Iowa came out ready and stayed ready. Forcing a dozen first half Nebraska turnovers along with hot shooting from Ava Heiden and Taylor Stremlow, Iowa was in control from the jump, winning 80-67. The Cornhuskers had lost four straight games, all to good foes. They needed this one. And Iowa, freshly ranked No. 13 in the latest Associated Press poll, was excited to add momentum to a nice win over Washington that snapped a three-game losing streak.
Cruising to a 45-37 halftime lead, the Hawkeyes shot 68% from the field led by Heiden, who hit eight of nine shots, scoring 18 along with six rebounds and a block to lead Iowa to a almost flawless first half. Stremlow hit three triples to add nine points in the first two quarters.
Nebraska went on a 8-0 run to get back within 11 points at 52-41 but after back to back timeouts, Iowa went on a 13-2 run fueled by the defense to retake control of the game and cruised the rest of the way to a 80-67 win to move to 20-5 overall and 8-3 in the
Ava Heiden led Iowa with her first double-double since Nov. 30, with 27 points and 11 rebounds. The Hawkeyes also got 17 from Taylor Stremlow and 14 from Chit-Chat Wright. Journey Houston continues to impress off the bench with ten points. On the other side of the ball Iowa limited Nebraska star Britt Prince to just 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting.
Overall, Iowa shot 32-for-53 from the floor, 6-for-16 from 3-point range, and 10-for-13 from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Nebraska finished by shooting 27-for-58, 4-for-19 from deep, and 9-for-13 from the stripe.
Defensively, the Hawkeyes were everywhere. Iowa forced 18 turnovers, including 11 steals and 3 blocks, which led to 27 points off turnovers. Up next Iowa will hit the road to face Purdue on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. in West Lafayette. Coverage is brought to you by Muscatine Power and Water and Ed Morse Chevy, Buick and GMC.
