Inside The Hawkeyes

Three Takeaways From Iowa's Dominant Win Over Rutgers

The Iowa Hawkeyes cruised past Rutgers for their first conference win of the year.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Iowa guard Taylor McCabe (2) shoots a 3-pointer Nov. 9, 2025 during a women’s basketball game against the Evansville Purple Aces at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
Iowa guard Taylor McCabe (2) shoots a 3-pointer Nov. 9, 2025 during a women’s basketball game against the Evansville Purple Aces at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

Even with their height working against them, the Iowa Hawkeyes dominated Rutgers, 79-36. The Scarlet Knights didn't lead for a second as head coach Jan Jensen's squad was once on top by 48 points.

Iowa came to play as they improved to 9-0 (1-0) while Rutgers fell to 7-3 (0-1). There's no better way to make an impression in the B1G than for the No. 12 team in the nation to go to Jersey Mike's Arena and put on a show.

1. Iowa Was Unstoppable Down Low

This Hawkeyes team isn't one that lives and dies by the 3-ball, and that's a tremendous thing. Sure, they made 46% of their three pointers, but 44 of their 79 points came from in the paint. In total, that accounts for roughly 56% of the points they scored.

Iowa center Ava Heiden (5) high-fives Iowa guard Journey Houston (8)
Iowa center Ava Heiden (5) high-fives Iowa guard Journey Houston (8) during a basketball game against the Western Illinois Leathernecks Nov. 26, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Once again, Ava Heiden led the charge. She shot 8-for-13 from the field with a game-high 17 points. Jensen needed her out there for just 22 minutes, which goes to show how dominant this game truly was. Taylor McCabe was the only other starter who finished with double digits.

2. Iowa's Defense Is Legit

Sometimes a team has a bad shooting night and that's more on them than the defense, but anyone who watched this game saw just how dominant the Hawkeyes can be. No matter if there was a six-inch height disadvantage or not, Iowa held its ground as the Scarlet Knights finished the night with a 22% field goal percentage. Not only that, but they shot just 8% from three.

Iowa forced 15 turnovers, six of which were from Nene Ndiaye, whom Jensen was worried about coming into the game. The junior was held in check as she had a season high in turnovers against the Hawkeyes. In the end, Iowa had more steals, blocks, and points off turnovers, which helped propel them to victory.

3. Iowa Is Ready For A Bigger Challenge

Ask and you shall receive. In the next two weeks, the Hawkeyes will head to No. 10 Iowa State and travel to New York to play No. 1 UConn in the Champions Classic. Jensen made sure Iowa's schedule was far from easy, and that's already knowing how many ranked teams they'll have to play in B1G action.

Iowa already has a ranked win on its resume as it took down No. 7 Baylor in Orlando. That said, playing teams like the Cyclones and Huskies is going to be very different than the likes of Western Illinois, Fairfield, and Rutgers.

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Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.

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