After powering No. 12 Iowa women’s basketball (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) to three wins over the past week, including a 62-44 upset victory over No. 5 Michigan (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten), sophomore center Ava Heiden has been named the Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week.
The 6-foot-4 native of Sherwood, Ore., led the Hawkeyes offensive production in all three games by averaging 24.0 points per game on 75% shooting from the field, 11.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.6 blocks, including three consecutive double-doubles to increase her career total to eight.
In Iowa’s resounding win over Nebraska, Heiden led all scorers with a career-high-tying 27 points on 12-for-15 shooting and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, to go along with her 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and one steal. Heiden followed up that performance by recording 21 points on 10-for-12 from the floor and 1-for-3 from the free-throw line, to go along with 13 rebounds, three assists, and three steals against Purdue.
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Heiden solidified her Player of the Week status on Sunday, Feb. 22, in the Hawkeyes’ top 5 upset victory over the Wolverines to cap off a successful “Senior Day” in front of a sellout Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd.
In arguably the Hawkeyes’ biggest home matchup of the year, Heiden imposed her physical post-play by registering 24 points on 11-for-17 shooting and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, along with 10 boards, two blocks, and two steals. Most importantly, her 10 points in the fourth quarter helped seal Iowa’s 18-point upset win, their best victory of the season so far.
Heiden is currently averaging 17.3 points on 64.4% shooting (No. 4 nationally in field goal percentage), along with 7.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. She is the second Hawkeye to be named the Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week this season, joining senior forward Hannah Stuelke’s Jan. 26 distinction.
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Up next for Heiden and the Hawkeyes will be their regular-season home finale on Thursday, Feb. 26, against Illinois inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, followed by their Big Ten regular-season finale at Wisconsin on Sunday, March 1. Tipoff against the Fighting Illini is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network, while the clash against the Badgers is set for 2 p.m. CT on BTN+.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball’s Ava Heiden named Naismith Player of the Week
