IOWA CITY — Following an uncharacteristic run of home struggles, the Big Ten schedule now takes Iowa women’s basketball as far away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena as possible in the league.

The Hawkeyes (12-6, 2-5 Big Ten Conference) are set to begin their first West Coast conference swing, beginning with Sunday’s 4 p.m. game at Oregon (13-5, 4-3) on BTN+. Iowa will then head to Washington next Wednesday for an 8 p.m. showdown. The Hawkeyes are desperately trying to end a four-game losing streak that suddenly has them flirting with the NCAA Tournament bubble.

With that, here are three things to watch ahead of Sunday’s showdown.

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Can the Hawkeyes productively channel their desperation?

Everyone inside the program understands the current situation and how it needs to change. But the Hawkeyes can’t let that pressure generate more tight play on the court, an ongoing theme throughout this four-game losing streak.

“We really are just one or two possessions away,” assistant coach Sean Sullivan said Friday. “With a team like this who’s continuing to fight, we just need one win. We just need one to get going because these kids really do believe.

“Everyone knows their role. Everyone is supporting each other, and that’s the best thing you can do at this time during a four-game losing streak. We’re not going down that black hole. We see the light. We’ve just got to get there.”

Until revealed otherwise, expect another tense affair with plenty of late-game opportunities for Iowa to find a better conclusion. The Hawkeyes need to bring this one home.

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How does Iowa handle Oregon’s full-court pressure while potentially leaning more on its own press?

Iowa had some trouble in December with pressing teams, most notably Tennessee and Michigan State, that resulted in heavy turnovers and late struggles. On the flipside, the Hawkeyes have implemented their own press, just sporadically, mainly in moments of desperation.

Iowa leaned on more pressure in Thursday’s loss to Nebraska with some success. Could Sunday be a moment to match the Ducks’ energy there?

“Oregon is going to be pretty intense with ball pressure. That’s not what we do, but we’re slowly doing a little bit more of a press,” Sullivan said “First we did a press break of some type of 2-2-1. Now we’re like, ‘OK, let’s change it up a bit. What do our players feel comfortable with?’ (Thursday) night, we had a lot of success. We’re starting to see what they’re good at.

“Now, we’ve just got to have fun with it. Let’s start doing some random things because when you do something consistently, it’s easy to scout. But when you start changing things up, Nebraska didn’t handle our pressure well. And that builds us confidence. So I think for the future, you’ll definitely start to see some more stuff.”

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What does Iowa have in store for Ava Heiden in her Oregon homecoming?

Even as far back as media day, Ava Heiden’s excitement for the Oregon trip was apparent. Her hometown of Sherwood, Oregon, sits about 100 miles north of the Ducks’ campus, so expect a strong cheer for Heiden when Iowa takes the floor Sunday.

“Ava is so athletic,” Sullivan said. “She can jump out of the building. She can get rebounds. And that’s what we’ve got to start figuring out. How can we utilize her a little bit more too?

Heiden’s minutes have been up and down this year, more down lately as Hannah Stuelke has shifted back to the “5” position for more consistency. Heiden didn’t play against Nebraska but could certainly see more usage Sunday.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.