- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,169,791
- Reaction score
- 59
INDIANAPOLIS — Eight days after Iowa women's basketball navigated through tension in a nail-biting home win over Illinois, the Hawkeyes delivered a much more resounding performance when the rematch came back around.
Those who didn't watch will see a 64-58 Hawkeyes win and assume there were dicey moments for Jan Jensen's squad throughout the March 6 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal. Hardly the case. A 15-0 Illinois run to end the game, which arrived with Fighting Illini starters facing Iowa reserves, did little to erase the resounding dominance shown for much of the night.
The Hawkeyes (25-5) ballooned their lead to as much as 22 before Illinois made the final scoreboard reading respectable. Per usual, there were noteworthy numbers all over the final assessment of this one.
Here are five figures that stood out.
The sixth-year senior is usually connecting from deep if the points are piling up. Not on this night. Buoyed by two hard-driving layups early, Feuerbach roared to 10 pivotal points without connecting from deep in what is her final Big Ten Tournament.
How rare was this productive performance without a trey? For starters, it was the most 2-pointers Feuerbach produced in a game since having six in Iowa's 85-61 win over Washington last season on Jan. 22, 2025. That was also the only other time in Feuerbach's career she reached double figures while not hitting a trey.
"A lot of openings, and I kind of saw that," Feuerbach said. "Just optimizing that opportunity."
It was certainly going to be hard to replicate the 11-for-19 downtown showing Illinois delivered in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 26, which tied for the second most treys the Fighting Illini hit in any game this season. Iowa, though, clearly made shutting down the perimeter a top priority.
The Hawkeyes held Illinois to a dismal 5-for-22 showing from deep, forcing horrendous stat lines all over the place. Maddie Webber was 1-for-7. Berry Wallace finished 1-for-6. Cearah Parchment didn't hit anything on four attempts.
"I think our scout was better," Jensen said, "but I do think our staff did a good job going back and watching the film and what we could correct and tweak a little bit. We were able to tone down their inside kids a little better."
Overall, it was the second-most 3-point clanks Illinois had in a game this season. The only one with more was a 3-for-22 showing against Bellarmine on Dec. 2. Another quality defensive effort for Iowa to stack on top of a season full of them.
Zero isn't usually a number reserved for something positive. But two of them in different contexts accentuate how valuable Stremlow is in her sophomore campaign.
For starters, her impressive Illinois stat line — nine points, four rebounds, six assists in 30 minutes — arrived after Stremlow had zero points in 33 Big Ten Tournament minutes over three games last season. She played just five minutes apiece in the final two against Michigan State in the second round and Ohio State in the quarterfinals.
Moreover, Iowa improves to 16-0 all-time with Stremlow in the starting lineup. That includes the entirety of Iowa's current seven-game winning streak.
It's clear Stremlow knows her role and the importance of her relentless energy and tenacity. That was on full display inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
"Energy is something I can naturally bring and is expected of me," Stremlow said. "So just always having fun with it, always trying to stay positive. But also as a leader, trying to stay steady and be able to be composed in those tight moments."
While freshmen Addie Deal and Layla Hays struggled with scoreless efforts in their Big Ten Tournament debuts, Houston kept doing her thing with timely boards and solid energy throughout.
In addition to hitting just her fourth trey of the season, the freshman from Davenport snagged a career-high 12 rebounds — all defensive — for her second double-digit board effort of the year. The other came against Penn State when she pulled in 11.
Overall, Iowa is 5-1 when Houston finishes as Iowa's leading rebounder. Not a bad trend for someone who's supposed to still be getting her feet wet.
"I really just have the stay-ready mindset all the time," Houston said. "We've had to handle a lot of adversity lately with Hannah being out, so I took my role serious today and I was just ready for all moments."
Heiden's stat line is textbook effort on efficiency. The sophomore has made a habit of that at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
It wasn't just the 6-for-7 shooting — to go with 4-for-4 at the line — that resulted in a team-high 16 points. It was that it all unfolded in 18 minutes. That's tied for the third fewest she's played in any game this year.
"It's hard to come out of halftime. Sometimes, momentum drops," said Heiden, who had six of her 16 in the third quarter and has made a habit of that all year. "I try to get us into that rhythm again and be someone who calms us down and gets us going again."
Only two other times in 29 games has Heiden reached double figures needing just seven shot attempts: 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting against Western Illinois on Nov. 26, and 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting against Lindenwood on Dec. 13. The competition was obviously much tougher this time around.
Consistent efficiency like that is when Heiden is at her strongest.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 5 key stats from Iowa women's basketball win over Illinois
Continue reading...
Those who didn't watch will see a 64-58 Hawkeyes win and assume there were dicey moments for Jan Jensen's squad throughout the March 6 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal. Hardly the case. A 15-0 Illinois run to end the game, which arrived with Fighting Illini starters facing Iowa reserves, did little to erase the resounding dominance shown for much of the night.
The Hawkeyes (25-5) ballooned their lead to as much as 22 before Illinois made the final scoreboard reading respectable. Per usual, there were noteworthy numbers all over the final assessment of this one.
Here are five figures that stood out.
4...as in Kylie Feuerbach's four 2-pointers set a new season-high en route to 10 key points.
The sixth-year senior is usually connecting from deep if the points are piling up. Not on this night. Buoyed by two hard-driving layups early, Feuerbach roared to 10 pivotal points without connecting from deep in what is her final Big Ten Tournament.
How rare was this productive performance without a trey? For starters, it was the most 2-pointers Feuerbach produced in a game since having six in Iowa's 85-61 win over Washington last season on Jan. 22, 2025. That was also the only other time in Feuerbach's career she reached double figures while not hitting a trey.
"A lot of openings, and I kind of saw that," Feuerbach said. "Just optimizing that opportunity."
17...as in Iowa forced Illinois 17 downtown misses after getting lit up by the Fighting Illini barely a week ago.
It was certainly going to be hard to replicate the 11-for-19 downtown showing Illinois delivered in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 26, which tied for the second most treys the Fighting Illini hit in any game this season. Iowa, though, clearly made shutting down the perimeter a top priority.
The Hawkeyes held Illinois to a dismal 5-for-22 showing from deep, forcing horrendous stat lines all over the place. Maddie Webber was 1-for-7. Berry Wallace finished 1-for-6. Cearah Parchment didn't hit anything on four attempts.
"I think our scout was better," Jensen said, "but I do think our staff did a good job going back and watching the film and what we could correct and tweak a little bit. We were able to tone down their inside kids a little better."
Overall, it was the second-most 3-point clanks Illinois had in a game this season. The only one with more was a 3-for-22 showing against Bellarmine on Dec. 2. Another quality defensive effort for Iowa to stack on top of a season full of them.
0...as in Taylor Stremlow's sophomore growth is emphasized by a pair of goose eggs.
Zero isn't usually a number reserved for something positive. But two of them in different contexts accentuate how valuable Stremlow is in her sophomore campaign.
For starters, her impressive Illinois stat line — nine points, four rebounds, six assists in 30 minutes — arrived after Stremlow had zero points in 33 Big Ten Tournament minutes over three games last season. She played just five minutes apiece in the final two against Michigan State in the second round and Ohio State in the quarterfinals.
Moreover, Iowa improves to 16-0 all-time with Stremlow in the starting lineup. That includes the entirety of Iowa's current seven-game winning streak.
It's clear Stremlow knows her role and the importance of her relentless energy and tenacity. That was on full display inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
"Energy is something I can naturally bring and is expected of me," Stremlow said. "So just always having fun with it, always trying to stay positive. But also as a leader, trying to stay steady and be able to be composed in those tight moments."
6...as in this was Journey Houston's sixth game where she finished as Iowa's leading rebounder.
While freshmen Addie Deal and Layla Hays struggled with scoreless efforts in their Big Ten Tournament debuts, Houston kept doing her thing with timely boards and solid energy throughout.
In addition to hitting just her fourth trey of the season, the freshman from Davenport snagged a career-high 12 rebounds — all defensive — for her second double-digit board effort of the year. The other came against Penn State when she pulled in 11.
Overall, Iowa is 5-1 when Houston finishes as Iowa's leading rebounder. Not a bad trend for someone who's supposed to still be getting her feet wet.
"I really just have the stay-ready mindset all the time," Houston said. "We've had to handle a lot of adversity lately with Hannah being out, so I took my role serious today and I was just ready for all moments."
7...as in Ava Heiden's seven field-goal attempts tied for the fewest number of shots she's needed to reach double digits this season.
Heiden's stat line is textbook effort on efficiency. The sophomore has made a habit of that at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
It wasn't just the 6-for-7 shooting — to go with 4-for-4 at the line — that resulted in a team-high 16 points. It was that it all unfolded in 18 minutes. That's tied for the third fewest she's played in any game this year.
"It's hard to come out of halftime. Sometimes, momentum drops," said Heiden, who had six of her 16 in the third quarter and has made a habit of that all year. "I try to get us into that rhythm again and be someone who calms us down and gets us going again."
Only two other times in 29 games has Heiden reached double figures needing just seven shot attempts: 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting against Western Illinois on Nov. 26, and 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting against Lindenwood on Dec. 13. The competition was obviously much tougher this time around.
Consistent efficiency like that is when Heiden is at her strongest.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 5 key stats from Iowa women's basketball win over Illinois
Continue reading...
