It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t pretty. But, ultimately, it doesn’t really matter.
The 14th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes (13-2, 4-0 Big Ten) did just enough to get out of Welsh-Ryan Arena with a hard-fought 67-58 road victory over the Northwestern Wildcats (6-9, 0-4 Big Ten).
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As Iowa collects its second Big Ten road win and its third road win of the season, what stood out from the Hawkeyes’ triumph?
Turnovers set the tone
Iowa had 20 turnovers on the night, and the Hawkeyes coughed up the basketball 13 times in the game’s opening half. That set the tone for a night when Northwestern could hang around and maybe spring an upset.
Fortunately, the Hawkeyes had an answer late to go win this game, but it’s not the right recipe long-term and hopefully Iowa remembers that moving forward.
Ava Heiden was unstoppable when not sitting with foul trouble
It’s been an ongoing storyline throughout sophomore center Ava Heiden’s Hawkeye career thus far. Getting saddled with foul trouble has been a familiar issue.
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On Monday night, Heiden was probably on the wrong end of a couple of tough whistles. But, it was certainly evident how much of a difference-maker she is for the Hawkeyes when she’s on the floor.
Heiden was the best player on the court when she wasn’t riding the Hawkeye bench with fouls, scoring a team-high 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting and 5-for-6 foul shooting. Heiden also grabbed five boards.
Journey Houston continues to help this team
Journey Houston played some important minutes against Northwestern. Needing a spark, Houston delivered five points off Iowa’s bench, collected six rebounds, and a pair of steals to help Iowa find this win.
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Iowa really misses Kylie Feuerbach, Emely Rodriguez
Maybe it was the road. Maybe it was the turnovers and the sloppy shooting start from everyone not named Ava Heiden, but this Iowa team really missed both Kylie Feuerbach and Emely Rodriguez on Monday night.
The Hawkeyes were just lacking a spark throughout junctures of this game. Feuerbach is Iowa’s best defender and someone it trusts to hit open shots in big moments, so her presence certainly would have helped in a big way.
Outside of Chit-Chat Wright, Rodriguez is Iowa’s best player off the bounce. The Hawkeyes need these two back, and hopefully, both Feuerbach (ankle) and Rodriguez (back) can get healthy soon.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Takeaways as Iowa women’s basketball survives Northwestern scare
