Flagrant fouls defined the extra sessions and ended a sensational season for Iowa. The Hawkeyes conclude the 2025-26 season at 27-8.
Iowa women's basketball's sensational season has come to a close.
The No. 2-seeded Hawkeyes were upset by the tenth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers in double overtime, 83-75, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Monday afternoon.
Ava Heiden again led the way with 26 points, but inconsistent perimeter shooting and an extra session dominated by official reviews doomed Iowa.
First Half
Despite the odd afternoon Monday tip time, Carver-Hawkeye Arena was still nearly filled to capacity. The crowd was ready to roar from the opening tip, and that energy channeled through to the Hawkeyes. Iowa missed some open looks early, but showed more confidence than it did against Fairleigh Dickinson.
The only problem? Virginia also shared that same confident mindset. The Cavaliers won not one, but two games before Monday's game, and they showed little fear in the raucous environment. A breakaway layup from Romi Levy tied the game at 13 after one quarter, and Hawkeye fans braced for another dogfight.
The game remained a tight affair in the second, but missed opportunities at the rim prevented Iowa from building a lead. Journey Houston and Ava Heiden both had layups spin out off the rim, but to the dismay of the crowd. The lack of a three-point shot also killed Iowa, as it began this game 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Small mistakes in basketball usually pile up into a deficit, and that's what the Hawkeyes faced. Virginia caught fire from distance, and Kymora Johnson's triple gave the Cavaliers a 28-21 lead with 1:51 in the second. Jan Jensen was desperate for answers, but they didn't come, as Virginia carried a 28-23 lead to the break.
Iowa shot just 31% from the floor in the period (10/32) and 1/12 from distance.
Second Half
The Hawkeyes needed a fast start to re-energize their fans, and they made good on that promise. A turnover and easy bucket for Virginia on the opening possession spelled disaster for Iowa, but Chit-Chat Wright buried a three on the next trip to bring the Hawkeyes to life.
That triggered a game-altering 13-2 Iowa run and a 36-32 lead. Carver-Hawkeye Arena was a noise factory at this point, and it had a good reason to be. The Hawkeyes began picking apart the Cavalier zone, culminating in consecutive and-ones from Heiden.
Iowa's lead stretched to 42-34 at this juncture, and it looked like this would be the moment it would pull away. Virginia kept pushing, but the Hawkeyes had all the answers. Hannah Stuelke beat the buzzer with a layup to extend Iowa's lead to 48-39 after three, and if it wasn't already, Carver-Hawkeye was a full on frenzy.
Just when it looked like the Hawkeyes would be on the home stretch, the resurgent Cavaliers again continued to fight back. Paris Clark knocked in two big triples to slice the deficit to three (52-49) and the mood in the building returned to its once-tense state.
Wright relieved the tension with a triple, but Iowa's comfortable lead wouldn't exist again. Johnson, who has been the leading scorer for Virginia all season long, buried a clutch trey to tie the game at 57 apiece with 1:33 left to play.
Both teams traded empty possessions from there, but the ball landed in Iowa's hands with a chance to win the game. Wright's contested jumper missed badly off the side of the rim, sending the game to overtime.
Overtime
The Cavaliers were playing their second consecutive overtime game, having defeated No. 7 Georgia in the extra session in Saturday's first round action.
The question was how much gas Virginia had left in its tank. Iowa opened the period by feeding the ball down low to Heiden, who took advantage and scored to give the Hawkeyes the lead.
The game completely flipped on its head when Iowa was slapped with a flagrant foul call on Stuelke. She then missed a pair of free throws, while the Cavaliers connected on both of theirs. UVA took a 61-59 lead two possessions later, and the Hawkeyes were in trouble.
Stuelke redeemed herself with a breakaway layup to tie the game at 63. Another flagrant foul call, this time against the Cavaliers, sent Wright to the free throw line. Wright split the pair, but it was enough to give the Hawkeyes a one-point lead.
Iowa received the ball as a result, but Wright only managed to split her next pair. That left the Hawkeyes with a 65-63 lead, and they needed one final defensive stand to secure the win.
Johnson banked in a runner to tie the game, and Heiden's game winning attempt came after the buzzer sounded, sending the contest to a second overtime.
Second Overtime
By the time the second overtime came to a close, Virginia had played an astounding 135 minutes of game action during its five-day vacation in Iowa City, but unfortunately for Iowa fans, the period was all Cavaliers.
Virginia orchestrated a 9-0 run to take full control, and that was that. As Hawkeye fans quietly filed for the exits, the Wahoos celebrated a berth in the Sweet 16.