The rumors of a potential weekend contest were true and the Iowa Women’s basketball team will be at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Hawkeyes will face the Illinois Fighting Illini at 5:00pm and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

This game will now replace their game that was supposed to take place on February 12th, which now gives Iowa a potential spot to host Indiana. The Hoosiers trip to Iowa for Sunday was postponed due to Covid issues within their program.

Previewing the Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois sits at 1-4 in Big Ten play and 6-10 overall for the season. The lost to Purdue 89-67 on Thursday night.

The Illini are led by sophomore G Aaliyah Nye who is averaging 12.1 points per game and leads the team with a 40.0% 3pt percentage, however she leads the team in turnovers with 40. G Jada Peebles is the team’s second-best option behind the 3pt line (37.5%) and averages 8.4 ppg, while also leading the team in assists with 35. F Kendall Bostic is an impressive rebounder, averaging 11.9 per game, including 3.5 per game on the offensive side. Bostic also leads the starters in FG% at 45.5%.

There are not many team statistics that look favorably upon the Illini. They ranked 162nd in scoring offense (66.1), 305th in FT% (64.7%), 257th in assist to turnover ratio (.68) and 151st in FG% (40.8%).

With the Hawkeyes getting this game at home and in the midst of a four-game winning streak, expect Lisa Bluder’s team to get out and score early and often. Iowa should be able to get bench players some time and roll to a fifth straight victory.