Hawkeye women knock off No. 24 Michigan State 74-61, advance to Big Ten quarterfinals

INDIANAPOLIS -- Iowa fans chanted “Ava! Ava! Ava!” with 34 seconds left in the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten tournament game against Michigan State Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Iowa reserve freshman center Ava Heiden was about to shoot two free throws as Iowa was sewing up their 74-61 victory over the 24th-ranked Spartans. She made one for her 11th point of the second half and game, a career-high.

The Hawkeyes will play No. 13 Ohio State at 8 p.m. (Iowa time) Friday in the quarterfinals.

Heiden came off the bench to score all of her career-high 11 points in for Iowa in the game’s last 12:44, giving her team a big lift late in the third quarter after foul trouble beset Hannah Stuelke.

Heiden also had four rebounds and two of her team’s 16 steals, and did good defensive work guarding Michigan State’s top scorer this season, Grace VanSlooten.

“Just waiting for my opportunity and working towards it,” Heiden said, “so that when I do get that, I can shine.”

Heiden was a four-star recruit out of Sherwood, Ore., ranked the nation’s No. 36 prep player last year by ESPN.com.

The Hawkeyes danced around foul trouble in the third quarter. Stuelke got her third and fourth personals in the quarter, and star guard Lucy Olsen was assessed her third.

Iowa Coach Jan Jensen got a technical foul for her response to the call on Stuelke’s third, a charge with 7:10 left in the third.

With the two key players out, Michigan State took the lead and built it to 46-41. It was 46-46 when Stuelke, who had just returned to the game, got her fourth foul.

Freshman center Ava Heiden replaced Stuelke with 2:44 left in the period and did all sorts of things at both ends of the floor to help her team in the next eight minutes, including scoring all 10 of her points.

The Hawkeyes had a rocky first quarter, making just 4 of 16 shots and turning the ball over six times, but they were down just 16-12 when it ended.

Then, the world turned. The ball-hawking Hawkeyes forced a slew of Spartan turnovers and Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke scored eight points as Iowa began the quarter with a 16-0 run.

Michigan State’s first points in the period came with 3:16 left. The Spartans trailed 32-25 at halftime, with 15 first-half turnovers. Stuelke had four first-half steals. Iowa held the 7-point lead despite making just 2 of 14 three-pointers.

Olsen led the Hawkeyes with a game-high 21 points. Stuelke and Taylor McCabe had 12 each. Michigan State made 24 turnovers.

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