Hawkeyes stay undefeated, hold off Miami FL in Orlando
The Hawkeyes may have limped to the finish line, but there’s plenty of time left in the season to worry about how they are crossing the line. Playing without their starting point guard, Iowa was just happy to come away with the victory. They led by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter, but went on a lengthy scoring drought, needing a couple of late free throws to salt away a 64-61 win over Miami FL to win the de facto WBCA Showcase championship.
With the win, the Hawkeyes move to 6-0 for the second consecutive season and will likely jump a handful of spots in Monday’s AP Top 25. They also improve their record to 5-0 all-time against the Hurricanes.
With point guard Chit-Chat Wright out of the lineup and considered day-to-day with what is being called an upper body injury, sophomore Taylor Stremlow stepped into the starting five for her third career start.
The Hawkeyes never trailed, knocking down five of their first eight shots of the game, jumping out to a 12-4 lead, but the Hurricanes quickly tightened things up. South Florida transfer Vittoria Blasigh hit a three-pointer and got to the rim for a bucket, cutting the Iowa lead to 14-13 after ten minutes.
A theme throughout the game, Jan Jensen’s squad consistently were able to put keep the Hurricanes at an arm’s length but were never able to deliver a death blow to their hopes of a comeback. Ava Heiden was a perfect 5-for-5 in the first half, with the Hawkeyes building their lead as large as 30-21 in the second quarter. They held Miami FL to just 3-of-13 shooting in the quarter, but the Canes managed to get to the free throw line for ten free throw attempts to keep themselves within striking distance, trailing 36-28 at the half.
In the third quarter, the two centers, Ava Heiden and Ra Shaya Kyle dueled back-and-forth, combining for 16 points, but it was Taylor McCabe providing some cushion to the Iowa lead. She knocked down a pair of triples in the quarter, including one that extended the lead to 51-39, but the Canes battled with a short 7-2 run capped by an Amarachi Kimpson three-pointer. Hannah Stuelke got a bucket just before the third quarter buzzer to send Iowa to the fourth quarter with a 55-46 lead.
In reality, as the game came down the stretch, the Hawkeyes had no business being in a close game. Back-to-back baskets by Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke to open the final quarter pushed Iowa’s lead to 59-46. They were in danger of putting the Hurricanes away, but instead, they let them back into the game.
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Stuelke answered an Amarachi Kimpson three-pointer with a basket to make it 61-49 with 8:30 to play. Then, the Hawkeye offense went ice cold. They missed 11 straight field goal attempts and turned it over six times, allowing Miami FL to battle all the way back to a one-possession game. It got as close as 61-59 on a Ra Shaya Kyle basket with 2:24 to play and they had a chance to take the lead in the closing second. However, with 11.1 to play, it was a Kylie Feuerbach steal on a Miami FL inbound pass that made the difference. She went 3-of-4 at the free throw line in the final ten seconds, and Iowa escaped with a 64-61 victory.
On the night, Iowa shot 27-of-62 (43.5%) from the floor, 3-of-21 (14.3%) from three-point range. Ava Heiden started the game 9-of-9 from the floor, with her and Hannah Stuelke combining for 37 points and 18 rebounds. Taylor Stremlow, in her first start of the season, added on seven points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Taylor McCabe knocked down three triples, finishing with 11 points and eight boards.
The Hawkeyes dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Hurricanes 43-29, but lost the turnover battle (16-11). For the first time all season, they lost the points off turnovers/second chance battle, with Miami FL outscoring them 22-17 in that category.
Up Next: The Hawkeyes return to Iowa City on Wednesday night for a matchup against the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tipoff is set for 6:30pm CT on BTN+.
