By Hawk Fanatic

For the first time in 30 years, the Iowa women’s basketball team is 8-0 in conference play.

The 10th-ranked Hawkeyes earned that milestone by defeating No. 15 Maryland 85-78 in overtime on Thursday in College Park, Maryland.

Iowa is now 17-2 overall and 8-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since the 1995-96 Hawkeye squad started 12-0 in conference play.

The Hawkeyes led by 17 points (66-49) with 3 minutes, 15 second left in the fourth quarter, but then Maryland closed the quarter on a 24-7 scoring run, evening the score at 73-73 and forcing overtime.

The Terps had the momentum heading to overtime, while Iowa had starting center Ava Heiden dealing with four fouls.

Heiden avoided picking up her fifth foul in overtime as Iowa withstood Maryland’s late charge, outscoring the Terps 12-5 in overtime.

Iowa head coach Jan Jensen, obviously, wasn’t pleased with how her team finished the fourth quarter.

But she praised her players for being resilient and for overcoming adversity in a tough environment.

Maryland was 85-14 in Big Ten play at home heading into Thursday’s game.

This Iowa team, by starting 8-0 in Big Ten, play has accomplished what Iowa’s back-to-back NCAA runner-up teams in 2023 and 2024 fell short of achieving, even with legendary point guard Caitlin Clark leading the way.

“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,” said Jensen, who now has a 40-13 record as the Iowa head coach. “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.”

Heiden scored four of her 20 points in overtime, while sophomore point guard Chit-Chat Wright scored the other eight points for Iowa in overtime.

Wright, a transfer from Georgia Tech, made all six of her free throw attempts in overtime and finished with 18 points and five assists.

“Just stay calm and collected; I don’t try to let anybody rush me,” Wright said. “When the defense comes, I like to read the floor, so just not to rush anything and be patient.”

Freshman forward Journey Houston also played a significant role off the bench as she helped to fill the void that was caused by Heiden being in foul trouble in the second half. Houston scored 10 straight points in less than three minutes in a flurry that stretched from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth quarter.

Heiden picked up her fourth foul with 1:52 left in the third quarter, and with Iowa leading, 44-39.

She spent the rest of the quarter on the bench and watch as her team closed the quarter on a 8-2 scoring run.

Iowa was leading 61-47 when Heiden returned to the game with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Hawkeyes failed to protect its lead down the stretch, but still found a way to win in overtime against a ranked opponent on the road.

Iowa has now won four of the last six games against Maryland, which was 12-1 at home heading into Thursday’s game.

Senior forward Hannah Stuelke finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assitss, while senior guard Taylor McCabe scored 12 points, all of which came on four 3-point baskets.

Iowa scored the first five points in the game, but then fell behind 10-7 before going on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 16-10 lead.

The Terps mad a basket with 48 seconds left in the first quarter, trimming the deficit to 16-12 heading to the second quarter.

Iowa built a nine-point lead (29-20) in the second quarter as McCabe made two threes in the quarter and three overall in the first half.

Heiden also scored the final six points for Iowa in the second quarter, which ended with Iowa holding a 33-27 lead. Heiden led Iowa with 10 points in the first half .

The Hawkeyes made 5-of-10 shots from 3-point range in the first half, while Maryland was just 1-of-8 from three in the first half.

Iowa also committed just four turnovers in the first half, while Maryland had 10 turnovers.

The Terps had a 23-16 advantage on the boards in the first half, but only shot 35.5 percent from the field, making just 11-of-31 field-goal attempts.

Iowa assisted on nine of its 14 baskets in the first half, led by Stuelke with four assists. Stuelke also led Iowa with five rebounds in the first half.

The Hawkeyes did not attempt a free throw in the first half, while Maryland made all four of its free throws in the half.

Iowa returns home to face Ohio State on Sunday.