IOWA CITY, Iowa – As Fairleigh-Dickinson’s band belted Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” just before the start of the fourth quarter, Carver-Hawkeye Arena stood in fear of becoming a house of horrors.
No. 15 seed FDU, 30-4 on the season but a 30-point underdog entering Saturday, trailed by two heading into the final frame. In search of a second-half turnaround, Iowa scored just eight points, connecting on its first four shots before missing its next nine. Inside a sweltering arena pushing 80 degrees, the Hawkeyes were melting.
No 15-seed has ever defeated a two seed in the history of the women’s bracket, and suddenly the reality of March Madness’ inherent “win or go home” became blatant.
“I think we got a little tight in thinking about the what-if instead of just attacking,” Iowa head coach Jan Jensen said.
That is until Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke led the charge, bringing the Hawkeyes back from the dead.
The duo’s size advantage and paint skills helped Iowa survive, 58-48, keeping the “what ifs,” strictly hypothetical.
The Hawkeye starting frontcourt are well aware of their outsized roles. In Iowa’s seven-player rotation on Saturday, only Heiden and Stuelke stood at 6-foot-2 or above. The pair have carried the Hawkeyes before – Iowa’s win over Illinois on Feb. 26, for instance – but remain unfazed by pressure and are quick to deflect praise. Heiden lauded Iowa’s guards for their passes, and couldn’t help but compliment her partner in the post.
“Hannah’s got broad shoulders. She can carry it,” Heiden said.
Sitting just to Heiden’s left, Stuelke couldn’t help but smile, jokingly grabbing her own shoulders in reaction.
“I’m working on carrying that as a leader, too,” Heiden added. “So we just work together and when we play together and when we play for each other and as a team, we find the way.”
Heiden and Stuelke weren’t ignored in the first half, but they shifted from the focal points of Iowa’s game plan to essentially its only points of attack down the stretch. The duo combined for 18 points in the first half, taking 12 of Iowa’s 27 shots. After halftime, the tandem totalled 25 points, taking 10 of the Hawkeyes’ 21 attempts from the field.
In Jensen’s eyes, FDU’s defense provided the illusion of post defense. With Heiden in the low post and Stuelke up high toward the free throw line, defenders would sag off and let the ball go up top, rather than play up and risk Heiden receiving the ball near the block. The solution, Jensen said, is to move the ball and force the opposition into adjustments.
“The pass to the post would’ve been open had we thrown it a little bit more,” the coach said.
Yet for plenty of stretches, like when Iowa went scoreless for 7:49 in the second half, the Hawkeyes held the ball. Jensen used the term “sticky.”
“Ava stopped demanding [the ball] where she needed it, as did Hannah,” Jensen said. “Then our guards got really hesitant. Then we held and held and held and held and waited and we had so many last-second average shots.”
Yet in the fourth quarter, Iowa worked the ball to the post without hesitation. Heiden scored 15 of Iowa’s 23 points in the frame, including 12 consecutive. Stuelke added five points and got to the free throw line five times. All this production with taking as few dribbles as possible.
“We work a lot on early positioning, just having the right positioning, moving your feet,” Heiden said.
Heiden finished with a career-high 29 points and Stuelke with her 21st career double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds. It’s fair to say Iowa’s size advantage staved off what could’ve been a historic upset, but future opponents won’t grant the Hawkeyes the same luxury.
Iowa faces 10th-seeded Virginia in the second round on Monday. The Cavaliers feature 6-4 forwards Tabitha Amanze and Caitlin Weimar, as well as 6-5 Adeang Ring. The post will still be a factor, of course, but it can’t be the security blanket.
Jensen called on guard Chit-Chat Wright for more aggression. She also can’t remember the last time Iowa shot 1-of-13 from three-point range. Iowa possesses the versatility to thrive on the court, but needs the conviction, and yes, a little bit of luck, to keep a thrilling season alive.
Iowa and Virginia play at 1 p.m. Central Time on Monday, March 23, on ESPN. The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 in Sacramento, California.