By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The advantage of playing at home sweet home, and before a sellout crowd wasn’t sweet enough for the Iowa women’s basketball team as it fell to Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 10 seed Cavaliers withstood a raucous road environment at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to edge No. 2 seed Iowa 83-75 in double overtime on Monday.

With the win, Virginia improved to 22-11 and advances to the Sweet 16, while Iowa finished 27-7 under second-year head coach Jan Jensen.

When it became clear that her team was on the verge of losing Monday’s game, Jensen crouched near the scorer’s table and put her head down; knowing that a season filled with so much promise and potential was suddenly over.

Iowa had multiple chances to win the game in regulation, and in the first overtime, but just couldn’t get the job done against a Virginia squad that was playing its third game since Thursday.

Missed free throws, too many turnovers and poor offensive execution in the second overtime proved costly for Iowa as Virginia outscored the Hawkeyes 18-10 in the second overtime.

The Cavaliers expanded their lead to 74-67 on a breakaway layup by Kymora Johnson with 2 minutes, 18 seconds left in the second overtime.

Her basket came after an Iowa turnover in the paint.

The Hawkeyes would trail by at least six points the rest of the way.

When the game finally ended, the Virginia players and coaches celebrated with the few fans they had in the arena, including their pep band.

“Of course, winning a game in front of a crowd like that where we just had a little section of orange is awesome,” said Virginia head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. “You’ve got to be able to win on the road in March.”

Agugua-Hamilton is familiar with Iowa’s devoted fan base after having previously been an assistant coach for Indiana from 2009-11 and for Michigan State from 2013-15.

“Iowa has always been a tough place to play,” she said. “I was very familiar with them and the coaching staff

“Obviously, different players, but it’s great environment. And I just think we need more of it.”

Senior forward Hannah Stuelke made a basket to give Iowa a 57-51 lead with less than five minutes to play in regulation.

Her basket brought the fans to their feet, and it was starting to feel as if Iowa’s home-court advantage would pave the way to victory, and ultimately to the Sweet 16.

But then Virginia responded with six straight points to even the score at 57 with less than two minutes to play.

Virginia also had a chance to take the lead with the score even at 57, but instead committed a turnover with the shot clock winding down.

That gave Iowa the ball with 9.8 seconds remaining in regulation, and with the arena rocking.

Iowa had a chance to win the game in regulation, but sophomore point guard Chit-Chat Wright missed a shot as time expired while surrounded by multiple defenders.

Iowa also had a chance to win the game in the first overtime, but sophomore guard Taylor Stremlow missed a 3-point shot with five seconds remaining.

Sophomore center Ava Heiden grabbed the offensive rebound, but then she missed a shot near the basket as time expired, sending the game to a second overtime where Virginia seized the momentum and the lead.

Heiden said afterwards that she thought there was more time on the clock when she grabbed the offensive rebound.

“And that’s on me,” Heiden said. “I’ve could have probably been a little bit more aware of the clock. That’s something I’ll grow into.”

The 6-foot-4 Heiden led three Iowa players in double figures with 26 points before fouling out late in the second overtime. Wright finished with 21 points, but she also had five of Iowa’s 16 turnovers, while Stuelke recorded a double-double with 15 points and 19 rebounds in what was her final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Heiden, on the other hand, is only halfway through her Hawkeye career, and the Oregon native already was thinking of the future as she met with the media after Monday’s loss.

“I think coach (Jensen) always says we’re younger than we’re older,” Heiden said. “I’ve heard that a lot. I think that’s a benefit for us. We get to learn from our experience and then we get to grow from that over two to three years.

“So I think that is something that will be a positive for us.”

For a while, however, the pain of losing at home, and with so much on the line will will linger.

Iowa also lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, but that loss was to Oklahoma on its home floor in Norman, Oklahoma.

“Overall, a heck of a year. This type of ending, definitely disappointing,” Jensen said in her post-game press conference. “But when I briefly looked at the box score, I don’t believe we deserved to win it. Virginia, hats off. They came in here and you win — sometimes when you’re that underdog — in March, most people cheer for the underdog. You can play with a lot less pressure, and you come in here and you’re just kind of rolling and they get one and they get two and what do you got to lose.”

Virginia had four players that scored in double figures, led by Kymora Johnson with 28 points, 10 of which came on free throws where she was 10-for-11 from the line. She also made four of Virginia’s nine threes.

Backcourt partner Paris Clark scored 20 points and was 3-of-4 from behind the arc.

Virginia committed 20 turnovers, but when it mattered the most in double overtime, the Virginia players locked in and made enough free throws to secure the win.

Virginia finished 18-0f-23 from the free throw line, while Iowa struggled, making just 8-of-16 attempts.

Monday’s game had an early 1 p.m. tipoff, and with it also being a work day, that created some obstacles with regard to parking.

But that didn’t stop Hawkeye fans from packing the arena as they always do now.

Iowa advanced to the second round by defeating a pesky Fairleigh Dickinson squad 58-48 in the first round on Saturday, while Virginia advanced with wins over Arizona State and Georgia.

The Hawkeyes beat FDU despite only making 1-of-13 shots from 3-point range.

That would prove to be a sign of things to come, though, as Iowa made just 5-of-29 threes against Virginia.

So in the two NCAA Tournament games, Iowa shot a combined 6-of-42 from three.

The Hawkeyes could have certainly used injured senior guard Taylor McCabe in the postseason since she’s one of Iowa’s best 3-point shooters.

Unfortunately, McCabe suffered a season-ending knee injury in late January, leaving a huge void that would prove costly in the postseason.

Iowa only scored nine points in the third quarter and eight in the fourth quarter of Monday’s game. The Hawkeyes were also held to single digits in the two of the four quarters against FDU.

So as important as it is to have homecourt advantage, it still comes down to making shots, and making free throws, and Iowa didn’t make enough of either to survive and advance.

Period by period scoring

Virginia 13 15 11 18 8 18 – 83

Iowa 13 10 25 9 8 10 – 75