Iowa guard Journey Houston (8) takes a shot at the basket against Minnesota forward Finau Tonga (31) on Feb. 5, 2026, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. (Photo: Cody Scanlan/The Register)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Grace Grocholski scored 21 points, Mara Braun added 16 and Minnesota beat No. 10 Iowa 91-85 on Thursday night for its fifth straight victory.

The Gophers (17-6, 8-4 Big Ten) have the program’s longest winning streak in Big Ten play since the 2018-19 season. The Hawkeyes (18-5, 9-3) lost their third consecutive game since they lost starting guard Taylor McCabe, the team’s leading 3-point shooter, to a season-ending knee injury.

Minnesota led for almost all of the final three quarters, shooting 51.6% for the game while going 10 of 14 in 3-pointers. The Gophers, whose biggest lead was 77-57 with 7:51 to play, had a 41-28 rebounding advantage.

It was Minnesota’s first road win over a top-10 team since 2005.

Tori McKinney added 15 points for Minnesota. Amaya Battle had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Finau Tonga had 10 points.

Ava Heiden led Iowa with 24 points. Chazadi Wright had 20 points and a career-high 12 assists. Journey Houston had 15 points and Hannah Stuelke added 14.

The Hawkeyes were coming off a West Coast trip in which they went out in a tie for the Big Ten lead and then lost by a combined 35 points to USC and Big Ten leader UCLA. This game wasn’t much better.

IOWA INDIVIDUAL NOTES
– Ava Heiden led Iowa with 24 points (9-13 FG), four rebounds, and two assists. 
– It was Heiden’s sixth 20+ point performance which is a team-best.
– Heiden has reached double figures in 11 straight games and against all 12 Big Ten opponents.
– Chit-Chat Wright registered 20 points, a career-high 12 assists, four steals and two rebounds.
– It was her second double-double of the season.
– Wright notched 20+ points for the third time this season.
– Wright has dished out five or more assists in five out of the last six games.
– Hannah Stuelke recorded 14 points (6-7 FT) and nine rebounds.
– Stuelke has reached double figures in eight straight games.
– It was Stuelke’s 17th game with eight or more boards.
– Journey Houston recorded 15 points and four rebounds.
– It was Houston’s fifth game of her career in double figures. 
– Taylor Stremlow added four points, four assists, and five rebounds off the bench. 

IOWA TEAM NOTES
– The Hawkeyes have played in front of 48 consecutive home sellouts, the longest active streak nationally.
– In the first quarter, Iowa shot a season-best 75 percent from the floor. (9-12)
– The loss snapped Iowa’s 12-game home winning streak. 

Up Next

The nationally ranked Hawkeyes will host No. 24 Washington on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. (CT) in Iowa City. The contest will air on B1G+ and the Hawkeye Radio Network.