The No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the No. 11 Murray State Racers 92-57 for the NCAA Tournament First Round game at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., on Saturday, March 22.

Freshman Ava Heiden scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and sixth-seeded Iowa rolled past No. 11 seed Murray State 92-57 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament

NORMAN, Okla. — Freshman Ava Heiden scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and sixth-seeded Iowa rolled past No. 11 seed Murray State 92-57 on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Lucy Olsen had 12 points and a career-high 12 assists for the Hawkeyes (23-10). They scored a season high in points in the first tournament win for first-year Iowa coach Jan Jensen, a longtime assistant who was promoted after Lisa Bluder retired.

Iowa will play No. 3 Oklahoma or No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast on Monday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Murray State’s Katelyn Young, who averaged 22.2 points heading into the NCAA Tournament, left the game early in the third quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. She finished with six points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.

Halli Poock scored 15 points and Ava Learn added eight points and 10 rebounds before fouling out for Murray State (25-8). The Racers, who entered the game averaging a nation-leading 87.8 points per game, shot just 30.6% from the field and posted their lowest point total of the season.

Hannah Stuelke, Iowa’s No. 2 scorer for the season, committed two quick fouls and sat for most of the first half. Heiden picked up the slack, reaching a career high in scoring by halftime with 13 points. The Hawkeyes led 42-30 at the break, then dominated in the second half.

Kim Mulkey had brutally honest message for Caitlin Clark after beating LSU

LSU coach Kim Mulkey could do nothing but gush about former Iowa star guard Caitlin Clark after she dropped 41 points on her team in the 2024 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight

After falling to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Elite Eight last season, Kim Mulkey and LSU are looking to bounce back to the program’s 2023 NCAA championship-winning form this season.

Mulkey has seen it all: she’s a four-time tournament winner across spells at both Baylor and LSU and is a three-time AP College Basketball Coach of the Year with the 35th-most wins all time.

Still, Mulkey and her Tigers had never seen anything like Clark. The former Iowa star torched guard Hailey Van Lith and the LSU defense with an effortless 41 points as the Hawkeyes prevailed 94-87.

Mulkey was effusive in her praise of Clark after the contest. “She’s just a generational player and she just makes everybody around her better,” she revealed.

“That’s what the great ones do. I think they had a kid who had 21 [referring to Kate Martin], [because Clark] had 12 assists. Caitlin Clark isn’t going to beat you by yourself,” Mulkey continued. “It’s what she does to make those other teammates better that helps her score points and them score points to beat you.”

In a brutally honest message, Mulkey revealed exactly what she said to Clark when they embraced after the contest.

She revealed: “What did I say to her [after the game]? I said, ‘I sure am glad you leaving.’ I said, ‘Girl, you something else. Never seen anything like it.'”

Clark and the Hawkeyes would ultimately lose to Dawn Staley’s undefeated South Carolina side in the NCAA title game, marking her second consecutive tournament loss at that juncture (Iowa fell to Mulkey’s LSU in 2023).

The guard made good on her collegiate prowess at the professional level, nearly winning the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Award unanimously while helping the Indiana Fever break an eight-year tournament draught.

Former LSU standout Angel Reese continued her competitive rivalry with Clark in the WNBA. She too was praiseworthy of her opponent following the Tigers’ defeat.

“I think it’s just great for the sport, just being able to be a part of history. Like I said, no matter which way it went tonight, I know this was going to be a night for the ages,” Reese admitted. “And just being able to be a part of history is great. Playing against another great player, of course, is always amazing.”

As a three-seed in 2025, Mulkey and LSU have a tricky route: they’ll have to beat a combination of No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 NC State, and No. 4 Baylor to advance to the Spokane Regional-1 Final Four.

The difficulty of the Tigers’ task is compounded by injuries to stars Flau’jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow. The former missed the entire SEC Tournament with a shin injury, while the latter exited LSU’s loss against Texas after stepping on an opposing player’s foot.