Hawkeyes stay undefeated

As far as birthday’s go, this was better than a free sundae.

Iowa Coach Jan Jensen celebrated her birthday watching her Hawkeyes dominate their Big Ten opener, thumping Rutgers 79-36 on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.

No. 12 Iowa improved to 9-0 for the first time since 2004-05.

The Hawkeyes were hot from the start, leading 22-6 after one quarter and 42-14 at halftime.

Iowa held Rutgers (7-3, 0-1) to just 13 percent shooting in the first half (4 of 31) and 21.9 percent overall (14 of 64).

Ava Heiden led the way with 17 points, four rebounds and five assists.

Taylor McCabe had 14 points on four 3-pointers and Journey Houston had a career-high 14 points to go with a career-high eight rebounds.

Chit-Chat Wright returned after missing the last three games with an injury but played just eight minutes and left with an injury.

Emely Rodriguez and Teagan Mallegni missed their third straight.

There won’t be much time for the Hawkeyes to heal up before a midweek trip to No. 10 Iowa State on Wednesday.

The 6 p.m. tip at Hilton Coliseum is on ESPN.