The Jan Jensen era officially begins tonight for the Iowa Women’s Basketball team as the Hawkeyes kick off their 2024-2025 season at home against the Northern Illinois Huskies. It will not only mark the beginning of the Jensen era, but also the beginning of the post-Caitlin Clark era for Iowa.
The new-look Hawkeyes are still expected to be a veteran bunch. In an effort to help fill the void left by Clark, Iowa brought in senior Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen, who averaged 23.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season. She’s expected to start next to fellow senior Kylie Feurbach and junior Taylor McCabe in the backcourt while junior Hannah Stuelke and senior Addison O’Grady round out the expected starting lineup.
O’Grady and freshman Ava Heiden will have their hands full tonight as they look to stop the 6’3” Brooke Stonebraker, who led Northern Illinois in scoring and rebounding last season. Alongside Stonebraker, tenth year NIU coach and Iowa native Lisa Carlsen returns 6th year senior Chelby Koker , who has been an All-MAC honoree three times. She missed last season, but averaged 15.4 points per game in 2022-2023.
In addition, the Huskies brought in Southeast Missouri State transfer guard Alecia Doyle. She comes over after averaging 13.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season for the Redhawks. A Second Team All-OVC selection, Doyle scored in double figures in 23 games, including a career-high 31 points against Tennessee Tech.
And off the bench Bradley transfer Reagan Barkema put up 12 points in 25 minutes in NIU’s season opener, including three made three-pointers. As a sophomore at Bradley last season, Barkema averaged 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while knocking 45 three-pointers.
Tonight will mark the 13th meeting between Iowa and Northern Illinois. The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 7-5, but haven’t lost to the Huskies since 1993.
Here’s a look at the details for tonight’s game.
Date: Wednesday, November 6th
Time: 6:30 pm CT
Matchup: Northern Illinois Huskies (1-0, 0-0) at Iowa Hawkeyes (0-0, 0-0)
Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, IA
TV: BTN+
DraftKings Line: Iowa -37.5, O/U 151.5
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
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Go Hawks!
