Jolene Anderson sat with a rather blank look on her face.

Janese Banks buried her face in her right hand.

Highlights of their careers played over the Kohl Center video board, making for an awkward backdrop as the two contemplated what had just transpired on the court.

Need any more clues as to how Senior Day went Sunday afternoon for the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team?

Rather than capping a crucial win for the Badgers, the video — starring Anderson, Banks and fellow seniors Danielle Ward and Ivana Mijalcevic — followed an 87-78 loss to Iowa, a teasing performance in which UW (16-12, 9-9 Big Ten Conference) made run after run at the Hawkeyes only to fall short.

"It was tough to watch because you feel like there's nothing really to celebrate," Banks said.

The Badgers now in all likelihood must win the Big Ten tournament to grab the program's first NCAA tournament bid since the 2001-02 season. And the loss will make that task considerably more difficult.

Had UW won, it would have secured the fifth seed for the conference tournament and wouldn't have had to play until the event's second day — needing to win three games to claim the title.

Instead, the Badgers will open as the eighth seed and face ninth-seeded Illinois on the tournament's opening night.

Meanwhile, Iowa (20-9, 13-5) was celebrating a share of the Big Ten title after securing a tie for the championship with Ohio State on the strength of a blistering start to the game.

A season-high crowd of 13,320 watched the Badgers hit two of their first 16 shots and dig themselves a 27-7 hole 10 minutes, 19 seconds in.

The Hawkeyes, on the other hand, got 23 first-half points from senior forward Johanna Solverson and shot 73.9 percent (17-for-23) from the field on their way to a 41-30 halftime lead.

"It was kind of a one-woman wrecking crew there in the first half," UW coach Lisa Stone said.

The Badgers, who overcame a 20-point, second-half deficit in Thursday's win at Michigan, once again staged a comeback.

Freshman guard Alyssa Karel's 3-pointer cut the lead to 52-48 6:18 into the second half, and from there UW pulled within two five times and cut the advantage to one once.

Each time, though, the Hawkeyes jabbed back.

After Banks hit two free throws to pull UW to within 69-68, Solverson nailed a step-back 3-pointer from the right wing with 4:09 to play.

A jumper from Anderson brought the Badgers to within 74-72 with 2:45 left, but Hawkeyes junior forward Wendy Ausdemore hit a 3-pointer from the right baseline — her only field goal of the game — 24 seconds later.

"I thought we came out just incredibly focused and kept that focus even when Wisconsin got within one point," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.

UW's freshman trio of Lin Zastrow (17), Karel (15) and Tara Steinbauer (11) combined for 43 points.

But Anderson, who torched the Hawkeyes for 42 points in an overtime defeat Jan. 13, shot just 4-for-19 and didn't hit a 3-pointer in scoring 10 points.

"She schooled us the first time we played them, and that was a little embarrassing," Bluder said. "We wanted to make sure that she didn't have another career night against us."