Offensive explosion carried Iowa WBB to a dominating round-one win versus Murray State

The Iowa Hawkeyes Women's Basketball team won their first NCAA Tournament game in the post-Caitlin Clark era. A balanced offensive performance carried the Hawkeyes to a 92-57 win against Murray State.

Iowa's balanced attack was too much for the Racers, as 12 of 13 Hawkeyes scored a basket in the win. The Hawkeyes used their size in the paint and their ball movement to overpower Murray State and used their defensive pressure to keep the Racers' prolific offense in check.

The Hawkeyes shot the lights out in their round-one victory and promptly ended the Racers' 10-game winning streak.

Game Recap

Iowa threw the ball into the paint early and often to start the game. Fourteen of Iowa's first 18 points came from the painted area. Lucy Olsen was the offensive catalyst in the first half as she racked up mid-range baskets and assists.

Olsen ended the first half with 12 points and six assists as the Hawkeyes built a 12-point lead. Iowa had to overcome some early foul trouble to stars Hannah Stuelke (2) and Olsen (3) to push their lead to double digits.

Stuelke only played two minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.

The six-foot, four-inch freshman sensation Ava Heiden was a monster in the paint in the first half. She scored 13 of her team-leading 15 points in the first half as Murray State had no answer for her inside.

The Hawkeyes shot 53 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range in the first half, with 10 assists. The turning point in this game came in the third quarter.

Iowa came out of the locker room and could not miss a shot. They used a 16-0 at the end of the first half into the third quarter to push the lead further.

Another big moment in the third quarter was the injury to Murray State superstar Katelyn Young. Young went down with a leg injury less than a minute into the second half and it was a big blow to the Racers.

Young is the Racers' all-time leader in scoring and moved to No.14 all-time in Division I scoring after the first half. Murray State could not recover after their senior leader went out. They were dominated on both ends of the floor, and the Hawkeyes pulled their starters midway through the fourth quarter.

Iowa's balanced offensive attack was led by Ava Heiden, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. This was Heiden's third-straight game scoring in double figures. Lucy Olsen added a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists. Hannah Stuelke and Sydney Affolter each added 11 points.

Analysis

The story of the game for the Hawkeyes was their dominating offensive performance. Iowa had 28 assists on 41 made field goals, and they shot 56 percent from the floor in the offensive explosion.

Points in the paint were the main key to victory for the Hawkeyes. Iowa scored 62 of their 92 points in the paint. Heiden, Stuelke, and Addison O'Grady bullied the Racers down low, and Iowa's crisp ball movement provided great close-range looks.

I implored Iowa to move the basketball and shut down the prolific Murray State offense in my pregame keys to the game. The Hawkeyes excelled in both areas.

They had 28 assists and held Murray State to under 60 points on 31 percent shooting from the floor and 17 percent from three-point range.

I also stated that the fabulous freshman needed to step up. Ava Heiden, Taylor Stemlow, and Aaliyah Guyton combined for 29 points and 12 rebounds as Head Coach Jan Jensen continues to lean on her freshman off the bench.

What's next for the Hawkeyes

The six-seed Iowa Hawkeyes await the winner between three-seed Oklahoma and 14-seed Florida Gulf Coast University. The time and television network have been released. Return to Dear Old Gold for updates when the Oklahoma versus Florida Gulf Coast game is complete.

UPDATE: six-seed Iowa will battle three-seed Oklahoma after their 81-58 win over Florida Gulf Coast.