Addison O’Grady scored 18 points, and Hannah Stuelke added 13 as No. 22 Iowa defeated Rhode Island 69-62 on Thursday night in the Cancun Challenge.
O’Grady has been in double figures in six games this season, a notable improvement after having only two double-digit performances in the previous two seasons. She was 8 of 9 from the field, helping Iowa shoot 52% overall.
Iowa played without its leading scorer, Lucy Olsen, who is sidelined with a deep cut on her knee from an incident at practice. Olsen has been averaging 17.3 points per game.
This win marks Iowa’s best start since the 2017-18 season, when they began 7-0 under head coach Lisa Bluder. Jan Jensen, who became Iowa’s fifth head coach in program history on May 13, 2024, is now the second coach to start a season 7-0, following Angie Lee’s 1995-96 team.
Kylie Feuerbach contributed 12 points for Iowa in the win.
For Rhode Island (4-3), Harsimran Kaur scored 21 points, and Ines Debroise, one of five French players on the team, added 12 points.
Iowa will play BYU on Friday, while Rhode Island will face Idaho State.