All-American Caitlin Clark headlines an Iowa Women’s Basketball team that returns nearly everyone from last year’s Sweet Sixteen squad and is poised to make a run at a Big Ten Championship, as well as a push for an Elite Eight or Final Four bid in the NCAA Tournament.
The release of the team’s non-conference schedule earlier today means that we are inching closer to the start of the season, so I took a quick look at the slate the Hawkeyes will face before Big Ten play and gave a little preview of each game.
November 4th – vs Truman State (Exhibition)
The Hawkeyes will open the season against the DII Bulldogs, who went 17-5 last season, including a second-round appearance in the DII NCAA Tournament. They have not released their roster for the upcoming season, however three of their top four scorers from a year ago were not seniors. Hannah Belanger was a sophomore and led the team in scoring, averaging 18.5 ppg. Katey Klucking and Ellie Weltha both averaged over 10 ppg and should return for the Bulldogs.
November 9th – vs New Hampshire (Season Opener)
Iowa will take on the Wildcats from New Hampshire in their official season opener at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Wildcats went 5-15 last season, including a 5-11 record in the American East Conference. They return all of their big pieces from last season, including leading scorer Amanda Torres (12.1 ppg), leading rebounder Helena Delaruelle (6.0 per game) and Ivy Gogolin, who averaged 11.4 ppg. New Hampshire should be improved this season, but not enough to challenge the Hawkeyes in the opener.
November 11th – vs Samford
The Bulldogs went 14-11 last season, including a first-place finish in the Southern Conference. Despite the solid 11-2 conference record, Samford went 0-5 vs Power Conference programs. While they have not released their roster for the upcoming season, their leading scorer Andrea Cournoyer (18.4 ppg) was a junior last season, so she will be the biggest threat to the Iowa defense.
November 14th – at Northern Iowa
The Panthers went 17-13 last season and made an appearance in the Women’s NIT, where they would reach the semifinal before losing to Ole Miss 60-50. UNI finished in fourth place in the MVC with a record of 11-7. Senior Karli Rucker returns as the team’s leader in ppg (13.3), assists (115) and minutes per game (30.0). The Hawkeyes defeated the Panthers 96-81 in last year’s meeting.
November 17th – vs Southern
The Jaguars went 12-11 last season, including an 11-4 record in the SWAC. Southern opened last season with six losses to Power Conference opponents, including an 86-52 loss to Baylor. They have not released their roster for the upcoming season, but it looks like the Jaguars could return their top three scorers from last season. Genovea Johnson led the team in scoring with 13.4 ppg in her second year with the team.
November 21st – vs Drake
The Bulldogs went 18-12 last season and made an appearance in the Women’s NIT Tournament. They finished in second place in the MVC with a record of 13-5. Drake returns their leading scorer from last season, Grace Berg, who averaged 15.9 points per contest. Maggie Bair also returns as last year’s #4 scorer, averaging 8.8 ppg. Iowa defeated the Bulldogs 103-97 in last year’s meeting.
Cancun Challenge
November 25th – vs Seton Hall
The Pirates went 14-7 last season, while going 0-3 vs ranked teams and finished in third place in the Big East. Seton Hall returns their top three of the top four scorers from last season – Andra Espinoza-Hunter (18.6), Lauren Park-Lane (17.5) and Mya Jackson (10.6). Could be an underrated game with the Pirates returning some big pieces.
November 26th – vs USC
The Trojans went 11-12 during the 2020-21 season, finishing in eighth place in the PAC 12. They went 2-9 vs PAC 12 teams that made the NCAA Tournament. USC returns two of their top three scorers from a year ago – Jordan Sanders (12.0) and Alissa Pili (11.2).
Big Ten/ACC Challenge
December 2nd – at Duke
The Blue Devils played just four games last season before opting out of the remaining games due to Covid. They went 3-1. Duke returns three of their four top scorers from the few games they played, led by Miela Goodchild (15.3) and Vanessa de Jesus (12.0). They also have added five transfers from power five programs with starting experience. This will be a tough game for the Hawkeyes, despite the fact that Duke has such a small sample to draw from. The Blue Devils are generally a pretty solid basketball team.
December 8th – at Iowa State (Cy-Hawk Series)
The Cyclones went 17-11 last season and landed an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They beat Michigan State in the first round, before falling to Texas A&M in the Round of 32. They finished fourth in the Big 12 standings. Iowa State returns their top two scorers from last season, including senior Ashley Joens, who was a USBWA Third Team All-American selection last season. She led the team averaging 23.9 ppg, while Lexi Donarski averaged 13.0 ppg. In last year’s meeting, the Hawkeyes defeated Iowa State 82-80 in comeback fashion. This is the headlining game of the entire non-conference slate.
December 18th – vs Central Florida
This game is a very underrated one on the Hawkeyes non-conference slate. The Knights went 16-5 last season, including an NCAA Tournament appearance, where they lost to Northwestern 62-51. According to their updated roster for this season, UCF returns their top five leading scorers from last season, so this is going to an experienced roster much like the Hawkeyes. The big number that follows UCF is 50.5. The Knights boasted the #1 scoring defense in all of women’s basketball last season and they will look to slow the #2 scoring offense from last season. Tay Sanders (10.4 ppg) and Diamond Battles (10.0 ppg) are the top returning scorers.
December 21st – vs IUPUI
The Jaguars were a respectable 15-5 last season and made an appearance in the Horizon League championship game, where they fell short vs Wright State. IUPUI was #30 in scoring defense last season, so the Hawkeyes will face some solid defenses to wrap up non-conference play. They also return their top two leading scorers from a year ago; Macee Williams averaged 18.9 ppg and Rachel McLimore scored 13.9 ppg. This is another game that could be intriguing. The Jaguars should be a pretty good team.
The Hawkeyes Big Ten schedule will be released at a later date; however, the opponents have already been decided as follows….
Home Only: Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State Away Only: Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin Home/Away: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern
