As No. 14 Iowa women’s basketball (10-2, 1-0 Big Ten) heads into the New Year with the bulk of the Big Ten schedule looming, where did ESPN place the Hawkeyes in their latest power rankings?
According to ESPN’s newest women’s college basketball power rankings, the Hawkeyes saw a drop in their positioning, falling four spots from No. 11 to No. 15.
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This is in large part due to their 90-64 loss to No. 1 UConn on Dec. 20, where the team coughed up 26 turnovers, which led to 41 Huskies points. While the team actually shot pretty well (25-for-51 from the floor, 8-for-17 from 3-point territory, and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line) against UConn, the Hawkeyes’ miscues ultimately were the deciding factor.
The 90-64 loss to UConn was discouraging, especially coming just 10 days after the loss to rival Iowa State, but there were encouraging signs with an important first month of Big Ten play looming. Considering the level of competition, Hannah Stuelke might have played her best game of the season with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. And point guard Chit-Chat Wright played 35 minutes against UConn’s relentless pressure and only turned over the ball three times while scoring 16 points. – Charlie Creme, ESPN
As for the Big Ten foes ranked ahead of the Hawkeyes, they are: No. 4 UCLA, No. 7 Michigan, and No. 10 Maryland.
With Penn State (7-5, 0-1 Big Ten) visiting Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 28 for Iowa’s lone remaining matchup before the New Year, the Hawkeyes will look to reestablish their winning ways as they head into the heart of their Big Ten slate.
That Sunday matchup against the Nittany Lions tips off at 3 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: ESPN updates Iowa women’s basketball power rankings before Penn State
