Rage Against the Huskers: Hard-rockin’ Ava Heiden fuels No. 13 Hawkeyes

LINCOLN, Neb. — It’s a duo you might not expect.

Ava Heiden, and 1980s hard rock.

“It was so cool seeing Def Leppard live (at the Iowa State Fair) last summer,” she said. “It’s a (mutual) interest with my dad and me.

“I introduced him to Queen; he introduced me to Rage Against the Machine.”

Monday afternoon, it was Rage Against the Huskers.

Heiden matched a career-high 27 points (including a highlight-reel second-quarter basket), and 13th-ranked Iowa stung floundering Nebraska immediately in an 80-67 Big Ten women’s basketball victory before a crowd of 6,771 Monday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

“We were playing lighter, with more joy, and that makes it more fun,” said Taylor Stremlow, who made her first six shots in a career-best 17-point outing.

Iowa (20-5 overall, 11-3 Big Ten) secured its 10th consecutive 20-win season, and did so more emphatically than the final score indicated.

The Hawkeyes led by as many as 27 points, and a Big Red exodus up the aisles and out of Pinnacle Bank commenced at the fourth-quarter media timeout as a fifth consecutive loss by the Huskers (16-10, 5-10) — all by double digits — became imminent.

Tip time was 11 a.m., but the Hawkeyes certainly were wide-awake from the start.

“(Assistant) coach (Abby) Stamp told them after breakfast, ‘Do not take a nap,’” Iowa Coach Jan Jensen said. “Control the controllable; the team that handles it best is going to be happiest at the end.”

Joy belonged to the Hawkeyes, who spotted Nebraska the first basket, but scored the next 10 points in a matter of 75 seconds.

Iowa was 10-of-14 from the field in the first quarter on its way to a 25-13 lead. The margin was in double figures the rest of the way: 45-27 at halftime, 76-49 on Heiden’s three-point play with 7:55 left.

  Buy Photo

Two plays stuck out:

* Heiden acrobatically gathered an off-the-mark shot by Addie Deal and turned it into a mid-air reverse layup for a 35-18 lead in the second quarter.

“I just grabbed it in the air,” Heiden said. “Practicing the (Mikan drill) really helped.”

* Then it was Stremlow’s turn. Moments after scoring a basket herself, she collected a steal along the baseline, dribbled and lobbed a no-look beauty to Chit-Chat Wright near the hoop in transition.

“I love the fun plays like that,” Stremlow said. “Those are my grandma’s favorite.”

That concluded a 13-1 run in a 2 1/2-minute span in the middle of the third quarter, successfully answering a Nebraska surge and blowing the lead to 65-42.

“That kid (Stremlow) has a joy about her, No. 1,” Jensen said. “She had a beautiful game, the way she plays with that passion.”

“She’ll chest-bump anyone,” Heiden said of Stremlow.

Heiden was 12-of-15 from the field, and grabbed 11 rebounds; Stremlow was 6-of-7.

Wright added 14 points, Journey Houston tallied 10 and the Hawkeyes hit 60.4 percent of their shots (66.7 through the first three quarters).

Britt Prince paced Nebraska with 13 points.

The Hawkeyes moved into a third-place tie in the Big Ten standings with four games to play.

Next up is Purdue, on the road, at 6 p.m. (CT) Thursday.

Iowa 80, Nebraska 67

At Lincoln, Neb.

IOWA (80): Hannah Stuelke 3-5 3-4 9, Ava Heiden 12-15 3-3 27, Taylor Stremlow 6-7 2-2 17, Kylie Feuerbach 1-7 0-0 3, Chit-Chat Wright 5-8 2-4 14, Journey Houston 5-7 0-0 10, Addie Deal 0-4 0-0 0, Layla Hays 0-0 0-0 0, Callie Levin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-53 10-13 80.

NEBRASKA (67): Jessica Petrie 3-9 2-2 8, Amiah Hargrove 5-9 0-0 10, Logan Nissley 3-6 0-0 8, Callin Hake 3-8 0-0 6, Britt Prince 4-8 5-6 13, Eliza Maupin 5-7 1-1 11, Kennadi Williams 1-2 1-2 3, Hailey Weaver 2-5 0-2 6, Petra Bozan 1-3 0-0 2, Emily Fisher 0-1 0-0 0, Claire Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 9-13 67.

Iowa 25 20 24 11 — 80

Nebraska 13 14 22 18 — 67

3-point goals: Iowa 6-16 (Heiden 0-1, Stremlow 3-4, Feuerbach 1-6, Wright 2-3, Deal 0-2), Nebraska 4-19 (Petrie 0-2, Hargrove 0-1, Nissley 2-5, Hake 0-3, Prince 0-1, Maupin 0-1, Williams 0-1, Weaver 2-3, Bozan 0-1, Fisher 0-1). Team fouls: Iowa 20, Nebraska 17. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Iowa 31 (Heiden 11), Nebraska 23 (Maupin 6). Assists: Iowa 25 (Wright 7), Nebraska 16 (Williams 4). Steals: Iowa 11 (Stuelke, Stremlow 3), Nebraska 18 (Prince 5). Turnovers: Iowa 20, Nebraska 18.

Attendance: 6,771.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com