IOWA CITY — In a grueling battle that required two extra periods to decide, the 2-seed Iowa Hawkeyes (27-7) saw their NCAA Tournament run come to a stunning end on Monday night, falling 83-75 to 10-seed Virginia at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Despite holding a nine-point lead late in the fourth quarter and benefiting from historic individual performances, the Hawkeyes were unable to overcome a surging Cavaliers squad that capitalized on critical mistakes down the stretch.
Stuelke Ties Record in Gritty Performance
Junior forward Hannah Stuelke put together one of the most dominant rebounding displays in program history. Stuelke hauled in a career-high 19 rebounds, tying the Iowa NCAA Tournament record set by Megan Gustafson in 2019. Along with her 15 points, Stuelke notched her 11th double-double of the season while playing over 48 minutes.
Ava Heiden led the Hawkeye scoring effort with 26 points on 11-of-22 shooting. It was Heiden’s 13th game this season with 20 or more points and her 22nd consecutive game in double figures. Freshman sensation Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright also stepped up on the big stage, netting 21 points and grabbing five rebounds.
A Battle of Attrition
The game was a defensive slugfest from the start. Iowa appeared to seize control in the third period, but Virginia’s Kymora Johnson and Paris Clark proved too much. Johnson led all scorers with 28 points, including a clutch 10-of-11 performance from the free-throw line, while Clark added 20 points. Virginia’s ability to capitalize on turnovers was a major factor, as the Cavaliers turned Iowa’s 16 giveaways into 27 points.
Jensen: “We Didn’t Deserve to Win It”
In a somber post-game press conference, head coach Jan Jensen offered a candid assessment of the upset defeat.
“Overall, a heck of a year. This type of ending is definitely disappointing,” Jensen said. “But when I briefly looked at the box score, I don’t believe we deserved to win it. Virginia, hats off.”
Jensen highlighted the disparity in shooting efficiency as a primary reason for the loss. “I believe we took 20 more shots, and we weren’t able to win. I think we out-rebounded them by eight. I mean, all the things that you should do, right? But when you look at categories that need to happen—the free throws, the shooting percentage—that hurts because those things are a little bit more controllable.”
The Hawkeyes shot just 17.2% from three-point range and 50% from the free-throw line. “Eventually, our poor free-throw shooting was going to catch up with us,” Jensen added. “We missed some point-blank shots that I think could have sealed the deal. We took a couple of shots we shouldn’t have too early, and they just made big plays.”
The loss ends a remarkable season for the Hawkeyes, who finished with 27 wins and maintained a national-best 52-game home sellout streak.
