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The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan
The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

No. 14 Iowa women’s basketball cruises past Penn State in conference home opener

The Hawkeyes featured six double-digit scorers in the victory, led by second-year Ava Heiden’s career-high 27 points.
Matt McGowan, Sports Editor
December 28, 2025
Reece Schrader
Sophomore center Ava Heiden strides to score in the paint during an in-state rivalry basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Drake Bulldogs at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. The Hawkeyes defeated the Drake Bulldogs 100-58. Heiden scored 14 points and collected six rebounds for the Hawkeyes. Heiden was the fifth Hawkeye freshman since 2009 to score over fifteen points in an NCAA tournament in the 2024-2025 season.

Ava Heiden scored 27 points, Chit-Chat Wright chipped in 16 of her own, and Taylor Stremlow added 14 as the Iowa women’s basketball team defeated Penn State, 99-76, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday afternoon. The Hawkeyes improved to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play with Big Ten action now in full swing.

The Hawkeyes defeated the Nittany Lions for the 12th consecutive game, the last 11 by a double-digit margin. With the loss, Penn State dropped to 7-6 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten.

Heiden’s 27 points were a career-high and her third career contest with at least 20 points. Sunday was her first time reaching the milestone against a Big Ten opponent.

The second-year center scored Iowa’s first points of the afternoon on an assist from Wright, who led the Hawkeyes with six dimes. The two squads played back and forth in the opening two minutes before the Hawkeyes embarked on a 16-0 run to provide an early cushion. Wright scored nine points during the span as Iowa took a 15 -point lead at the end of the first quarter.

Senior Hannah Stuelke nailed a pair of free throws to extend the Hawkeye lead to 35-14 early in the second frame. Stuelke finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. With those added numbers, she became the 14th player in program history to record at least 1,300 points and 700 rebounds in her career, per Iowa Athletics.

Iowa entered the halftime tunnel with a 12-point advantage and would lead in double-digits for the rest of the contest. The Hawkeyes received great bench production from first-years Addie Deal and Journey Houston. Deal scored 13 points in 17 minutes, marking her third career game with at least 10 points. She shot 6-of-8 from the floor.

Houston notched her first-career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, missing only one shot on the day.

Up Next

Iowa will host No. 20 Nebraska in a ranked-on-ranked battle on Jan. 1 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The contest will air on Big Ten Network with tipoff at 1 p.m. Central Time. The Hawkeyes are 2-2 against the Cornhuskers in their last four games, with three decided by five points or fewer. The lone exception was Iowa’s most-recent victory back in February.

Nebraska is 12-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten heading into Tuesday’s matchup against No. 17 USC. Second-year guard Britt Prince leads the Huskers with 18.6 points per game.