NORMAN, Okla. — Mirroring earlier games this season, Iowa’s decision to use a talented first-year to gain momentum paid off, as the Hawkeyes advanced to the second round of this year’s NCAA tournament.
The sixth-seeded Iowa women’s basketball team got a big boost from first-year Ava Heiden to cruise past 11th-seeded Murray State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The post player from Sherwood, Oregon nabbed a career-high 15 points and seven rebounds against the Racers. The contest marked her third consecutive with at least 10 points, also a personal collegiate best.
“I think that over the past few months, I’ve been putting in a lot of extra work,” Heiden said after the game. “That has helped me get to the confidence level and skill level coming to games like this.”
The starting lineup for the Hawkeyes consisted of four guards and third-year Hannah Stuelke as a forward. Within two minutes, however, Stuelke had picked up two personal fouls, and Heiden was brought in off the bench.
“Hannah is a great player,” Heiden said. “I’m here to contribute to the team and just make us as a whole better. I get to come in and help the team in any way I can, and then Hannah can get out there in the second half and do her thing. We all get our minutes and we all contribute.”
The first-year put up her first points of the day with a layup not even four minutes into the contest, but they were far from her last. Heiden’s size and rebounding prowess grabbed her seven points in the first quarter alone, as well as four rebounds and not a single turnover to her name.
After Heiden’s first layup, the score was tied at six apiece and, moments later, a two-point basket by Affolter gave Iowa a lead that Murray State never got back. Similar to a March 6 game against Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament that led to a 74-61 Hawkeye victory, Heiden represented a turning point for Iowa’s offense, stepping up when needed to get results.
“That’s kind of been our mindset the whole season, just being ready when your name is called,” first-year Taylor Stremlow, who had 10 points of her own, said. “Today, it worked well for us, and everybody on the bench came off and did [well].”
First-year head coach Jan Jensen partly attributed Heiden’s success to her growth as a player.
“When we have Ava come in, Ava can be pretty crafty and speedy,” Jensen said. “She’s gotten more consistent with her shooting, able to make more shots with the pressure.”
Jensen, who served as an assistant and post coach during Lisa Bluder’s tenure at Iowa, also credited Heiden as an important part of the Hawkeye triumph.
“I think if you enjoy the post play and you have been successful with it, I’m not going to abandon that,” Jensen said during a conference. “You can’t play favorites, but yes, Ava Heiden is a nice post player, developing. I love the post play, I’ll continue to go with the post play, but if we have to win games going with the guards, I’ll do that too.”