The Hawkeyes gave Head Coach Jan Jensen a great birthday present with their first Big Ten Conference victory of the season.
Iowa traveled to Piscataway, New Jersey, for its first Big Ten game of the season against Rutgers and easily took care of the Scarlet Knights.
With Chit-Chat Wright back in the lineup for the first time since her hard fall during Iowa's upset win over No. 7 Baylor, the Hawkeyes led the game from start to finish.
Even though Chit-Chat was limited to eight minutes, the rest of the squad picked up the slack, holding Rutgers to under 40 points in a 79-36 victory.
The Iowa defense was the story of the game as the team held Rutgers to 21.9 percent shooting from the field and 8.3 percent from three-point range.
Ava Heiden led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 17 points, while adding four rebounds and five assists. Taylor McCabe and Journey Houston also added 14 points.
For Houston, her 14 points is a new career high.
The trio of fabulous freshmen continue to shine
Addie Deal got all the headlines before the season, and rightly so, but all three freshmen have played well to start their careers.
Layla Hays has been a force down low off the bench, adding nine points and four rebounds in the win against Rutgers.
This season, Hays is averaging 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Houston scored a career-high 14 points and has made the most of her opportunity with multiple injuries on the roster.
Jensen has gotten great minutes from her freshmen players this season, and it gives the Hawkeyes even more depth as they get into the heart of the conference slate.
Iowa's defense has elite potential
While the offense gets all the headlines, Iowa's defense has been stellar through the first nine games of the regular season.
Through nine games, the Hawkeyes are holding teams to 53.9 points per game, which ranks No. 24 overall in college basketball.
The squad hasn't forced many turnovers or racked up many steals, but they hold opponents to one shot with defensive pressure and keep them off the glass.
They have the size and length to affect shots down low and have been proficient at running teams off the three-point line.
The Hawkeyes must continue their stellar defensive play as they get deeper into the conference schedule.
Next game: Wednesday, December 10 at Iowa State (Ames, IA) at 6:00 p.m. Central Time