Summon the record book: No. 21 Iowa throttles Evansville, 119-43

IOWA CITY — Simply and statistically, this was a blowout of historical proportions.

The 21st-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes set program records for points and victory margin in a 119-43 rout of Evansville in a non-conference women’s basketball game before a paid crowd of 14.998 Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I thought this would be a game we could win, but I wanted to come out of here feeling good about it, and I think we were able to do that,” Iowa Coach Jan Jensen said.

The Hawkeyes (2-0) surpassed the 115 points that they scored on Nov. 10, 2022 (also against Evansville), and smashed the win margin of 68 points (91-23, against Cornell College on Jan. 31, 1975).

Six players scored in double figures, led by Layla Hays’ 20 points.

“This team is so supportive,” said Hays, a freshman from Wasilla, Alaska, who converted 9 of 11 shots. “Ava (Heiden) has been such a good mentor.”

Jensen was asked which of the eyebrow-raising numbers of which she was most pleased.

Was it the 31 assists? The 50-21 rebounding margin? The 64.6-percent shooting accuracy?

She didn’t bother to check the boxscore.

“I love the way we started,” Jensen said. “That’s how you earn a dominant performance. We did it on every possession, set a tone ... I’m really proud of that.”

The Hawkeyes scored the first nine points, built a 20-point lead before the end of the first quarter and kept the foot on the gas throughout.

They sandwiched a 22-0 run around the halftime break, then followed that with a 25-0 surge shortly thereafter.

“We were able to push the pace and find the bigs,” said Chit-Chat Wright, who posted 16 points and 10 assists (against just one turnover). “I think I play within the system and don’t force anything.”

In three games at Iowa (including the exhibition contest), Wright has 20 assists and three turnovers.

“The game is slow for her,” Jensen said. “She’s fast and quick, and that makes it slow to her.”

In 20 minutes of floor time, Heiden had her second straight double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds).

Hannah Stuelke added 13 points, Taylor McCabe 12, Addie Deal 11.

Wright and McCabe nailed four 3-pointers apiece, and the Hawkeyes drilled 14 of 26 from long distance.

It was humming along well enough from the perimeter that Stuelke drained an off-balance 3-pointer in the first quarter to beat the shot clock.

Solon native Callie Levin scored three points Sunday, already surpassing last year’s season total of two.

Evansville dropped to 0-2. Cedar Rapids native Sydney Huber (who won a state championship at Xavier in 2022 and another at Mount Vernon in 2025) scored six points for the Purple Aces.

The Hawkeyes host Drake at 7:30 Thursday night.

Iowa 119, Evansville 43

At Iowa City

EVANSVILLE (43): Georgia Cox 0-5 0-0 0, Camryn Runner 5-13 0-0 10, BreAunna Ward 0-5 0-0 0, Jelena Savic 1-3 2-2 4, Logan Luebbers Palmer 4-10 1-1 12, Georgia Ferguson 3-9 0-0 6, Sydney Huber 2-5 0-0 6, Elle Snyder 0-4 0-0 0, Mireia Mustaros 1-3 1-2 4, Avery Kelley 0-1 1-2 1, Kaiden Kreinhagen 0-3 0-0 0, Daniela Llavero 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-61 5-7 43.

IOWA (119): Hannah Stuelke 6-7 0-0 13, Ava Heiden 5-8 4-5 14, Taylor McCabe 4-7 0-0 12, Kylie Feuerbach 2-4 3-3 8, Chit-Chat Wright 5-6 2-2 16, Emely Rodriguez 3-6 3-4 9, Addie Deal 3-7 3-4 11, Layla Hays 9-11 2-5 20, Taylor Stremlow 3-3 0-0 7, Journey Houston 1-3 0-0 2, Callie Levin 0-0 4-5 4, Jada Gyamfi 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 42-65 21-28 119.

Evansville 10 12 8 13 — 43

Iowa 29 30 31 29 — 119

3-point goals: Evansville 6-24 (Cox 0-4, Runner 0-3, Ward 0-1, Savic 0-1, Luebbers Palmer 3-7, Huber 2-4, Snyder 0-1, Mustaros 1-1, Kreinhagen 0-2), Iowa 14-26 (Stuelke 1-2, McCabe 4-7, Feuerbach 1-3, Wright 4-5, Rodriguez 0-1, Deal 2-6, Stremlow 1-1, Gyamfi 1-1). Team fouls: Evansville 21, Iowa 11. Fouled out: Mustaros. Rebounds: Evansville 21 (Ferguson 7), Iowa 50 (Heiden 10). Assists: Evansville 9 (Runner 3), Iowa 31 (Wright 10). Steals: Evansville 6 (Runner 4), Iowa 11 (Feuerbach 4). Turnovers: Evansville 20, Iowa 13.

Attendance: 14,998.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com