A disastrous start to Tuesday's second-round NCAA Tournament game against Iowa led to an early exit for Kentucky.

The fifth-seeded Hawkeyes blitzed the fourth-seeded Wildcats with an 11-0 run to start and never looked back en route to an 86-72 win at Greehey Arena in San Antonio.

Iowa (20-9) advances to the Sweet 16 to face top-seeded UConn, which defeated Syracuse on Tuesday night. Kentucky saw its first season under head coach Kyra Elzy end at 19-10.

SEC Player of the Year Rhyne Howard had 28 points, eight assists, six steals, and five rebounds for the Cats, but UK shot just 35.1% from the field as a team and missed 20 of its 27 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.

It was an unexpected defensive showing for the Hawkeyes, which entered the matchup ranked last in Division I in team scoring defense.

Iowa got a huge performance from its freshman star, Caitlin Clark, who outscored Kentucky on her own in the first half (24-22) as the Hawkeyes took a 27-point lead into the locker room. She hit six 3-pointers in the first half and finished with a school-record of 35 points in a postseason game.

Clark, who led the nation in scoring at 26.7 points per game, made 13 of 21 attempts from the field on a day where Iowa shot 57.4% from the field.

Kentucky pulled within 16 points with 4:48 remaining in the third quarter, but the Cats could get no closer until the closing moments of the game.