No. 10 Iowa shook off a double-digit drubbing by No. 4 UConn to steamroll past in-state rival Northern Iowa, 78-40.
Among the many faces inside the packed house in Carver-Hawkeye Arena was former player turned Washington Mystic Lucy Olsen and former head coach turned Big Ten Network analyst Lisa Bluder.
Both were introduced and received roaring ovations. Olsen played one season at Iowa (2024-25) and averaged 17.9 points and 5.1 assists per game. Bluder was the coach from 2000 to 2024, the mastermind
behind the the Caitlin Clark-led Hawkyes that went to back-to-back national title games in 2023 and 2024, thus putting the Hawkeyes in the national spotlight.
They were lucky to see their team play at their absolute best. Granted, they were the better team by ample measure, but nevertheless, they still balled out.
Altogether, the Hawkeyes shot 55.2 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from the 3-point line. They grabbed 38 rebounds and dished out 24 assists. Plus, the Hawkeyes outscored the Panthers 42-14 in the paint and ran the floor with 22 unanswered fast break points.
The one downside was 22 turnovers.
Guard Dani Carnegie set the tone with a game-high 22 points and scored her 1,000th career point. She also shot 9-for-13 from the field and handed out six assists.
Ava Heiden locked it down in the paint with 15 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field and grabbing four boards. McKenna Woliczko added 14 points of her own, along with nine rebounds. Chit-Chat Wright scored six points and had five rebounds of her own.
This weekend, Iowa will face off against No.8 Vanderbilt in Sioux City, Iowa.
Carnegie, while satisfied with the end result, points out a few particulars for the Hawkeyes to hone in on as they prepare for a tougher test against Vandy:
Work on boxing out We got to continue to push the ball. Turnovers, we are going to fix that for sure. We know we are a good team.
Head coach Jan Jensen concurred, while also pointing out that need to feed the ball inside:
We got to get a lot better at passing in the post. We are getting there, but I thought tonight our post entry wasn’t grand.
