The No. 2 seed Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the No. 15 seed Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, 58-48, during the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament at a nearly at-capacity Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday afternoon.

Iowa was favored to win by 31 points according to BetMGM, but FDU fought to close that gap throughout the game, with a 14-point scoring run in the second quarter. FDU’s defense kept Iowa limited to just 15 points in the second and third quarters. FDU guard Ava Renninger fought to get the ball in the Knight’s hands with one steal and five defensive rebounds.

In the fourth quarter, a fired up Iowa crowd, along with Jan Jensen, led a reenergized Iowa team to pull away, outscoring the Knights 23-15. Iowa center Ava Heiden earned 29 points, a career-high, shooting 11-16 and 7-7 on free-throws. Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke picked up 16 rebounds, matching her career-high earned against Washington on Feb. 11.

Fairleigh Dickinson (30-4) entered the NCAA Tournament on a 22-game winning streak. The Knights are now one of two teams in Division I to finish back-to-back years with a perfect record in league play, joining UConn from the Big East. 

The Hawkeyes will meet with the No. 10 seed Virginia in the second round, which will be played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Monday, March 23, 2026 at an unannounced time.