Iowa's Ava Heiden Sets Career High vs. Penn State

The Iowa Hawkeyes improved to 11-2 (2-0) with a dominant win over Penn State. It's a game Jan Jensen's squad had no business losing, so it was great to see them take care of business after the UConn disaster.

99-76 was the final as Iowa was led by sophomore Ava Heiden who had a career high 27 points. She attempted 19 shots, by far the most out of anyone on the team.

That said, the Hawkeyes kept feeding the hot hand. There was no reason not to look Heiden's way as she carved up this Nittany Lions defense time and time again.

After two less than stellar performances against Iowa State and UConn, it was good to see Heiden get back on track. Her offensive numbers must continue to stay this high if Iowa wants to see any sort of success against the ranked teams that stand in their way.

Ava Heiden Notches Career High 27 Points

B1G smiles for a B1G day. 😎

A career-high 27 points for @ava_heiden. pic.twitter.com/RPKnAwjloL
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) December 28, 2025

For the third time this season, Heiden finished a game with 20+ points. Having not hit that mark in her freshman season, it's great to see Heiden continue to find her stride as she progresses with this team.

Back on November 3, Heiden set a new career high of 21 points against Southern. The Jaguars had no idea the havoc she was about to create as she finished an extremely efficient 8-13 from the field. A few games later, she dropped 20 on Miami in a neutral site game.

Heiden's 19 field goals were by far the most of her young career. She was just 4-11 against the Huskies, so to see her drill 13 shots was a huge sigh of relief. Prior to this game, she had never attempted more than 14 shots.

Heiden Keeps This Offense Going

WBB FINAL: #14 Iowa 99, Penn State 76
--Heiden career-high 27 pts (13-19 FG)
--Stuelke 14 pts, 8 rebs (4-11 FT)
--Wright 16 pts, 6 asts
--Stremlow 14 pts, 4 asts
--Deal 13 pts (6-8 FG)
--Houston 11 pts, 11 rebs
--McCabe 3 pts (1-9 3FG)

Next: Iowa (11-2, 2-0) vs. #20 NEB on 1/1
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) December 28, 2025

No one can argue how deep Iowa's bench is, but there's just something special about Ava Heiden. She's clearly one of Jensen's favorite players on the team, and she has every right to earn that honor. Heiden outworks everyone on a consistent basis, and she's well on her way to the WNBA if she keeps up at this pace.

Heiden also grabbed nine rebounds which was her highest total since November 30. She was one shy of a double double, but that doesn't take anything away from her offensive masterclass. There are enough players to pick up her slack when she doesn't score 20+, but this team's offensive operates entirely differently when she's on a roll.

Don't forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!