This post was updated Feb. 24 at 12:07 a.m.

With Selection Sunday three weeks away, teams across the country are jockeying for March Madness seeding.

And a 12-point comeback victory may be just what the Bruins needed as the regular season comes to a close.

Inching closer to postseason play, No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball (26-1, 14-1 Big Ten) defeated Iowa (18-9, 8-8) 67-65 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, on Sunday. The back-and-forth match, fueled by a sold-out Iowa crowd, hung in the balance until the game’s final possession.

Junior center Lauren Betts started the scoring for the Bruins. The National Player of the Year candidate was responsible for six of the team’s first eight points. Betts shared the court for most of the first quarter with her former high school teammate, Iowa forward/center Addison O’Grady.

“It was such a cool experience,” Betts said. “As soon as she checked in, I couldn’t help but smile.”

O’Grady led her team with four points through the first quarter, knocking down each of her two shot attempts. But it was guard Lucy Olsen whose buzzer-beating 3-point basket trimmed the Hawkeye deficit to two points heading into the second quarter.

Junior forward Janiah Barker – who sustained a knee injury in UCLA’s win over Illinois on Thursday – suited up Sunday but played for limited time, as she racked up three personal fouls in only seven total minutes.

A 3-point basket by junior guard Londynn Jones gave the Bruins a five-point lead midway through the second quarter. But the Hawkeyes charged back, closing the half on a 16-4 run and taking a 36-29 advantage heading into halftime.

Betts – who surpassed UCLA’s single-season block record with four regular season games remaining – led the match with two first-half rejections. She also added 12 points and two rebounds but committed two fouls, forcing her to head to the bench earlier than anticipated.

And foul trouble for the Bruins was not limited to their leading scorer. Along with Barker and Betts, graduate student forward Angela Dugalić committed two fouls of her own during the game’s first 20 minutes.

Despite being the No. 1 rebounding team in the Big Ten conference, UCLA grabbed five fewer first-half rebounds than Iowa. And to add to their first-half struggles, the Bruins shot 1-for-11 on attempts from beyond the arc compared to the Hawkeyes’ 4-for-11.

“I think Iowa is one of the best box-out teams we have faced all year,” said coach Cori Close. “Right now, we’re too easy to box out.”

It wasn’t long, however, before the No. 3 team in the country responded. With the help of 7 third-quarter points from Betts, the Bruins weathered the Hawkeye storm. UCLA’s 16-4 run tied the game at 50 heading into the final quarter.

The final frame took a call-and-response form, with each team scoring on alternating possessions. Ultimately, the Bruins prevailed behind six final-quarter rebounds from Betts and six points from junior guard Kiki Rice. 

“The arena was getting loud,” said junior guard Gabriela Jaquez. “At the end of the day, we had to stop them, and we got really crucial stops.”

Rice, who knocked down two 3-point baskets in the final quarter, fouled out with 40 seconds remaining in the game – forcing the Bruins to look toward a different closing strike.

With 3.8 seconds left on the clock and the game tied at 65, freshman guard Elina Aarnisalo knocked down consecutive free throws to give her team the lead. And with former teammate Betts’ outstretched arm challenging her shot, O’Grady’s 3-point attempt to win the game for the Hawkeyes came up short.

“I thought we had to earn some toughness tonight,” Close said. “We were down 12, … and from that point on, I thought we won the rebounding battle, the hustle-play battle and the toughness battle.”

Before returning home for a rematch against No. 4 USC, the Bruins head to Madison, Wisconsin, to face Wisconsin on Wednesday. The Big Ten conference has yet to reschedule UCLA’s postponed game against Northwestern.