WBB Notes: Carnegie Eyes 1,000 Career Points as No. 10 Iowa Hosts UNI

FOLLOW LIVE

Radio: Thursday's matchup will air on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Rob Brooks (play-by-play) and Tiffany Reedy (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.

TV: Thursday's matchup against Northern Iowa will air nationally on BTN, with Sloane Martin (play-by-play) and Lisa Bluder (analyst) on the call.

KRUI Sports: Cole Krueger and Luke Burhans will provide coverage of Thursday's matchup on KRUI Sports.

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, including eight consecutive berths, 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 52-19 overall record and compiled a 25-11 Big Ten mark through her first 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 in 2026-27.
• The Hawkeyes are 144-22 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 (2-1) returns to Iowa City to host Northern Iowa (1-1) on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The contest will air nationally on BTN.
• The Hawkeyes are coming off a 91-79 loss at No. 2 UConn on Sunday. Third-year Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ Wright scored a season-high 23 points and matched her career high with five three-pointers.
• Iowa has won six consecutive meetings against UNI and leads the all-time series, 28-3.
• Thursday’s contest marks the return of former Hawkeye Callie Levin, who transferred to UNI following the 2025-26 season.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

• Northern Iowa enters Thursday’s game 1-1 under head coach Tanya Warren.
• The Panthers opened the season with a 67-59 victory over St. Thomas on Nov. 2 before falling at South Dakota State, 76-54, on Nov. 6.
• Against St. Thomas, Abby Tuttle led UNI with 16 points, while former Hawkeye Callie Levin scored 15 points and Jenna Twedt added 13.
• Twedt scored 18 points, connecting on three three-pointers, against South Dakota State. Elise Jaeger added 12 points and 16 rebounds.
• Warren became the Missouri Valley Conference’s all-time leader in women’s basketball conference wins in 2024.

SERIES HISTORY

• Thursday marks the 32nd all-time meeting between Iowa and Northern Iowa. The Hawkeyes lead the series, 28-3.
• Iowa has won six consecutive meetings against the Panthers and 17 of the last 18 matchups.
• The Hawkeyes defeated UNI, 74-41, on Nov. 16, 2025, in Cedar Falls. The 41 points were UNI's fewest against Iowa since scoring 39 in 2016.
• Iowa’s most recent home meeting with the Panthers came on Dec. 20, 2024, a 92-86 Hawkeye victory inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

THE LAST MEETING

• Iowa defeated UNI, 74-41, on Nov. 16, 2025, at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls.
• Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ Wright led the Hawkeyes with a then-career-high 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range.
• Layla Hays contributed 14 points and seven rebounds, while Ava Heiden added eight points and six rebounds.
• The Hawkeyes held UNI to 15 first-half points and led 35-15 at halftime.

LEVIN’S RETURN TO CARVER

• UNI guard Callie Levin spent the previous two seasons at Iowa, appearing in 29 games for the Hawkeyes from 2024-26.
• The Solon, Iowa, native played in 19 games in 2025-26, totaling 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
• Levin scored a career-high 15 points in her UNI debut against St. Thomas on Nov. 2. She added four rebounds and four assists in the victory.

UCONN REWIND

• No. 10 Iowa fell at No. 2 UConn, 91-79, on Nov. 8 in Storrs, Conn.
• Third-year Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ Wright scored a season-high 23 points and matched her career high with five three-pointers. Third-year Ava Heiden scored 15 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
• Dani Carnegie added 12 points, while fourth-year Amari Whiting posted 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. UConn’s Sarah Strong scored a career-high 39 points on 15-of-26 shooting, including five three-pointers. Blanca Quiñonez added 21 points and five steals.
• The Hawkeyes outscored UConn, 28-19, in the fourth quarter and 42-39 in the second half after trailing by as many as 27 points.
• Iowa shot 49.2 percent from the field (30-of-61) and 37.0 percent from three-point range (10-of-27).

MILESTONE WATCH

• Fourth-year Amari Whiting reached 1,000 career points against No. 2 UConn on Nov. 8, connecting on a three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining.
• Whiting scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds against the Huskies. She also appeared in her 100th career game and made her 100th career start.
• Third-year Dani Carnegie enters Thursday’s game with 987 career points, 13 shy of reaching 1,000.
• Carnegie has scored 45 points in three games at Iowa after totaling 374 at Georgia Tech in 2024-25 and 568 at Georgia in 2025-26.

TURNOVER PRESSURE

• Iowa held Towson to 45 points and Eastern Illinois to 39 points in its first two games of the season.
• The Hawkeyes have forced 52 turnovers through three contests, averaging 9.3 steals per game.
• Iowa forced 27 turnovers against Eastern Illinois, converting them into 30 points. The Hawkeyes recorded 16 steals, led by six from Whiting and four from Journey Houston.
• Whiting leads the Hawkeyes with eight steals this season, averaging 2.7 per game.

WINNING THE GLASS

• Iowa has outrebounded its opponents, 118-90, through three games, averaging 39.3 rebounds per contest with a +9.3 rebounding margin.
• The Hawkeyes outrebounded Towson, 52-27, and Eastern Illinois, 44-25, before UConn won the rebounding battle, 38-22.
• Iowa owns a 41-23 advantage in offensive rebounds and has outscored its opponents, 36-13, in second-chance points through three games.
• Whiting leads Iowa with 6.3 rebounds per game, followed by Dani Carnegie and Ava Heiden at 5.3 apiece.

OPENING ACT

• Iowa opened the 2026-27 season with consecutive victories over Towson (73-45) and Eastern Illinois (80-39) before falling at No. 2 UConn (91-79).
• The Hawkeyes extended their streak to 27 consecutive regular-season opening victories following their win over Towson on Nov. 2.
• Iowa is 3-0 in season openers under head coach Jan Jensen.
• Through three games, the Hawkeyes are averaging 77.3 points per contest with a +19.0 scoring margin.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

• Iowa has four players named to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame positional award preseason watch lists for the 2026-27 season.
• Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ Wright was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award watch list, recognizing the nation’s top point guard.
• Dani Carnegie earned a spot on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list, recognizing the nation’s top shooting guard.
• McKenna Woliczko was selected to the Katrina McClain Award watch list, recognizing the nation’s top power forward.
• Ava Heiden was named to the Lisa Leslie Award watch list, recognizing the nation’s top center.
• Heiden and Carnegie were also named to the 50-player Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year preseason watch list.
• Iowa has produced two previous Naismith Trophy winners. Megan Gustafson earned the award in 2019, while Caitlin Clark won in 2023 and 2024.

SETTING THE STAGE

• Iowa enters its fourth game of the 2026-27 season following a 27-7 campaign that included a 15-3 mark in Big Ten play last year.
• 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 is in her third season as head coach and 27th with the program. She owns a 52-19 career 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.

HAWKEYES IN THE POLLS

• Iowa remained No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 on Nov. 9, tied with UCLA. The Hawkeyes are No. 13 in the Nov. 10 USA TODAY Sports/WBCA Coaches Poll.
• The No. 10 AP ranking is Iowa’s highest preseason ranking since the 2023-24 campaign.
• Ten Big Ten programs are ranked in the latest AP Top 25, including No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 USC and Iowa and UCLA tied at No. 10.
• The Hawkeyes faced No. 2 UConn in their first ranked matchup of the 2026-27 season.

THE RETURNING FIVE

• Ava Heiden, Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ 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.
• Heiden is averaging 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds through three games this season, shooting 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the field.
• Wright averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game in her first season at Iowa.
• Wright has made nine three-pointers through three games, shooting 45.0 percent from beyond the arc. She is averaging 14.7 points and 3.3 assists per contest.
• Wright, Heiden and Stremlow were voted team captains for the 2026-27 season.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

• Iowa welcomed 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 three-pointers and started all 32 games for the Bulldogs.
• Carnegie leads Iowa in scoring through three games, averaging 15.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest.
• Whiting started all 34 games at Oklahoma State last season, averaging 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest.
• Whiting leads Iowa in rebounding (6.3) and steals (2.7) per game through three contests.
• Carnegie helped Team USA capture gold at the 2026 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup.

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, Calif., native averaged 21.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game during her high school career at Archbishop Mitty.
• Woliczko recorded a career-high 22 points against Eastern Illinois, shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range.
• Through three collegiate games, Woliczko is averaging 12.0 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 60.9 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc.
• Woliczko owns two USA Basketball gold medals from the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup.

FOUR OUT, ALL IN

• Iowa has transitioned to a four-out, one-in motion offense after utilizing a double-post, high-low system for much of the 2025-26 campaign.
• Jensen said the offensive adjustment is designed to create additional driving lanes for guards and make it more difficult for opponents to double-team Heiden.
• Houston is transitioning from a post-oriented role to a perimeter position, adding versatility to Iowa’s backcourt.
• Heiden led all Power Four players in scoring improvement last season, increasing her average by 13.0 points per game.

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 hosts Northern Iowa on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. (CT) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game will air on BTN.
• The Hawkeyes will face No. 8 Vanderbilt on Nov. 15 at noon (CT) in Sioux City, Iowa, before returning home to host Montana State on Nov. 19.
• Iowa will travel 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.
• 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 welcomed 13,131 fans to their season-opening victory over Towson and 13,314 against Eastern Illinois.
• Iowa has drawn 26,445 fans through two home games this season, averaging 13,223 per contest.
• 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.

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 entered the 2026-27 season having appeared in 21 consecutive AP Top 25 polls.
• 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.

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.