A new year brings new expectations for the Hawkeye women, and Jan Jensen is doing her utmost to ensure the squad is prepared for a tough Big Ten Conference.
The Hawkeyes had a solid season in Jensen's second year as head coach, finishing with a 27-7 (15-3 Big Ten) record and a second-place regular-season and conference tournament finish. After losing nine players from last year's roster (five graduated, four transferred), the program entered a slight rebuild heading into next season. Integrating six new players won't be easy, but Jensen and the program haven't shied away from creating a difficult non-conference schedule.
Iowa's seven-game non-conference schedule has been set
Last season, excluding the WBCA Showcase tournament against No. 7 Baylor and Miami and a tough game against No. 10 Iowa State in Ames, the non-conference slate was not all that challenging, but it didn't affect their play when the Big Ten schedule started. This season, Jensen and the program cranked it up a notch by adding even more challenging games to the non-conference slate.
2026-27 Iowa WBB Non-Conference Slate🧩
— Kyle Huesmann (@HuesmannKyle) July 29, 2026
Nov 2- vs Towson
Nov 5 - vs Eastern Illinois
Nov 8 - at UConn (Storrs or Hartford)
Nov 15- vs Vanderbilt (Sioux City)
Dec 1- at Drake
Dec 9- vs Iowa State
TBD - vs Northern Iowa
Earlier in the offseason, the program locked in a home-and-away series with UConn for the next two seasons, with the squad traveling to either Storrs or Hartford, CT, to take on the Huskies early in the season on November 8. They also added SEC powerhouse Vanderbilt to the schedule in Sioux City on November 15. They also have three rivalry games scheduled for December, with back-to-back games against Drake and Iowa State before a game with Northern Iowa.
The non-conference slate is much more challenging this season, with two exciting games against new opponents to keep our eyes on. Matchups against Vandy and UConn will be an early barometer for the program and an excellent challenge early in the schedule. The Big Ten schedule makers also handed the Hawkeyes a difficult away schedule this season, providing even more adversity before the postseason. The squad needs to be tested early so they can gel more quickly, especially with six new faces in the building. It is still too early to determine who will be the starting five
The starting lineup could be Chit-Chat Wright, Dani Carnegie, Taylor Stremlow/Amari Whiting, McKenna Woliczko, and Ava Heiden, which is a solid starting five with a lot of potential. It will be difficult for three potential new starters to mesh right away, but Iowa doesn't have the luxury of a slow start with such a difficult schedule. The program will definitely be more well-rounded this season, and we will know very early on if the new additions are the right fit.
Iowa's first scheduled game is vs. Towson, who finished with a 17-14 (10-8 CAA) record last season, before welcoming Eastern Illinois to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
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