Even without superstar Caitlin Clark on the court, Iowa women's basketball is finding ways to win. Clark was still in attendance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as the No. 11 seed Hawkeyes took on No. 6 seed Michigan State in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Iowa put out a strong performance against the Spartans to capture the 74-61 win over the Spartans in a game that was much closer than the final score would show. With stars Hannah Stuelke and Lucy Olsen both in foul trouble in the third quarter, the Hawkeyes relied on their defense to keep the Spartans off the board long enough for Iowa's star shooters to come back in.
Olsen came back in and was able to not commit another foul and then finished her night with 21 points, the leading scorer for the Hawkeyes. Olsen was just one assist away from a double-double as she finished with nine, along with five rebounds.
One of the true stars of the game, though, was freshman Ava Heiden, who came in for Stuekle when she committed her fourth foul in the third quarter. Heiden came in and was perfect from the floor going 4-for-4 and was 3-of-5 from the free throw line finishing the night with 11 points. She was one of four Hawkeyes to score in double digits against the Spartans.
Iowa will now head to the quarterfinals, just the sixth team to come into the Big Ten Tournament as a double-digit seed and win multiple games. They are the second double-digit seed to move onto the quarterfinals after Nebraska did it in the game before them as the 10-seed.
The Hawkeyes will face No. 3 seed Ohio State in the Quarterfinals in the late window yet again tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. EST in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.