Freshman Ava Heiden scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and sixth-seeded Iowa rolled past No. 11 seed Murray State 92-57 on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Lucy Olsen had 12 points and a career-high 12 assists for the Hawkeyes (23-10). They scored a season high in points in the first tournament win for first-year Iowa coach Jan Jensen, a longtime assistant who was promoted after Lisa Bluder retired.
Iowa will play No. 3 Oklahoma or No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast on Monday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Murray State’s Katelyn Young, who averaged 22.2 points heading into the NCAA Tournament, left the game early in the third quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. She finished with six points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.
Halli Poock scored 15 points and Ava Learn added eight points and 10 rebounds before fouling out for Murray State (25-8). The Racers, who entered the game averaging a nation-leading 87.8 points per game, shot just 30.6% from the field and posted their lowest point total of the season.
Hannah Stuelke, Iowa’s No. 2 scorer for the season, committed two quick fouls and sat for most of the first half. Heiden picked up the slack, reaching a career high in scoring by halftime with 13 points. The Hawkeyes led 42-30 at the break, then dominated in the second half.
