The Iowa Hawkeyes had to dig deep to avoid a scare against the Northwestern Wildcats in their fourth game of Conference Play. The Wildcats refused to go down without a fight. But good cameos from the bench and some inspired defensive play helped the Hawkeyes move to a 13-2 record for the season. And Head Coach Jan Jensen saw something that could prove to be a blessing in disguise.

“The positive is, we grinded it out. We finished strong, and we did that without any of our true bigs. And so that’s the positive,” Jensen said, speaking to the reporters.

The coach further highlighted what messaging went from her to the girls. “I don’t know how this second half’s going to go, I said, ‘But as long as you keep your fortitude and as long as you just keep sticking to the game plan, come what may offensively, we just got to hold them, they can’t get away from us.'” The same was reflected in the team’s performance too.

Ava Heiden started strong for the Hawkeyes, leading the scoring charge early on. However, the sophomore soon found herself in potential foul trouble, forcing Jensen to sub her out. Iowa entered the second half with almost its entire usual starting five unable to take the court at full capacity. Add to that the fact that they had given up 13 turnovers in the first half alone.

The Hawkeyes had a lot to do as the Wildcats kept the scoreline to within three points at half-time.

Then, Hannah Stuelke was far from her usual self, making just 2 of her 11 shots. With Iowa missing its defensive powerhouse, Kylie Feuerbach, and Heiden forced to sit on the bench for a good stretch, Jensen was impressed by how her team restricted the Northwestern Wildcats to just 29% shooting in the third quarter.

The gritty nature of the win also reminded Jensen of a previous win when Caitlin Clark still used to don the Hawkeyes jersey.

“I went in there, and you would’ve thought we lost. They were so somber and so down. That is a great sign… we found a way. We came in here (before) with Caitlin Clark and had a win, and it was like a very controversial clock error. It’s just some games and some teams, it’s like that,” the head coach further added.

The match Jensen is referring to is the Iowa Hawkeyes’ visit to the Welsh-Ryan Arena in 2022, where a late Northwestern winner was disallowed when the game was tied to push the game into overtime. Caitlin Clark featured for the Iowa Hawkeyes in that game and finished with 28 points, helping her team to a 72-67 win in overtime.

Head Coach Jan Jensen is likely pointing out the fact that the Iowa Hawkeyes managed to overcome adversity on the early morning of January 6, 2026, similarly to how they did with Caitlin Clark’s help back in 2022.

Ava Heiden Can Fill the Void Left by Caitlin Clark at the Iowa Hawkeyes

Everyone expected Ava Heiden to improve on her freshman numbers before this season. However, her intrepid rise has taken experts by surprise. The sophomore guard has almost tripled her scoring and rebounding numbers, averaging 16.2 points and 7.6 rebounds this season.

The increase in playing time can be credited for a portion of the increase, but what stands out is her efficiency, as Heiden has been making 66% of her field goal attempts. One major area of concern seems to be her affinity for fouls, which restricts her minutes to an extent.

While one could argue she was handed a couple of tough whistles against Northwestern, her early fouls forced her to sit out in what was a crucial period for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Despite that, Heiden finished the game with 23 points to her name, leading the scoring charts at the Welsh-Ryan Arena.

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Coach Jan Jensen earlier stated her focus is on making Chit-Chat Wright a shooting guard as the Iowa Hawkeyes continue to search for ways to fill the void left by Caitlin Clark.

However, if Ava Heiden continues to improve her numbers and can learn to work on reducing the fouls in her game, she could step up and be what Jensen has been looking for to make the Iowa Hawkeyes serious contenders once again.