No. 11 Iowa sidesteps Fairfield’s record-setting 3-point barrage

IOWA CITY — Jack knew.

“When my son looked at our schedule before the season, he said, ‘Who scheduled this game?’” Iowa Coach Jan Jensen said.

“What Fairfield does, they do very well. When they get those shooters hopping, they’re difficult to guard.”

Fairfield tied Carver-Hawkeye Arena records for 3-pointers made (18) and attempted (39), but 11th-ranked Iowa had too much inside and prevailed, 86-72, in a non-conference women’s basketball game before a paid crowd of 14,998 Sunday afternoon.

Kylie Feuerbach had her most productive offensive game as a Hawkeye, with 17 points. Ava Heiden registered a somewhat-quiet 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Iowa started 8-0 for the second straight season and the fifth time overall.

Wait, somewhat-quiet?

“Very much so,” Jensen said. “I don’t think she played as great as she can. She should have been, in my mind, 8-of-11 (from the floor) instead of 6-of-11.

“She’s on her way to becoming one of the great ones. But I’d have liked to have seen her make a couple more.”

Fairfield (4-2) started hot, making six 3-pointers (from five different players) on its way to a 22-11 lead late in the first quarter. But Iowa clamped down and the law of averages caught up to the Stags.

“I thought eventually they’d cool down a little, and we’d be able to use our inside action,” Jensen said.

The Hawkeyes led 41-35 at halftime. The margin was as large as 17 points early in the fourth quarter, and Iowa stayed out of danger despite 9-of-13 3-point shooting by the Stags in the final period.

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“We knew they were going to be an amazing 3-point-shooting team,” Feuerbach said. “When their shots fell, we didn’t fall apart.”

The last time Feuerbach scored 17 points in a game, it was as an Iowa State player, against Kansas State, nearly five years ago.

Her four 3-pointers (in seven attempts) also matched a career-high.

“It’s just trusting it, continuing to shoot it, trusting that it’s going to fall,” Feuerbach said.

Heiden headlined Iowa’s 44-26 rebounding advantage.

“That was part of the game plan,” Heiden said. “We knew they were an undersized team.”

Hannah Stuelke and Taylor McCabe added 13 points apiece. McCabe played all 20 minutes in the first half.

“You know what’s so cool about McCabe?” Jensen said. “I told her, everybody thinks you’re just a shooter. You need to put on some (muscle) and lean into what you can become.

“She’s become one of our better defenders, and she’s fit as a fiddle.”

Taylor Stremlow posted nine points, seven rebounds, seven assists ... and a technical foul.

“She’s emotional, she’s going to take risks,” Jensen said. “She’s not a true trash-talker; I think the ‘T’ was just exuberance.”

Iowa remained without the services of Chit-Chat Wright, Emely Rodriguez and Teagan Mallegni.

The Hawkeyes open Big Ten play at Rutgers at 5 p.m. (CT) Saturday, then play at Iowa State on Dec. 10.

Iowa 86, Fairfield 72

At Iowa City

FAIRFIELD (72): Meghan Andersen 5-16 0-0 13, Cyanne Coe 2-5 0-3 4, Milou van Vliet 1-4 0-0 2, Janelle Brown 3-6 0-0 9, Kaety L‘Amoreaux 4-12 2-2 12, Jillian Huerter 3-4 0-0 9, Lauren Beach 0-3 0-0 0, Sydni Scott 3-6 0-0 9, Alli Campbell 0-2 0-0 0, Christina Pham 5-7 0-0 14, Jalyn Sackrider 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 2-5 72.

IOWA (86): Hannah Stuelke 4-9 5-8 13, Ava Heiden 6-11 6-8 18, Taylor Stremlow 3-8 2-2 9, Taylor McCabe 4-8 1-2 13, Kylie Feuerbach 5-10 3-4 17, Addie Deal 4-7 0-0 9, Journey Houston f3-4 1-2 7, Layla Hays 0-0 0-0 0, Callie Levin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-57 18-26 86.

Fairfield 22 13 10 27 — 72

Iowa 17 24 15 30 — 86

3-point goals: Fairfield 18-39 (Andersen 3-11, van Vliet 0-3, Brown 3-3, L’Amoreaux 2-5, Huerter 3-4, Beach 0-1, Scott 3-6, Campbell 0-1, Pham 4-5), Iowa 10-21 (Stremlow 1-4, McCabe 4-8, Feuerbach 4-7, Deal 1-2). Team fouls: Fairfield 26, Iowa 14. Fouled out: Huerter. Technical foul: Stremlow. Rebounds: Fairfield 26 (Coe 6), Iowa 44 (Heiden 16). Assists: Fairfield 17 (Brown, L’Amoreaux 4), Iowa 21 (Stremlow 7). Steals: Fairfield 4 (Andersen 2), Iowa 8 (Deal 3). Turnovers: Fairfield 16, Iowa 16.

Attendance: 14,998.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com