After a stellar week for No. 10 Iowa women’s basketball (18-2, 9-0) with top-15 wins over No. 13 Maryland and No. 11 Ohio State, the Hawkeyes once again received praise from the Big Ten’s weekly honors as sophomore center Ava Heiden secured the Big Ten Player of the Week award.
The 6-foot-4 native of Sherwood, Ore., is the second consecutive Hawkeye to earn the honor, joining Hannah Stuelke’s Jan. 19 distinction.
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Against Maryland, Heiden registered a game-high 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting, along with eight rebounds and two assists, while playing the fourth quarter and overtime period with four fouls. The impressive showing against the Terrapins was Heiden’s sixth 20-plus point performance of the season.
The dominant Hawkeyes center followed up that stat line in Iowa’s Jan. 24 game against the Buckeyes by posting 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds, a career-high four steals, and two blocks. The Sunday afternoon display by Heiden extended her streak of double-figure scoring to eight straight games. Heiden has reached double figures against all nine Big Ten opponents faced so far this season.
As Iowa flies out to warm and sunny Southern California this week for games against USC (Jan. 29) and No. 3 UCLA (Feb. 1), Heiden will look to continue her sensational play for the Hawkeyes in the City of Angels.
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Iowa’s game against the Trojans on Thursday night from the Galen Center in downtown Los Angeles will begin at 8 p.m. CT and will be streamed exclusively on Peacock.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball big captures Big Ten Player of the Week