What a way to start 2026 for Iowa Women's Basketball!
The Hawkeyes started the 2025-2026 campaign hot, winning their first nine games before losing two of three games to No. 10 Iowa State and No. 1 UConn.
Iowa finished 2025 with a commanding 23-point victory over Big Ten foe Penn State and was looking to carry that momentum into Thursday's game against No. 20 Nebraska.
Game recap
The Nebraska Cornhuskers were off to their best start in program history after starting the season 10-0.
They were hoping to get back on track after dropping a close 74-66 game to No. 17 USC in their final game of the year 2025.
The Hawkeyes started the game very slowly, not making a basket until under seven minutes in the first quarter.
Iowa was also plagued by multiple turnovers, leading to Nebraska jumping out to an early 10-2 lead.
The Hawkeyes used solid defense to hold the Cornhuskers to seven points in the final seven minutes of the first quarter as they crawled back into the game.
Iowa went on a quick 7-0 run to start the second quarter and took the lead, but the game was back-and-forth through the rest of the game.
The Hawkeyes finally pulled away around the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter and held on to win 86-76 to get their first win of the new year.
Chit-Chat Wright scored a season-high 24 points, including making 11 of 12 shots at the charity stripe, to lead the Hawkeyes in scoring.
Hannah Stuelke had another solid game, notching a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, with Ava Heiden adding 18 points and seven rebounds.
Jan Jensen had high praise for her team's effort in the victory
After Iowa's hard-fought victory over Nebraska, the squad picked up its second ranked win of the season and moved into a tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference.
Head Coach Jan Jensen knew this game would take everything they had, and even though it was a home game, Nebraska is always a challenging opponent.
Jensen praised her team's effort, especially Hannah Stuelke, and stated the team "grew up a little" after a pivotal Big Ten win.
The Hawkeyes have two road games against Northwestern (January 5) and Indiana (January 11) before returning home to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to take on Oregon (January 15).