Iowa women’s basketball (6-0) received another strong test on Saturday night in its second game at the WBCA Showcase from State Farm Fieldhouse in Orlando, Florida. For the second time in three days, Iowa made just enough plays to come away with a victory over a Power Four foe.
The 20th-ranked Hawkeyes downed Miami, 64-61. It was Miami’s first loss of the 2025-26 campaign.
Playing without sophomore guard Chit-Chat Wright, the Hawkeyes banded together to come back to Iowa City unbeaten and with two good résumé wins in its back pocket.
Let’s dive into some takeaways from Iowa’s triumph over Miami.
Iowa nearly gave this one away
Iowa led all night and built a 13-point lead with 9:18 left to play when senior guard Kylie Feuerbach assisted senior forward Hannah Stuelke on a layup to put Iowa in front 59-46.
Stuelke would get loose for another layup on Iowa’s ensuing possession to give the Hawkeyes a 61-49 lead with 8:30 left to play. That was Iowa’s final made field goal of the night.
The Hawkeyes went scoreless for the next eight-plus minutes until Feuerbach made a trio of free throws in the game’s final minute. Iowa can learn a number of lessons about finishing a game from the fourth quarter tape of this contest.
Ava Heiden, Hannah Stuelke, Taylor McCabe lead the way
Sophomore center Ava Heiden continues to impress. The 6-foot-4 center imposed her will on this game at times. Heiden finished with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting, six boards, two steals and one block.
Stuelke was her usual efficient self, scoring 17 points on an 8-for-15 shooting night. The 6-foot-2 forward notched her first double-double of the season and the 12th of her career, pulling down 12 rebounds.
Senior guard Taylor McCabe was big, too. McCabe was Iowa’s only other double-figure scorer. The 5-foot-9 sharpshooter knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.
Taylor McCabe was the only Hawkeye to connect from beyond the arc
It was important that McCabe did what she did for Iowa, because nobody else connected from 3-point distance for Iowa. The Hawkeyes shot 3-of-21 as a team from 3-point range.
Maybe the Chit-Chat Wright injury can be a bit of a blessing in disguise
Five-star freshman signee Addie Deal still looks like she’s settling into big-time college basketball. And that’s to be expected, even for someone with as much attention and hype coming in.
With Wright sidelined due to injury, it created some more floor time for Deal. Deal logged 15 minutes and scored four points on 2-of-5 shooting.
Iowa will need to continue developing its depth and bringing Deal along. It’s never good to have anyone out with injury, but, if you’re looking for a glass half-full approach, it’s good for Iowa and for Deal to get extended playing time against a team like Miami.
Emely Rodriguez played just 4 minutes
Sophomore guard Emely Rodriguez played a season-low four minutes against Miami. Rodriguez missed her two field goal attempts against Miami.
That came on the heels of a 2-for-9 shooting day with six turnovers against Baylor. Rodriguez hadn’t logged less than 13 minutes in a game yet this season entering Saturday night, so it’s worth monitoring how this develops in the weeks ahead.
This was a productive trip for Iowa
Even with sloppiness at times from Iowa during its two-game trip to the WBCA Showcase, these are two good wins against Baylor and Miami. As always with early season contests, time will tell just how good of wins both of these two are.
But, leaving Orlando with a perfect record and with two wins over Power Four teams makes it a very productive business trip for the Hawks.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnHawks
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Takeaways as Iowa women’s basketball holds on vs. Miami
Reporting by Josh Helmer, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
