Iowa's Ava Heiden Has Lofty Goal Within Reach

The all-time scoring leader by an Iowa Hawkeyes sophomore is Caitlin Clark. Clark had 863 points which looks untouchable compared to the rest of the top 10 scorers.

Sophomore Ava Heiden currently sits at number seven in the standings. Her 494 points this season put her seventh all time by a sophomore in program history.

There may only be one regular season game remaining, but Heiden still has the B1G tournament and NCAA tournaments ahead of her.

There are quite a few players within reach, and knowing how dominant Heiden has been lately, she should have no issue continuing to climb the chart. Depending on how long Iowa stays alive, there's a real chance Heiden could finish No. 2.

Heiden Eyes Meg Gustafson's 628 Points

Not out of the question that Heiden catches Gustafson for #2. https://t.co/tJk2NJ0ocY
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) February 27, 2026

To put things into perspective, Heiden is currently averaging 17.6 points per game. That average doesn't do her justice as she's scored 21+ in her last four games. She's only been below that average twice since January 18 which is incredibly impressive knowing the team has played 11 games in that span.

Heiden is 134 points behind Gustafson, which according to her average, would take over seven and a half games to reach. Keeping in mind the fact Heiden has led this team in scoring six of their last seven games, it's certainly do-able.

At this point it's just a matter of how many games Iowa truly has remaining. They're guaranteed three at this point: March 1 at Wisconsin, one B1G game, and one NCAA tournament game. Obviously, they're looking to stick around in both tournaments for much more than just one game.

Heiden Only Needs 45 Points to Finish in Top 3

Iowa C Ava Heide — Jan 29, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Ava Heiden (5) is defended by USC Trojans forward Vivian Iwuchukwu (0) and guard Kara Dunn (25) as she drives for a basket in the second half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

A much more realistic goal is to finish in the Top 3 as all she needs is 45 points to match Kristi Faulkner's total. Heiden has a chance to pass Ally Disterhoft, Lindsay Meder and Jaime Printy. Gustafson is the ultimate goal, but the chances of that are slim. She'd need 369 points to tie Clark which goes to show just how dominant the now WNBA star was during her time at Iowa.

Either way, Heiden is doing something not many sophomore's have ever done in program history. She's a one-woman wrecking crew and is putting this team on her back. There's a bit of veteran leadership with Hannah Stuelke and Kylie Feuerbach, but everything seems to run through Heiden and that's a strategy that's proved to be extremely successful.

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