WBB Notes: No. 10 Hawkeyes Host Maryville in Exhibition

FOLLOW LIVE

Radio: Games air on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Rob Brooks (play-by-play) and Kathryn Reynolds (color) on the call. The network includes more than 40 stations across Iowa and portions of neighboring states. A 30-minute pregame show precedes each broadcast.

Streaming: Thursday's exhibition will stream on B1G+ (subscription required), with Ryan Paris, Collin Carrithers and Megan Burhans on the call.

KRUI Sports: Dom D'Angelo and Mason Hodny will also call the action.

PROGRAM QUICK HITS

• Iowa became the first program in Big Ten history to compete in back-to-back NCAA national championship games in 2023 and 2024.
• The Hawkeyes won a school-record 34 games in 2023-24, advancing to their second consecutive national championship game and third Final Four in program history.
• Iowa has made 32 NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching 10 Sweet 16s, six Elite Eights, three Final Fours and two national championship games.
• The Hawkeyes have captured 16 Big Ten titles, including six conference tournament championships. Four tournament crowns have come since 2019 (2019, 2022, 2023, 2024).
• Iowa has recorded 10 consecutive 20-win seasons, tying the longest streak in program history, previously set under C. Vivian Stringer (1984-94).
• The Hawkeyes finished 27-7 overall and 15-3 in Big Ten play in 2025-26, advancing to the conference tournament championship game and earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
•  Jan Jensen owns a 50-18 overall record and a 25-11 Big Ten mark through two seasons. She became the fastest head coach in program history to reach 50 career victories.
• Jensen is the first Iowa women’s basketball head coach to record 20 or more victories in each of her first two seasons.
• Iowa has sold out its season ticket allotment for the fourth consecutive season entering 2026-27.
• The Hawkeyes are 142-22 in Iowa City dating back to Nov. 11, 2016.
• Iowa has produced at least one first-team All-Big Ten selection in 10 consecutive seasons dating back to 2017, most recently Ava Heiden in 2026.
• Six Hawkeyes have been selected in the WNBA Draft since 2019: Megan Gustafson, Kathleen Doyle, Monika Czinano, Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin and Lucy Olsen.
• Iowa returns five players and welcomes six newcomers in 2026-27, including four transfers and two first-year players.

OPENING TIP

• No. 10 Iowa opens its 2026-27 campaign Thursday, Oct. 29, hosting Maryville in an exhibition at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game will stream on B1G+. 
• The Hawkeyes officially open the regular season at home Monday, Nov. 2, against Towson. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
• Iowa concluded the 2025-26 season with a pair of NCAA Tournament games, defeating FDU, 58-48, in the first round on March 21 before falling to Virginia, 83-75, in double overtime in the second round on March 23. Ava Heiden scored a career-high 29 points against FDU. The victory marked Jan Jensen’s 50th career win. 
• Against Virginia, Heiden paced Iowa with 26 points, Chit-Chat Wright added 21 and Hannah Stuelke grabbed 19 rebounds, tying Iowa’s NCAA Tournament record.
• Maryville enters the season as the reigning Great Lakes Valley Conference champion after posting a school-record 25-7 overall mark and 16-4 conference record in 2025-26. The Saints earned their second NCAA Division II Tournament berth in program history and were picked to repeat as GLVC champions in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll.
• The Saints return first-team All-GLVC guard Lindsey Schadewalt, who averaged 14.4 points per game and shot 42.6 percent from 3-point range last season. Maryville also returns second-team All-GLVC selection Gracie Gopalan and GLVC All-Freshman honoree Claire Lueken. 
• Maryville has defeated three NCAA Division I opponents in exhibition play over the past four seasons under head coach Brita Hand. The Saints defeated Saint Louis, 78-70, in 2022, SIU Edwardsville, 81-66, in 2024, and Missouri, 90-84, in overtime in 2025 behind 23 points from Schadewalt.
• Brita Hand previously served two seasons as head coach at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa. Before that, she was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

SETTING THE STAGE

• Iowa enters the 2026-27 season following a 27-7 campaign, including a 15-3 mark in Big Ten play.
• The Hawkeyes have made 32 NCAA Tournament appearances in program history, including eight consecutive trips to the Big Dance.
• Iowa has recorded 10 consecutive 20-win seasons, tying the longest streak in program history.
• Jensen enters her third season as head coach and 27th with the program. She owns a 50-18 record and became the fastest head coach in school history to reach 50 career wins.
• The Hawkeyes earned a No. 2 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
• Iowa recorded seven AP Top 25 regular-season victories in 2025-26, tying a program record. Five came against AP Top 15 opponents, also matching a school record.
• The Hawkeyes return five players and welcome six newcomers, including four transfers and two first-year players.

TOP-10 TERRITORY

• Iowa opens the 2026-27 season ranked No. 10 in both the Associated Press and WBCA Coaches preseason polls.
• The No. 10 AP ranking is Iowa’s highest preseason ranking since the 2023-24 campaign.
• The Hawkeyes are one of nine Big Ten programs ranked in the AP preseason Top 25.
• Heiden was named to the Coaches and Media Preseason All-Big Ten teams, earning recognition from both groups following a first-team All-Big Ten campaign.
• Wright was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award preseason watch list on Oct. 26. The award recognizes the nation’s top point guard.
• Carnegie was tabbed to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award preseason watch list on Oct. 27, recognizing the nation’s top shooting guard.

THE RETURNING FIVE

• Heiden, Wright, Taylor Stremlow, Journey Houston and Layla Hays return for the Hawkeyes in 2026-27.
• Heiden averaged 18.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season while shooting 64.1 percent from the field.
• Heiden totaled 612 points and 246 rebounds in 2025-26, ranking third and seventh, respectively, on Iowa’s second-year single-season lists.
• Wright averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game in her first season at Iowa.
• Wright connected on 70 3-pointers at a 44.0 percent clip last season. Her 138 assists rank seventh on Iowa’s second-year single-season list.
• Wright, Heiden and Stremlow were voted team captains for the 2026-27 season.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK 

• Iowa welcomes four transfers: Dani Carnegie (Georgia), Jocelyn Faison (Georgia), Amari Whiting (Oklahoma State) and Bria Medina (Knox College).
• Carnegie was the No. 6 overall transfer portal prospect and earned unanimous first-team All-SEC recognition at Georgia in 2025-26.
• Carnegie averaged 17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game last season. She connected on 84 3-pointers and started all 32 games for the Bulldogs.
• Whiting started all 34 games at Oklahoma State last season, averaging 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest.
• Medina averaged 23.6 points per game at Knox College, ranking second nationally in Division III. She was named Midwest Conference Player of the Year and earned first-team all-region recognition.
• Faison appeared in 25 contests at Georgia.
• Ella Strömdahl joins the Hawkeyes from Uppsala, Sweden, becoming the first Swedish player in program history.

STAR POWER FROM SAN BRUNO

• McKenna Woliczko was rated the No. 6 overall prospect nationally by ESPN and is the second-highest-rated recruit in Iowa program history.
• Woliczko was selected to the 2026 McDonald’s All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit.
• The San Bruno, California, native averaged 21.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game during her high school career at Archbishop Mitty.
• Woliczko owns two USA Basketball gold medals from the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup.

BIG TEN, BIG HONORS

• Heiden earned first-team All-Big Ten recognition from both the coaches and media in 2025-26.
• Wright garnered third-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and honorable mention recognition from the media.
• Heiden received honorable mention All-America recognition from the Associated Press, USBWA and WBCA.
• Jensen was named a 2026 Naismith Coach of the Year semifinalist and a WBCA Division I Coach of the Year finalist.

CIRCLE THE DATES

• Iowa opens the regular season against Towson on Nov. 2 and hosts Eastern Illinois on Nov. 5 before traveling to UConn on Nov. 8.
• The Hawkeyes will face Vanderbilt on Nov. 15 in Sioux City, Iowa, before traveling to Nassau, Bahamas, for matchups against Utah (Nov. 23) and Navy (Nov. 25).
• Iowa’s 18-game Big Ten slate features nine home and nine road contests, with Nebraska serving as the Hawkeyes’ lone home-and-home opponent.
• Iowa is scheduled for 18 nationally distributed games across FOX, FS1, BTN and Peacock, including 14 linear television appearances.
• The 2027 Big Ten Tournament will take place March 3-7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

PACKED HOUSE, AS USUAL

• Iowa has sold out its season ticket allotment for the fourth consecutive season.
• The Hawkeyes have played in front of sellout crowds at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since February 2023.
• Iowa welcomed 224,970 fans across 15 regular-season home games in 2025-26.
• Corda Credit Union was named the presenting sponsor of Iowa women’s basketball in October as part of a multiyear partnership.

SHARING THE ROCK

• Iowa ranked third nationally and second in the Big Ten in assists per game last season, averaging 20.7.
• The Hawkeyes ranked ninth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.37) in 2025-26.
• Wright and Stremlow averaged 4.5 and 4.3 assists per game, respectively, last season.
• Iowa has averaged at least 20 assists per game in seven of the last nine seasons.

POLL POSITION

• Iowa finished the 2025-26 season ranked No. 16 in the final Associated Press Top 25.
• The Hawkeyes reached as high as No. 7 in the AP Poll last season.
• Iowa has appeared in 21 consecutive AP Top 25 polls entering the 2026-27 season.
• Iowa defeated three AP Top 25 opponents in three consecutive regular-season games for the first time in program history from Jan. 18-25, 2026. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Woliczko recorded a women’s event-record 13 rebounds at the 2026 Nike Hoop Summit, adding 10 points and six assists.
• Carnegie and Wright were teammates at Georgia Tech in 2024-25, where both played under current Iowa assistant coach LaSondra Barrett.
• Sydney Affolter was named special assistant to the head coach on Oct. 15 after serving as a graduate assistant during the 2025-26 season.
• Iowa has won its last four exhibition contests, including victories over Missouri Western, 110-55, in 2024 and Ashland, 104-63, in 2025 under Jan Jensen. The Hawkeyes have scored at least 100 points in each of their last three exhibitions.

FROM CARVER TO THE W

• Iowa has produced six WNBA Draft selections since 2019: Megan Gustafson, Kathleen Doyle, Monika Czinano, Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin and Lucy Olsen.
• Olsen was selected by the Washington Mystics in the second round of the 2025 WNBA Draft, becoming Jensen’s first WNBA Draft pick as head coach.