IOWA CITY, Iowa — Unseasonably warm temperatures turned sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena into a sauna, and Iowa nearly melted down inside of it.
The No. 2 seed Hawkeyes (27-6) repeatedly blew three-score leads and led 15th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson by just two points inside the game’s final five minutes of Saturday’s first-round NCAA Tournament game. Despite missing eight of 12 free throws over the final 83 seconds, the Hawkeyes outlasted the Knights 58-48 in an NCAA tournament first-round game.
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Record-breaking temperatures soared to 88 degrees in Iowa City, making for stifling conditions inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which does not have air conditioning. Courtside temperature reached at least 80 degrees at game’s end.
The heat perhaps impacted the Hawkeyes, who cruised to a 20-5 lead early in the first quarter. But a bevy of turnovers and poor shot selection, coupled with Fairleigh Dickinson’s sizzling perimeter shooting, turned the game into a competitive matchup. In the end, there was too much Ava Heiden, who notched a career high with 29 points. Heiden, a sophomore, hit 11 of 16 from the field and connected on all seven free-throw attempts. She added seven rebounds.
Heiden’s performance masked Iowa’s overall deficiencies at the free-throw line. The Hawkeyes were just 10 of 22 from the line, which kept the Knights within striking distance throughout the game. Fairleigh Dickinson hit 10 3-pointers while Iowa connected on just 1 of 13 3-point attempts. But the Knights missed their last six shots and attempted just two free throws during the game.
Iowa moves onto Monday’s second-round game, where it will face 10th-seeded Virginia (21-11), which beat No. 7 seed Georgia 82-73 in overtime. Fairleigh Dickinson (30-5) had won 22 straight before falling to the Hawkeyes. No. 2 seeds are now 127-0 against No. 15 seeds in the women’s NCAA tournament.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Iowa Hawkeyes, Women’s College Basketball
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