No. 10 Iowa women face No. 12 Ohio State Sunday at CHA; with Iowa looking to improve to 9-0 in Big Ten play

By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Caitlin Clark is without question the greatest player in the history of the Iowa women’s basketball program; her individual and team success the stuff of legends.

But Caitlin Clark also never played on an Iowa team that started 8-0 in conference play, so the current Iowa team, which is currently 8-0 in Big Ten play and ranked 10th in both polls, has certainly made a name for itself.

The challenge now is to keep adding to the win streak, but standing in the way on Sunday is a dangerous Ohio State squad, whose rivalry with Iowa has been intense and hotly contested over the years as the teams have split their last six meetings.

Iowa hasn’t started 9-0 in conference play since the 1995-96 Hawkeye squad won its first 12 Big Ten games.

Iowa is also coming off an 85-78 overtime victory at No. 15 Maryland this past Thursday in which the Hawkeyes blew a 17-point lead in the final three minutes of regulation, but then outscored the Terps 12-5 in overtime.

“If we take away that negativity part and you think of what these women did, having a five-minute game on their court and they (Maryland) got the first basket,” Iowa head coach Jan Jensen said after the Maryland win. “This is what this team has been all year; they’ve just been resilient and they’ve been really good at they can be frustrated and I’m down, but they’re pretty good at the next play when their backs are against the wall.”

With the win over Maryland, Jensen’s record improved to 40-13 as the Iowa head coach.

Iowa’s two losses this season were against Iowa State (74-69) on Dec. 10 in Ames  and against top-ranked Connecticut (90-64) on Dec. 20 in Brooklyn, New York.

The Hawkeyes have won seven strait games since falling to UConn.

Ohio State, meanwhile, also has just losses this season; the first against UConn (100-68) on Nov. 16 and the second against UCLA (82-75) on Dec. 28.

Sophomore guard Jaloni Cambridge leads the Buckeyes in scoring with a 21.7 per-game average., while her sister, Kennedy Cambridge, leads Ohio State in steals with an average of 4.2 per game. Jaloni Cambridge also averages 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

The Iowa guards will face a big challenge against the Cambridge sisters on both ends of the court.

Iowa sophomore point guard Chit-Chat Wright scored 18 points in the win at Maryland. She also had five assists, and two rebounds.

The Georgia Tech transfer has now recorded 10-plus points and three-plus assists in seven out of the last eight games.

Sophomore center Ava Heiden led all scorers in the win over Maryland with 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. She has reached double figures in seven straight games and against all eight Big Ten opponents.

Senior forward Hannah Stuelke recorded her fifth double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists in the win at Maryland. The Cedar Rapids native also extended her streak of eight or more rebounds to four straight games.

Wright said she benefits from having both Heiden and Stuelke playing on the frontline.

“They make the game easier for me and when that happens, it’s all good for me,” Wright said. “I get open shots. I’m able to read the court a little bit better and the defenses space out.”

Iowa also received a boost against Maryland from freshman forward Journey Houston, who scored 10 straight points during a short stretch that started late in the third quarter and lasted until early in the fourth quarter. The Davenport native scored most of her points with Heiden on the bench with four fouls.

Iowa probable starters

Pos. No. Name Ht. Yr. Hometown Season Stat Summary

PG 11 Chit-Chat Wright 5-4 So. Atlanta, Ga. 13 ppg, 3.8 apg, 47% 3fg

SG 2 Taylor McCabe 5-9 Sr. Fremont, Neb. 8.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 37% 3fg

SG 4 Kylie Feuerbach 6-0 Gr. Sycamore, Ill. 5.5 ppg, 3.1 apg, 1.7 rpg

PF 45 Hannah Stuelke 6-2 Sr. Cedar Rapids, Iowa 14.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 54% fg

C 5 Ava Heiden 6-4 So. Sherwood, Ore. 16.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 63% fg

Ohio State (18-2, 7-1) vs,. Iowa (17-2, 8-0)

When: Sunday, 1 p.m.

Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena

TV/stream: Peacock

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

Series history: The Buckeyes lead the all-time series, 42-37. Iowa and Ohio State have split the last six matchups