After Iowa women’s basketball (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten) walloped Nebraska by a score of 80-67 (16-10, 5-10 Big Ten) from inside Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb., Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen praised the continued growth and development of sophomore center Ava Heiden, who recorded a career-high 27 points against the Cornhuskers.
“Any good post player, if you give them the ball where they need it at the right time, you can be pretty accurate,” Jensen said of the 6-foot-4 native of Sherwood, Ore.
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“We’ve been working a lot on that timing. Her athleticism and her foot speed is pretty extraordinary. And I think she’s just beginning. I think we can get her even more efficient with a placement and understanding how to post up for one or two passes away.”
Along with her 27 points on 12-for-15 shooting, Heiden added 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and one steal to complete her sixth double-double of the season and first since her 18-point, 16-rebound performance against Fairfield on Dec. 30, 2025.
Jensen continued by highlighting her belief that Heiden can become one of the program’s greats if she develops an understanding of how opponents guard her and uses her strengths to win battles near the basket.
“Our next steps with Ava as we continue is to really understand how she’s being guarded on the floor, down the floor, and start to really think, ‘OK, I want it to win. I want it in two passes, and I want it there.’
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“When we get Ava to start understanding that, I think she can definitely continue her claim to be one of the great ones,” Jensen said.
With the dominant performance over Nebraska, Heiden extends her lead atop the Hawkeyes scoring leaderboard with 16.4 points per game on 62.7% shooting. Given Heiden’s trajectory as just a sophomore, the Hawkeyes certainly have a blossoming star who is just scratching the surface of greatness.
Heiden will look to continue her strong play on Thursday night as the Hawkeyes invade Mackey Arena to battle Purdue at 6 p.m. CT.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball center enters Purdue date after career day
