The No. 13-ranked Iowa women’s basketball team took down No. 6 Michigan on Senior Day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 62-44, honoring four seniors: Taylor McCabe, Kylie Feuerbach, Jada Gyamfi, and Hannah Stuelke. The Hawkeyes outscored the Wolverines, 40-22, in the paint and scored 21 points off of 24 Michigan turnovers.
“When you have Senior Day, there’s so much emotion, and sometimes it can get you on your heels a little too much, and you lose focus,” head coach Jan Jensen said. “But we talked a lot about doing it for those seniors and sending them out on their celebration.”
The Hawkeyes were led by sophomore Ava Heiden with 24 points, followed by Stuelke with an 11-point double-double with a team-high 12 rebounds. Stuelke also led the team with seven assists, and Stremlow logged three steals.
With the Hawkeyes leading, 27-20, at halftime, Heiden took over in the third quarter. Heiden scored the first three baskets for Iowa out of the break and scored eight points in the third quarter alone. The 6-foot-4 forward also grabbed four rebounds in the frame.
Heiden’s takeover continued in the fourth quarter, as she totaled 20 points in the second half.
It wasn’t until the 7:46 mark in the opening quarter that either side found the scoreboard, as Michigan’s Olivia Olson hit a three-pointer. Iowa got on the board over one minute later as Heiden backed down a defender for a layup.
A Wolverine scoring drought of over three minutes helped the Hawkeyes to a 12-8 lead. Michigan committed six turnovers in the final five minutes of the quarter, bringing its total to 10 after the opening frame, where the score was deadlocked at 12.
Iowa opened up the second quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 19-14 lead, before Michigan’s Mila Holloway scored the Wolverines’ first basket of the frame. Michigan cut the Hawkeye lead to one, before another 7-0 Iowa run forced a timeout from the Michigan bench.
Scoring troubles returned for both squads in the final few minutes of the first half, as the Hawkeyes went on a 2:44 field goal drought and the Wolverines made just one of their last seven shots of the half.
Stuelke led Iowa with seven points to pair with eight rebounds at the break, and Stremlow followed with two threes and a team-high three steals.
After the Hawkeyes and Wolverines traded buckets to start the third quarter, Iowa went on a 6-2 run to build on its lead to 11. Michigan responded to the run with a three from Te’Yala Delfosse. Holloway then hit the second straight Wolverine three-pointer to cut the Hawkeye lead to five.
Out of a media timeout, Heiden put in a layup to move her points total to 12 and eight in the quarter. After a three-pointer by Michigan’s Syla Swords, Feuerbach drained one of her own at the buzzer to push the Iowa lead to 42-35 at the third quarter break.
Stuelke delivered the first basket of the fourth quarter for the Hawkeyes, which the Wolverines responded to with a three-pointer by Delfosse on the other end. Journey Houston nailed her second shot of the day, a mid-range jumper to push Iowa’s lead to eight.
Heiden delivered a block on an attempted three-pointer from Swords, which later led to the 17th Michigan turnover. Heiden then scored on a step-through layup after a pump fake put the defender in the air.
After a missed three-pointer by Michigan, Stuelke hustled to the other end as Feuerbach delivered the coast-to-coast pass for Stuelke’s fifth basket to secure a double-double with 11 points.
Heiden put in the last Hawkeye bucket before freshman Addie Deal dribbled out the clock for the top-10 victory.
Up Next
Iowa will return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for its final home game of the season against Illinois on Thursday, Feb. 26. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. CST on the Big Ten Network.