Dominant Trio Leads Iowa to Tenth Straight Win vs. Purdue

A strong first half left no doubt as the Iowa Hawkeyes took care of business against Purdue, 83-74.

Iowa improved to 21-5 (12-3) even without Hannah Stuelke in the starting lineup. The senior forward was a late scratch that caused room for concern, but the Hawkeyes came ready to play as Iowa has now won ten straight against the Boilermakers.

Taylor Stremlow recorded another career high as Journey Houston made her first career start. Ava Heiden once again dominated as she finished with yet another double-double.

Iowa shot 59% from the field which helped guide them to victory. They uncharacteristically turned the ball over six more times and didn't win the rebounding battle, but neither of those things mattered in the end.

1. Ava Heiden's Double-Double Party Continues

Automatic Ava 👏

She's got 8 points this quarter! @ava_heiden x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/HAsRnmeby4
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 20, 2026

Heiden once again led all scorers with her 21 points as she was a terrific 10-12 from the field. Scoring 21 is impressive by itself, but the sophomore did so in just 28 minutes as she grabbed a game high 13 rebounds.

Each team had 30 boards in the game but Heiden was just one rebound shy of Purdue's top two rebounders combined. All but one of her 13 were defensive rebounds as it's important to note she finished the game with four fouls.

Heiden has now finished back to back games with 10+ field goals made en route to a double-double in each. With just three games remaining, she continues to make a strong case to be B1G Player of the Year.

2. Taylor Stremlow Career High

B1G First Half 🚨

A career-high 19 pts. 5-for-5 from three.@StremlowTaylor x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/PAvWu5tEOs
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 20, 2026

It's crazy to think the Wisconsin native didn't score at all in the second half but still recorded a new career high. Stremlow was a perfect 5-5 from three-point range in the first half as she scored all 19 of her points in the opening 20 minutes.

Stremlow has been a key piece of the puzzle since Taylor McCabe was ruled out the rest of the season. Iowa continues to win when the sophomore guard starts and they'll look to ride their hot hand as long as possible.

3. Journey Houston Delivers in First Career Start

Have a night, No. 8 🤩

A career-high 16 points for Houston! pic.twitter.com/Y1eL3WICRt
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 20, 2026

While she got to play a team that is two games under .500 and has won just four conference matchups, no one can take away what Houston did in her first career start.

The freshman was one of four Hawkeyes to finish in double digits as she was just three points shy of tying the Boilermakers leading scorer. Houston dropped 16 on Purdue, six of which coming from the charity stripe. The Iowa native tied her career high as Stuelke's status will be something to monitor ahead of a huge showdown against No. 6 Michigan on the 22nd.

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