go back to repeat ourselves and being late to warmups," Caldwell said postgame. "Things like that just were a slap in the face. This was a game I knew we really needed to win. We talked about that. We talked about, 'It's the SEC, you have to show up every single night and play.' And I think their heads got a little bit big. They thought they beat them once and that they were gonna walk in and beat them again, and they put it right to us."

The good news is the Lady Vols will take a break from SEC competition this weekend. The bad news is that their next game is against No. 1 UConn in Hartford on Sunday afternoon.

Game to watch this weekend:

No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Texas, Sunday 2/01 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC

Following a three-game losing streak to Ole Miss, Kentucky and LSU, the Sooners got back on the right track with a statement overtime win against South Carolina. Freshman Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 points for Oklahoma in the extra period, and it will be interesting to see if she can bring that kind of energy against another top opponent.