IOWA CITY — No. 14 Iowa women’s basketball had no trouble in its Big Ten home opener Sunday, zooming past Penn State for a 99-76 win inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Hawkeyes (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten Conference) had big surges in the first and third quarters that kept Penn State (7-6, 0-2) chasing the entire afternoon. Strong scoring efforts from Ava Heiden (27 points), Chit-Chat Wright (16), Taylor Stremlow (14), Hannah Stuelke (14), Addie Deal (13) and Journey Houston (11) kept Iowa from enduring any upset drama.
POSTGAME UPDATE
The latest on Kylie Feuerbach’s injury status.
FINAL: Iowa 99, Penn State 76.
2:13/4Q: Iowa 95, Penn State 73.
All the starters are off the floor. Iowa will start
4:53/4Q: Iowa 87, Penn State 67.
Gracie Merkle is going to finish with a solid stat line, but most of her 18-point showing so far has come in garbage time. Iowa still with a 52-30 scoring edge in the paint.
7:36/4Q: Iowa 81, Penn State 56.
Hawkeyes in firm control.
END 3Q: Iowa 73, Penn State 52.
Hawkeyes hit the gas in the third quarter and should be able to cruise to the finish line.
1:12/3Q: Iowa 71, Penn State 50.
A career-high 23 points for Ava Heiden, who’s beating Penn State back down the court whenever she wants to. Hawkeyes on a 6-0 surge over the last two minutes.
2:42/3Q: Iowa 67, Penn State 50.
Hawkeyes starting to push it out here in the third quarter. Instant second-half production has been a problem for Iowa this year, so consider this surge significant.
4:17/3Q: Taylor Stremlow ends the downtown drought.
First Iowa trey to fall since the first quarter. Penn State isn’t causing serious concern, but Iowa isn’t fully putting the foot down yet. A 63-48 Hawkeyes lead.
5:39/3Q: Iowa 59, Penn State 47.
Jan Jensen was livid after Penn State wasn’t called for an obvious over-and-back that led to a deep trey. Hawkeyes themselves have missed their last 10 treys.
10:00/3Q: Second half underway.
Hawkeyes looking to build on a 51-37 advantage.
HALF: Iowa 49, Penn State 37.
Not the cleanest 2Q after a strong open, but Iowa is still firmly in control of this one. Ava Heiden (17 points) and Chit-Chat Wright (12 points) are leading the way.
2:25/2Q: Iowa 45, Penn State 28.
Ava Heiden up to 15 points after a hard-earned and-1. Her and Chit-Chat Wright combined are only down one.
4:14/2Q: Teagan Mallegni into the game.
Hawkeyes will go further down the bench with Hannah Stuelke still seemingly dinged up a bit. Iowa has missed six of its last seven shots despite leading 40-26.
5:54/2Q: Iowa 38, Penn State 22.
Hannah Stuelke was a little slow getting up after absorbing that last foul, and she’s now standing at the end of the bench with the Iowa trainer. Stuelke is 3-for-7 from the line today.
7:03/2Q: Iowa 35, Penn State 22.
Jan Jensen calls time with Penn State on an 8-0 run. Gracie Merkle is perfect from the field but just took only her second shot of the game. Hawkeyes have a 14-4 edge in points in the paint.
END 1Q: Iowa 29, Penn State 14.
Hawkeyes shooting 63% from the field and 60% from deep. Chit-Chat Wright leads everyone with 12 points. Penn State had just six points over the final seven minutes of the 1Q.
3:05/1Q: Hawkeyes going to the bench early and often.
Callie Levin and Journey Houston in after Layla Hays and Addie Deal checked in earlier. Hawkeyes with a 23-10 lead as the first quarter winds down.
4:45/1Q: Iowa 21, Penn State 8.
Hawkeyes starting to turn Penn State over and are cashing in repeatedly. It’s a three-minute scoring drought for Penn State. Hawkeyes have opened 3-for-3 from deep as Penn State needs time.
7:04/1Q: Iowa 9, Penn State 8.
Early foul on Gracie Merkle as she’s swarmed in the paint and turns it over, but the foul is overturned after refs rule the shot-clock violation happened before the foul. Both teams shooting 75% or better so far. Ava Heiden leads Iowa with four.
10:00/1Q: Hawkeyes win the tip.
Off we go.
3 p.m. – Ready to rock in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
It’ll be a soft 3 p.m. tip with BTN involved. Hawkeyes’ Big Ten home opener underway shortly.
2:50 p.m. – Iowa starting lineup.
Kylie Feuerbach is officially out today.
2:30 p.m. – Gabbie Marshall in the building today.
She’s chatting with Sydney Affolter, Jada Gyamfi and Kylie Feuerbach while the Hawkeyes warm up. Further indication Feuerbach isn’t active today. Should get that confirmed when the starting lineup are released shortly.
2 p.m. – The latest on today’s Iowa availability report.
A lot to dissect here. Emely Rodriguez, Jada Gyamfi and Kennise Johnson are listed as OUT today. Rodriguez is here and was watching Iowa’s shootaround from under the basket before moving to the bench. Rodriguez wasn’t on the bench for the Hawkeyes’ last three games.
Kylie Feuerbach remains questionable after the ankle injury she suffered in Iowa’s last game vs. UConn. She did just emerge from the tunnel in warmup gear but isn’t getting loose with any urgency. So it feels like
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa women’s basketball vs Penn State recap. Hawkeyes cruise at home
Reporting by Dargan Southard, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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